Publication Date
2007
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
Gary Farlow (Advisor)
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Abstract
ZnO micro-structures and nano-structures have been grown on two types of substrate by reacting condensed Zn vapor with oxygen. The source material was either pure zinc powder or zinc acetate which was either evaporated or decomposed. This was done in the temperature range 500 C to 650 C, in a flowing Ar plus oxygen ambient at atmospheric pressure. Variations in the carrier gas composition, gas flow rate and the position of the substrate in the furnace were found to control the formation and the morphology of the nanostructures. Scanning electron microscopy images of samples grown from a Zn powder source show forested needles approximately 100 nm in diameter by 1 micrometers long, and faceted rods from 500 nm to 700 nm thick. Samples grown from Zn acetate show the formation of nano crystals (from ~100nm to ~300nm) dispersed across the substrates. Photoluminescence measurements at 4.2K show a dominant line at ~3.36 eV with additional features at 3.32 and 3.37 eV. The line widths are ~3.5 meV indicating good quality material. The usual green-band emission is also observed. Hall measurements and CV profiling were attempted but they were unsuccessful due to the inability to make good contacts.
Page Count
92
Department or Program
Department of Physics
Year Degree Awarded
2007
Copyright
Copyright 2007, all rights reserved. This open access ETD is published by Wright State University and OhioLINK.
