Enhanced near-band-edge emission and field emission properties from plasma treated ZnO nanowires

Near-band-edge emission in photoluminescence of ZnO nanowires was found to be significantly improved after plasma treatment. The ratio of ultraviolet emission peak intensity before and after plasma treatment is as high as 3.5. Field emission properties were considerably enhanced after plasma treatment as well. Current emission density has been increased two orders of magnitude under the same electric field. Passivation of surface states and surface morphology change were found to be responsible for such an effective improvement. Our results suggest that the plasma treatment method is effective in enhancing both the near-band-edge emission in photoluminescence and field electron emission performance from ZnO nanowires.