Synthesis and photoluminescence of aligned straight silica nanowires on Si substrate

Aligned straight silica nanowires (NWs) have been synthesized on Si wafer by thermal evaporation of mixed powders of zinc carbonate hydroxide and graphite at 1100 °C and condensation on Si substrate without using any catalyst. The straight silica NWs have diameters ranging from 50 to 100 nm, and lengths of several micrometers, with cone-shaped tips at their ends. High deposition temperature and relatively high SiO_x vapor concentration near the growth substrate would be beneficial to the formation of the aligned straight silica NWs. Different morphologies of silica nanostructures have also been obtained by varying the deposition temperature and the vapor concentration of the SiO_x molecules. Room temperature photoluminescence measurements on the oriented silica NWs show that two green emission bands at 510 and 560 nm, respectively, revealing that the aligned straight silica NWs might have potential applications in the future optoelectronic devices.     

Synthesis and photoluminescence properties of silver nanowires

Silver nanowires of 50–190 nm in diameters along with silver nanoparticles in the size range of 60–200 nm in prismatic and hexagonal shapes are synthesized through chemical process. The lengths of the silver nanowires lie between 40 and 1000 μm. The characterizations of the synthesized samples are done by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV–visible absorption spectroscopy. The syntheses have been done by using two processes. In the first process, relatively thicker and longer silver nanowires are synthesized by a soft template liquid phase method at a reaction temperature of 70 °C with methanol as solvent. In the second process, thinner silver nanowires along with silver nanoparticles are prepared through a polymer mediated polyol process at a reaction temperature of 210 °C with ethylene glycol as solvent. The variations of photoluminescence (PL) emission from the silver nanocluster dispersed in methanol as well as in ethylene glycol are recorded at room temperature under excitation wavelengths lying in between 300 and 414 nm. The blue–green PL emission is observed from the prepared samples and these emissions are assigned to radiative recombination of Fermi level electrons and sp- or d-band holes.     

Effects of hydrogen on photoluminescence properties of a-SiNx:H films prepared by VHF-PECVD

Luminescent hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride films were prepared with different hydrogen flow rate in very high frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system. Very bright orange-red light emissions can be clearly observed with the naked eye in a bright room for the films grown at the hydrogen flow rate of 30 sccm. The photoluminescence intensity of the film grown at the hydrogen flow rate of 30 sccm is found to be four times higher than that of the film without hydrogen dilution. However, with further increasing the hydrogen flow rate from 30 to 90 sccm, the photoluminescence intensity of the film rapidly decreases. Fourier-transform infrared absorption spectra indicate that the introduction of hydrogen concentration bonded to silicon and nitrogen is of a key role to enhance the photoluminescence intensity of the films. Based on the measurements of structural and bonding configurations, the improved photoluminescence intensity is attributed to the well hydrogen passivation of nonradiative defect states related to N and Si at proper hydrogen flow rate.     

Preparation and photoluminescence properties of silica-coated CuO nanowires

We have fabricated cupric oxide (CuO)-core/silica (SiO _x )-shell nanowires by using a two-step process: thermal oxidation and sputtering. The structure and photoluminescence (PL) properties of the core/shell nanowires has been investigated by using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and PL analysis techniques. The CuO cores and the SiO _x shells of the as-synthesized nanowires have crystalline monoclinic CuO and amorphous SiO _x structures, respectively. The PL emission intensity of the CuO-core/SiO _x -shell nanowires has been increased but the emission peak position has not been nearly shifted by annealing in a nitrogen atmosphere, whereas the emission peak position has been shifted a lot from 510 to around 650 nm as well as the emission intensity has been increased by annealing in an oxygen atmosphere. In addition, the origin of the PL enhancement in the CuO-core/SiO _x -shell nanowires by annealing and the growth mechanism of the CuO nanowires have been discussed.     

Effects of annealing temperature on the structure, photoluminescence and ferromagnetism properties of Cr-implanted ZnO nanowires

Room temperature ferromagnetism was observed in Cr-implanted ZnO nanowires annealed at 500, 600, and 700 °C. The implantation dose for Cr ions was 1×10¹⁶ cm^?2, while the implantation energies were 100 keV. Except for ZnO (100), (002), and (200) orientations, no extra diffraction peaks from Cr-related secondary phase or impurities were observed. With the increasing of annealing temperatures, the intensity of the peaks increased while the FWHM values decreased. The Cr 2p_1/2 and 2p_3/2 peaks, with a binding energy difference of 10.6 eV, appear at 586.3 and 575.7 eV, can be attributed to Cr³⁺ in ZnO nanowires. For the Cr-implanted ZnO nanowires without annealing, the band energy emission disappears and the defect related emission with wavelength of 500–700 nm dominates, which can be attributed to defects introduced by implantation. Cr-implanted ZnO nanowires annealed at 500 °C show a saturation magnetization value of over 11.4×10^?5 emu and a positive coercive field of 67 Oe. The origin of ferromagnetism behavior can be explained on the basis of electrons and defects that form bound magnetic polarons, which overlap to create a spin-split impurity band.     

Large-scale synthesis of ZnO nanowires using a low-temperature chemical route and their photoluminescence properties

Single-crystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires were synthesized from zinc powder and H₂O through a simple chemical route at 730 °C in Ar atmosphere. The potential exists for bulk synthesis of ZnO nanowires at temperatures significantly less than the 200–300 °C of thermal evaporation methods reported formerly. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy observations reveal that the ZnO nanowires are structurally uniform, have lengths up to several hundreds of micrometers and diameters of about 40–60 nm and crystallize in a hexagonal structure. The growth of ZnO nanowires is controlled by the vapor–solid crystal-growth mechanism. Photoluminescence measurements show that the ZnO nanowires have a strong near-band ultraviolet emission at 380 nm and a green light emission at 520 nm caused by oxygen vacancies. PACS 81.05.Ys; 78.55.Et     

Catalytic synthesis and photoluminescence of needle-shaped 3C-SiC nanowires

Needle-shaped 3C-SiC nanowires were grown from commercially available SiC powders in a thermal evaporation process with iron as catalyst. A strong broad photoluminescence peak located around 450 nm was observed at room temperature, which may be ascribed to quantum size effects of nanomaterials. Needle-shaped 3C-SiC nanowires may have great potential applications such as blue-green light-emitting diodes and display devices.     

Influence of metallic coatings on the photoluminescence properties of ZnO nanowires

We report on low‐temperature photoluminescence studies of ZnO nanowires coated with thin metallic films. For all analyzed metals (Al, In, Au, Ni, Cu), we find an increased relative intensity of the green deep‐level emission. This is accompanied by a significant reduction of the relative intensity of the surface exciton band. The observed effects are most likely related to the formation of metal induced gap states in the surface region of the ZnO nanowires. A model for the band structure in the surface region of the metal‐coated nanowires is proposed that successfully explains the changes in the photoluminescence spectra after the coating process. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Catalytic synthesis and photoluminescence of silicon oxide nanowires and nanotubes

A large quantity of nanowires and nanotubes of silicon oxide are produced by using Fe–Co–Ni alloy nanoparticles as catalyst. The products have a uniform diameter of around 100 nm. The nanowires have a smooth surface and the lengths are up to 100 μm or more. A new morphology called a serrated joint nanotube was found. The alloy catalyst plays a key role in the synthesis process. Room-temperature photoluminescence measurement under excitation at 360 nm showed that the silicon oxide had a strong blue-green emission at 525 nm (about 2.36 eV), which may be related to oxygen defects. PACS 81.15.Gh; 81.07.Vb; 81.07.De; 42.70.Nq; 78.55.-m     

Effects of annealing on the structure and photoluminescence of ZnO-sputtered coaxial nanowires

We reported the preparation and annealing effects of Zinc oxide ZnO/SiO_x core-shell nanowires, in which ZnO shell layers were deposited by sputtering. Based on scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and photoluminescence (PL) investigations, we monitored structural and optical changes with respect to the post-annealing process. The samples were mostly amorphous with some crystalline ZnO structure, whereas annealing at 900-1000 °C reduced the amount of Zn elements. Thermal annealing induced change in the shape of the PL emission spectra.     

The photoluminescence properties of TiO2-sheathed ZnSe nanowires

ZnSe nanowires have been synthesized by thermal evaporation of ZnSe powders on gold-coated Al₂O₃(0 0 0 1) substrates and then sheathed with TiO₂ by sputtering. Our results show that sheathing Zn nanowires with thin TiO₂ layers can significantly enhance the photoluminescence (PL) emission intensity. XPS analysis results suggest that the PL enhancement is attributed to increases in the concentrations of deep levels such as oxygen and titanium interstitials as well as the density of interface states. The PL emission of ZnSe nanowires is also enhanced by thermal annealing. Annealing in an argon atmosphere is more efficient in enhancing the PL emission than annealing in an oxygen atmosphere.     

Eu掺杂Si纳米线的光致发光特性

利用Si(111)衬底, 以Au-Al为金属催化剂, 基于固-液-固生长机理, 在温度为1100℃, N₂气流量为1.5 L/min、生长时间为30–90 min等工艺条件下, 制备了直径约为100 nm、长度为数微米的高密度、均匀分布、大面积的Si纳米线(～10¹⁰ cm^-2). 对Si纳米线进行了Eu掺杂, 实验研究了不同长度的Si纳米线以及不同掺杂温度、掺杂时间等工艺参数对Eu离子红光发射的影响, 利用扫描电子显微镜和X射线衍射仪对Si纳米线表面形貌和Eu掺杂后Si纳米线的结晶取向进行了测量和表征; 室温下利用Hitachi F-4600型荧光分光光度计对样品的激发光谱和发射光谱进行了测试和分析. 结果表明: 在Si纳米线生长时间为30 min、掺杂温度为1000℃、 最佳激发波长为395 nm时, 样品最强荧光波长为619 nm (⁵D₀→⁷F₂); 同时, 还出现了576 nm (⁵D₀→⁷F₀), 596 nm (⁵D₀→⁷F₁), 658 nm (⁵D₀→⁷F₃)和708 nm (⁵D₀→⁷F₄)四条谱带.     

Quantitative analysis of the phonon confinement effect in arbitrarily shaped Si nanocrystals decorated on Si nanowires and its correlation with the photoluminescence spectrum

Arrays of single‐crystalline Si nanowires (NWs) decorated with arbitrarily shaped Si nanocrystals (NCs) are grown by a metal‐assisted chemical etching process using silver (Ag) as the noble metal catalyst. The metal‐assisted chemical etching‐grown Si NWs exhibit strong photoluminescence (PL) emission in the visible and near infrared region at room temperature. Quantum confinement of carriers in the Si NCs is believed to be primarily responsible for the observed PL emission. Raman spectra of the Si NCs decorated on Si NWs exhibit a red shift and an asymmetric broadening of first‐order Raman peak as well as the other multi‐phonon modes when compared with that of the bulk Si. Quantitative analysis of confinement of phonons in the Si NCs is shown to account for the measured Raman peak shift and asymmetric broadening. To eliminate the laser heating effect on the phonon modes of the Si NWs/NCs, the Raman measurement was performed at extremely low laser power. Both the PL and Raman spectral analysis show a log‐normal distribution for the Si NCs, and our transmission electron microscopy results are fully consistent with the results of PL and Raman analyses. We calculate the size distribution of these Si NCs in terms of mean diameter (D₀) and skewness (σ) by correlating the PL spectra and Raman spectra of the as‐grown Si NCs decorated on Si NWs. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of natural oxidation on the photoluminescence properties of Si nanocrystals prepared by pulsed laser ablation

In this work, Si nanocrystals (Si-NCs) have been prepared by pulsed laser ablation technique in dichloromethane, and the microstructure and photoluminescence (PL) properties of the Si-NCs before and after natural oxidation were investigated. Transmission electron microscopy and Raman results show that the average diameter of the Si-NCs is 2.42 nm in the dichloromethane solution. Blue–violet PL with a lifetime of 4.6 ns is observed at room temperature, and the PL peak shifts toward longer wavelength with the red shift of excitation wavelength. The PL excitation spectrum indicates that the bandgap of the Si-NCs in solution is 2.64 eV, which confirms that the blue–violet PL originates from interband transition of Si-NCs caused by quantum confinement effect. The PL peak red shifts to 607 nm after natural oxidation, and the peak lifetime of which is slow down to 13.1 μs. The fixed PL peak excited by different wavelengths and the slow PL decay time indicate that interface defects become the main PL mechanism after natural oxidation. The results will add new information for understanding the PL mechanism of Si-NCs in different environments.     

High‐pressure Raman and photoluminescence of highly anisotropic CdS nanowires

Raman and photoluminescence of CdS nanowires of diameter 80 nm and lengths up to several tens of micrometers were studied at pressure up to 60 kbar using a Jobin‐Yvon T64000 micro‐Raman system in conjunction with the diamond‐anvil cell technique. The phase transition pressure of wurtzite to rock salt was observed at 38 kbar, which is higher than that of bulk CdS. In contrast with the transition pressure of different‐sized CdS nanocrystal, this elevated phase transition pressure cannot be explained well by the size effect. Thus the contribution of particle morphology of such a system, which represents the low‐energy surface structure, should be considered. The pressure dependence of photoluminescence is also discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Catalytic and non-catalytic growth of amorphous silica nanowires and their photoluminescence properties

A simple method based on the thermal oxidation of Si wafers in presence of a mixture of MgO and graphite powder was developed for large-scale synthesis of very long amorphous silica nanowires. The synthesis was done with and without gold as the catalyst. Almost aligned uniform nanowires with diameters within 60-90 nm and length up to few hundred micrometers were obtained using gold as the catalyst while bicycle chain like nanowires were obtained in absence of the catalyst. The growth sequence of the nanowires was observed through scanning electron microscope. Both forms of the nanowires emitted blue lights at 414 nm (3 eV) under excitation at 250 nm.     

Structure and photoluminescence properties of ZnS films grown on porous Si substrates

ZnS films were deposited on porous silicon (PS) substrates with different porosities. With the increase of PS substrate porosity, the XRD diffraction peak intensity decreases and the surface morphology of the ZnS films becomes rougher. Voids appear in the films, due to the increased roughness of PS structure. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the samples before and after deposition of ZnS were measured to study the effect of substrate porosity on the luminescence properties of ZnS/PS composites. As-prepared PS substrates emit strong red light. The red PL peak of PS after deposition of ZnS shows an obvious blueshift. As PS substrate porosity increases, the trend of blueshift increases. A green emission at about 550 nm was also observed when the porosity of PS increased, which is ascribed to the defect-center luminescence of ZnS. The effect of annealing time on the structural and luminescence properties of ZnS/PS composites were also studied. With the increase of annealing time, the XRD diffraction peak intensity and the self-activated luminescence intensity of ZnS increase, and, the surface morphology of the ZnS films becomes smooth and compact. However, the red emission intensity of PS decreases, which was associated with a redshift. White light emission was obtained by combining the luminescence of ZnS with the luminescence of PS.     

Investigation of growth behavior and properties of Si nanowires grown at various supply times of Ar gas current

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were synthesized on gold-coated silicon substrates by a very high frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique. The influence of supply time of Ar gas current on morphology, microstructure and optical properties of the SiNWs was investigated by means of field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence. The lengths and density of the SiNWs decrease with an increase in the supply time of flowing Ar gas. The results revealed that the morphologies of the SiNWs strongly depended on the time of flowing Ar gas.     

Temperature-controlled growth and photoluminescence of AlN nanowires

By varying the substrate temperature in the range of 800-1000 °C, the conditions for the synthesis of AlN nanowires were optimized. Al powders were heated under flowing ammonia gas. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Based on the absence of tip particles, the growth mechanism of AlN nanowires was considered to follow a vapor-solid process. The overall intensity of the PL spectra was increased by increasing the synthesis temperature, whereas their shapes were changed by varying the synthesis temperature. The associated emission mechanisms are discussed.     

Preparation and photoluminescence of Sc-doped ZnO nanowires

We demonstrate bulk synthesis of single-crystal Sc-doped ZnO nanowires by using (Sc+Zn) powders at . These mass nanowires are characterized through X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction, and high-resolution TEM, which have uniform diameters of about 40 nm and microns of several decades in length. The growth of ZnScO nanowires is suggested for self-catalyzed vapor–liquid–solid. In particular, PL spectra of these nanowires show emission peaks that intensely shift to long wavelength with increasing Sc and the doping quantity is found responsible for the different characteristics, in which PL mechanism is explained in detail.