Localization of nonequilibrium current carriers close to Cr ions in ZnSe:Cr single crystals

The photoluminescence (PL) of Cr-doped ZnSe single crystals is investigated in a temperature interval from 83 up to 297 K and in a wavelengths region from 440 up to 2700 nm. The doping was carried out during a high-temperature annealing of ZnSe crystals in CrSe vapors and in chrome chlorides medium. It is revealed that the doping results in an appearance of both luminescence bands located at 0.54, 0.97, and 2.15 μm and edge luminescence bands located at 454, 457, and 460 nm at 83 K. It is shown that the PL bands located at 457 and 460 nm are caused by the radiative recombination with the participation of holes located on hydrogen-like orbits close to Cr⁺ centers, having a binding energy of 99 meV. The excitons bound with centers responsible for the radiation located at 0.54 μm and having a binding energy of 65-68 meV are considered. The energy of a lattice relaxation at recharge of centers responsible for green radiation is estimated and equals 40-170 meV.     

Photoluminescence and absorption in sol-gel-derived ZnO films

Highly c-axis-oriented ZnO films were obtained on corning glass substrate by sol-gel technique. The characteristics of photoluminescence (PL) of ZnO, as well as the exciton absorption in the absorption (UV) spectra are closely related to the post-annealing treatment. The difference between PL peak position and the absorption edge, designated as Stokes shift, is found to decrease with the increase of annealing temperature. The minimum Stokes shift is about 150 meV. The decrease of Stokes shift is attributed to the decrease in carrier concentration in ZnO film with annealing. X-ray diffraction, surface morphology and refractive index results indicate an improvement in crystalline quality with annealing. Annealed films also exhibit a green emission centered at ∼520 nm with activation energy of 0.89 eV. The green emission is attributed to the electron transition from the bottom of the conduction band to the antisite oxygen O_Zn defect levels.     

Energy levels of vanadium ions in CdTe

In CdTe doped with vanadium the photoluminescence due to the ³ T ₂(F) ³ A ₂(F) transition of V³⁺(d ²) is detected. Its decay time is determined as (630±20) s, a result comparable to the analogous emissions in various host lattices. Further emissions around 5000 cm^–1 and 9000 cm^–1 are caused by charge-transfer transitions or bound-exciton decay. Excitation and sensitization spectra yield information on the positions of the energy levels within the gap, which are discussed using two different models. At T=4.2 K, the distance of the V²⁺/V³⁺ donor level is 7300 cm^–1 and 5700 cm^–1 referred to the valence and the conduction band edges, respectively. The absence of V²⁺(d ³) centres is tentatively ascribed to the existence of deeply bound excitons.     

Auger and photoluminescence analysis of ZnO nanowires grown on AlN thin film

ZnO nanowires were grown on AlN thin film deposited on the glass substrates using a physical vapor deposition method in a conventional tube furnace without introducing any catalysts. The temperature of the substrates was maintained between 500 and 600 °C during the growth process. The typical average diameters of the obtained nanowires on substrate at 600 and 500 °C were about 57 and 22 nm respectively with several micrometers in length. X-ray diffraction and Auger spectroscopy results showed Al diffused from AlN thin film into the ZnO nanowires for the sample grown at 600 °C. Photoluminescence of the nanowires exhibits appearance of two emission bands, one related to ultraviolet emission with a strong peak at 380-382 nm, and the other related to deep level emission with a weak peak at 503-505 nm. The ultraviolet peak of the nanowires grown at 500 °C was blue shifted by 2 nm compared to those grown at 600 °C. This shift could be attributed to surface effect.     

1.54 μm emission mechanism of Er-doped zinc oxide thin films

Zinc oxide (ZnO) and Er-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Er) thin films were formed by pulsed laser deposition, and characterized by photoluminescence (PL) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) in order to clarify the 1.54 μm emission mechanism in the ZnO:Er films. Er ions were excited indirectly by the 325 nm line of a He-Cd laser, and the comparison of the ultraviolet to infrared PL data of ZnO and ZnO:Er films showed that the 1.54 μm emission of Er³⁺ in ZnO:Er film appears at the expense of the band edge emission and the defect emission of ZnO. The crystallinity of the films was varied with the substrate temperature and post-annealing, and it was found that the intensity of the 1.54 μm emission is strongly related with the crystallinity of the films. There are three processes leading to the 1.54 μm emission; absorption of excitation energy by the ZnO host, energy transfer from ZnO to Er ions, and radiative relaxation inside Er ions, and it is suggested that the crystallinity plays an important role in the first two processes.     

Luminescence properties of ZnSe films grown by hot wall epitaxy

Received: 10 June 1996/Accepted: 20 October 1996     

As-doped p-type ZnO films grown on SiO2/Si by radio frequency magnetron sputtering

p-Type ZnO:As films with a hole concentration of 10¹⁶-10¹⁷ cm⁻³ and a mobility of 1.32-6.08 cm²/V s have been deposited on SiO₂/Si substrates by magnetron sputtering. XRD, SEM, Hall measurements are used to investigate the structural and electrical properties of the films. A p-n homojunction comprising an undoped ZnO layer and a ZnO:As layer exhibits a typical rectifying behavior. Our study demonstrates a simple method to fabricate reproducible p-type ZnO film on the SiO₂/Si substrate for the development of ZnO-based optoelectronic devices on Si-based substrates.     

Impurity Activation in MBE-Grown As-Doped HgCdTe by Modulated Photoluminescence Spectra

Modulated photoluminescence spectra have been performed to investigate the impurity activation in MBE-grown As-doped Hg1-xCdxTe （x ≈ 0.3）. The results show that the doped As mainly acting as donors in the as-grown samples can be fully activated as AsTe by two-stage anneals of 285℃/16 h ＋ 240℃/48h, of which the ionization energy has been determined to be about lO.5 meV, slightly smaller than that of intrinsic VHg （about 14.5 meV）. However, the higher activation temperature （e.g. 400℃） at the first-stage can produce large numbers of excessive VHg and seriously deteriorate the quality of epilayers. This couM give a brief guideline for preparing extrinsic p-type HgCdTe materials or devices.     

Influence of pH value on the quality of sol-gel derived ZnO films

In sol-gel derived ZnO films the pH value of the sol plays an important role in controlling their properties. In this study, the influence of adding monoethanolamine to zinc acetate solution in methanol on structural, surface morphology and optical properties has been investigated. Addition of monoethanolamine to zinc acetate solution transforms the nature of the sol from acidic to alkaline by changing the pH value from 6.4 to 10.6. The investigations indicate that high quality ZnO films are obtained by using sol having monoethanolamine to zinc acetate ratio of 1:1 and pH value of 10.6.     

Photoluminescence investigation on impurity behavior in Sb-doped HgCdTe

Temperature-dependent (4.2–115 K) and excitation-intensity-dependent photoluminescence measurements have been performed on Sb doped HgCdTe samples with the emphasis on the impurity behavior of Sb doped in HgCdTe. In addition to the observation of the localized exciton, D°A°, band to band and bound to free transition related luminescence structures, the Sb-doping-related acceptor level of about 30 meV above the bottom of the valence band at 4.2 K has been obtained.     

Effects of annealing atmosphere on the luminescent efficiency of ZnTe:O phosphors

The effect of the annealing atmosphere on the luminescent efficiency of ZnTe:O phosphors for X-ray imaging applications was studied. The phosphors were doped by ball-milling bulk ZnTe crystals in an O₂ atmosphere and annealed in various atmospheres: vacuum, N₂ or forming gas (95%N₂/5%H₂). All samples exhibited a deep red emission centered at 680 nm.The samples annealed in forming gas atmosphere exhibited an X-ray luminescent efficiency five times higher than the samples annealed in vacuum or N₂ atmospheres, which was attributed to the removal of surface tellurium oxides.     

Optical properties of p-type ZnO doped by lithium and nitrogen

A lithium and nitrogen doped p-type ZnO (denoted as ZnO: (Li, N)) film was prepared by RF-magnetron sputtering and post annealing techniques with c-Al₂O₃ as substrate. Its transmittance was measured to be above 95%. Three dominant emission bands were observed at 3.311, 3.219 and 3.346 eV, respectively, in the 80 K photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of the p-type ZnO:(Li, N), and are attributed to radiative electron transition from conduction band to a Li_Zn-N complex acceptor level (eFA), radiative recombination of a donor-acceptor pair and recombination of the Li_Zn-N complex acceptor bound exciton, respectively, based on temperature-dependent and excitation intensity-dependent PL measurement results. The Li_Zn-N complex acceptor level was estimated to be about 126 meV above the valence band by fitting the eFA data obtained in the temperature-dependent PL spectra.     

Donor-acceptor pair luminescence in nitrogen-doped ZnO films grown on lattice-matched ScAlMgO4 (0001) substrates

We have grown nitrogen-doped ZnO (ZnO:N) films by laser molecular-beam epitaxy. The use of lattice-matched ScAlMgO₄ substrates prevented the degradation of crystallinity induced by the nitrogen incorporation to the films. Despite this improvement, we have not obtained ZnO:N films which showed p-type conductivity. We studied the optical properties of these ZnO:N films. Donor-acceptor pair (DAP) luminescence was observed. The results indicate the formation of an acceptor state. The energy position of the DAP luminescence is lower than that reported by Look et al. [Appl. Phys. Lett. 81 (2002) 1830]. The DAP luminescence band shifts to lower energy with increasing nitrogen concentration. A photoluminescence recombination possibly due to the free-electron-to-acceptor (FA) transition was observed at temperatures higher than 40 K. The acceptor ionization energy was estimated from the energy position of the FA luminescence to be 266 meV.     

Photoluminescence from doped ZnS nanostructures

Photoluminescence (PL) properties of differently doped nanocrystalline ZnS encapsulated by ZnO (ZnS/ZnO) are reported. It is found that in all cases aluminium as an extra/additional dopant leads to PL enhancement. In comparison to reported blue emitting bulk ZnS:Ag, or green emitting bulk ZnS:Cu, our nanocrystalline samples show a different PL emission profile. This observation is attributed to nanogranule formation, different dopant levels and ZnO capping related energy level modifications.     

Photoluminescence characteristics of ZnO doped with Eu powders

In this work, we have investigated the photoluminescence spectra of europium-doped zinc oxide crystallites prepared by a vibrating milled solid-state reaction method. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, luminescence spectra and time-resolved spectra analysis were used to characterize the synthetic ZnO:Eu³⁺ powders. XRD results of the powders showed a typical wurtzite hexagonal crystal structure. A second phase occurred at 5 mol% Eu₂O₃-doped ZnO. The ⁵D₀-⁷F₁ (590 nm) and ⁵D₀-⁷F₂ (609 nm) emission characteristics of Eu³⁺ appeared after quenching with more than 1.5 mol% Eu₂O₃ doping. The Commission Internationale d’Eclairage (CIE) chromaticity coordinates of a ZnO:Eu³⁺ host excited at λ_ex=467 nm revealed a red-shift phenomenon with increase in Eu³⁺ ion doping. The lifetime of the Eu³⁺ ion decreased as the doping concentration was increased from 1.5 to 10 mol%, and the time-resolved ⁵D₀→⁷F₂ transition presents a single-exponential decay behavior.     

Effects of sic buffer layer on the optical properties of ZnO films grown on Si (1 1 1) substrates

ZnO films have been grown by a sol-gel process on Si (1 1 1) substrates with and without SiC buffer layers. The influence of SiC buffer layer on the optical properties of ZnO films grown on Si (1 1 1) substrates was investigated. The intensity of the E₂ (high) phonon peak in the micro-Raman spectrum of ZnO film with the SiC buffer layer is stronger than that of the sample without the SiC buffer layer, and the breadth of E₂ (high) phonon peak of ZnO film with the SiC buffer layer is narrower than that of the sample without the SiC buffer layer. These results indicated that the crystalline quality of the sample with the SiC buffer layer is better than that of the sample without the SiC buffer layer. In photoluminescence spectra, the intensity of free exciton emission from ZnO films with the SiC buffer was much stronger than that from ZnO film without the SiC buffer layer, while the intensity of deep level emission from sample with the SiC buffer layer was about half of that of sample without the SiC buffer layer. The results indicate the SiC buffer layer improves optical qualities of ZnO films on Si (1 1 1) substrates.     

Temperature-induced line broadening, line narrowing and line shift in the luminescence of nanocrystalline ZnS:Mn

Emission spectra of nanocrystalline ZnS:Mn²⁺ have been recorded as a function of temperature between 4 and . For the two emission bands observed (a defect-related emission band around and a Mn²⁺-related emission band around ), the temperature dependence of the width and the position of the emission bands has been analyzed. The shift and the broadening of the Mn²⁺ emission can be satisfactorily explained by theoretical models and parameters for electron-phonon coupling that are similar to those for bulk ZnS. For the defect-related emission, the shift to lower energies follows the decrease in bandgap of bulk ZnS with increasing temperature. The width of the defect-related emission decreases as the temperature is raised. This anomalous behavior is explained by inhomogeneous broadening at low temperatures.     

Ag nanoparticle mediated growth of CdS nanobelts

Catalytic growth of CdS have been carried out on large scale by evaporation of bulk CdS on Ag deposited Si (1 1 1) at atmospheric pressure. The as prepared CdS had wurtzite structure as evidenced by X-ray diffraction. The nanostructures were beltlike with several tens of micrometers length, several micrometers width and few nanometers to tens of nanometers thick as seen by scanning electron microscope and confirmed by TEM studies. The nanobelts were single crystalline in nature and showed reflection corresponding to (1 1 2) and (0 0 2) planes in SAED. The PL studies revealed the green band due to band gap emission and red band due to emission from the surface states. The higher intensity of the defect emission indicated the presence of considerable concentration of surface defects in the as prepared sample. The deposition of CdS could be explained on the basis of catalyst assisted vapor-liquid-solid and vapor-solid mechanism.     

Photoluminescence study of manganese in AlSb

We have investigated Czochralski-grown manganese-doped AlSb by low-temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy. Discrete donor-acceptor pair lines are resolved, which involve the Mn acceptor. A Mn acceptor binding energy (E _A =92±5 meV) is deduced from the donor-acceptor pair luminescence.     

Photoluminescence spectra of nitrogen implanted GaSe crystals

GaSe single crystals were N-implanted along c-axis with ion beams of 10¹⁴ and 10¹⁶ ions/cm² doses having energy values of 60 and 100 keV. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of undoped and N-implanted GaSe crystals were measured at different temperatures. The PL intensity was observed to decrease with increasing implantation dose while the FWHM of the exciton peaks increased. In heavily doped crystals, due to the interaction with the radiation induced disorders, the wave vector selection rules are satisfied and an indirect exciton PL band is observed 36 meV below the direct exciton states.