Effective control of photoluminescence from ZnO nanowires by a-SiN_x:H decoration

The a-SiN_x:H with a large bandgap of 3.8 eV was utilized to decorate ZnO nanowires. The UV emission from the a-SiN_x:H-decorated ZnO nanowires are greatly enhanced compared with the undecorated ZnO nanowire. The deep-level defect emission has been completely suppressed even though the sample was annealed at temperatures up to 400 °C. The incorporation of H and N is suggested to passivate the defect states at the nanowire surface and thus result in the flat-band effect near ZnO surface as well as reduction of the nonradiative recombination probability.