Electrical and electroluminescence properties of As-doped p-type ZnO nanorod arrays

Abstract

We have reported the growth of p-type As-doped ZnO nanorod (NR) arrays and their electrical and electroluminescence (EL) properties. Well-directed ZnO NR arrays were grown on the Si substrate. The GaAs wafer was employed as an arsenic resource. Thermal anneal was performed to diffuse an As element into a ZnO NR. The As content increased with the increase in annealing time and temperature, which was measured utilizing energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy in transmission electron microscopy (TEM). When enough As was doped, ZnO NR arrays began to show p-type behaviour and formed good p–n heterojunctions with the n-type Si substrate. The high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) was employed to measure the lattice structure change in the ZnO NR before and after As doping. The ultraviolet EL spectrum of the n-Si/p-ZnO NR arrays' light emitting diode device was measured at room temperature and a peak at a wavelength of about 380 nm was observed in the spectrum.