Al-doped ZnO aligned nanorod arrays: significant implications for optic and opto-electronic applications

Abstract

We investigated the optical and optoelectronic properties of vertically aligned Al:ZnO nanorod arrays synthesized by the hydrothermal technique at a considerably low temperature on a sputtered Al:ZnO seed layer. The nanorod arrays maintained remarkable alignment along the c-axis over a large area. The seed layers and nanorod arrays showed various optical band gaps. Investigation of the optoelectronic properties of nanorod arrays on Al:ZnO/p-Si seed layer with SiO2 revealed that the photocurrent is significantly reduced in nanorod arrays on a AZO/SiO2/p-Si heterojunction due to multiple scattering phenomena associated with nanorod arrays. This research may open up venues for various optical and opto-electronic applications where highly aligned nanostructures are desired.