Fabrication and Characteristics of Self-Aligned ZnO Nanotube and Nanorod Arrays on Si Substrates by Atomic Layer Deposition

Abstract

Vertically self-aligned ZnO nanorods and nanotubes are fabricated on Si substrates by atomic layer deposition with the assistance of anodic aluminum oxide at 250°C. These nanostructures are equal in height, isolated, and vertical to the Si substrate. With 550 deposition cycles, we can fabricate regular arrays of ZnO nanorods with an average diameter of 70 nm and with a height of 470 nm. In particular, the wall thickness of the nanotubes can be controlled precisely by using the atomic layer deposition approach. The measured wall thickness is 18.5±1 nm after 250 deposition cycles, which yields a growth rate of 0.075 nm/cycle. A polycrystalline structure for both ZnO nanorods and nanotubes was confirmed by a transmission electron microscope and selected area diffraction pattern. Compared with the ZnO films and nanorods, the fabricated ZnO nanotubes exhibit an excellent performance on photoluminescence characteristics due to their larger surface area. © 2010 The Electrochemical Society.