J Mater Sci Technol ›› 2006, Vol. 22 ›› Issue (04): 541-545.

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Fabrication of ZnO Nanoneedle/nanocolumn Composite Films and Annealing Induced Improvement in Their Microstructural and Photoluminescence Characteristics

Dongjiang QIU, Ping YU, Yintu JIANG, Huizhen WU   

  1. Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China...
  • Received:2005-07-18 Revised:2005-10-28 Online:2006-07-28 Published:2009-10-10
  • Contact: Dongjiang QIU

Abstract: ZnO nanoneedle/nanocolumn (NN/NC) composite films were grown via reactive electron beam evaporation (REBE) in the NH3/H2 gaseous mixture by using polycrystalline ZnO ceramic targets as source materials. The growth was performed at low substrate temperatures (450~500℃) without employing any metallic catalysts. As-prepared samples were then rapidly annealed in O2 ambient at a higher temperature (600℃). Electron microscopic observations revealed the typical composite-structured morphologies of NN/NC/substrate of ZnO nanomaterials grown at 500℃. Such unique morphologies should render potential applications, for instance, as an efficient microwave absorption material utilized in the fabrication of concealed aerostat. In addition, X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence measurements showed remarkable improvement in crystal and optical qualities of ZnO NN/NC composite films after annealing.

Key words: Zinc oxide, Nanostructure, Photoluminescence