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Controlled Growth of ZnO Nanowires and Their Optical Properties
Author(s) -
Yang P.,
Yan H.,
Mao S.,
Russo R.,
Johnson J.,
Saykally R.,
Morris N.,
Pham J.,
He R.,
Choi H.J.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/1616-3028(20020517)12:5<323::aid-adfm323>3.0.co;2-g
Subject(s) - lasing threshold , nanowire , materials science , vapor–liquid–solid method , optoelectronics , substrate (aquarium) , nanotechnology , laser , wavelength , optics , oceanography , physics , geology
This article surveys recent developments in the rational synthesis of single‐crystalline zinc oxide nanowires and their unique optical properties. The growth of ZnO nanowires was carried out in a simple chemical vapor transport and condensation (CVTC) system. Based on our fundamental understanding of the vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) nanowire growth mechanism, different levels of growth controls (including positional, orientational, diameter, and density control) have been achieved. Power‐dependent emission has been examined and lasing action was observed in these ZnO nanowires when the excitation intensity exceeds a threshold (∼40 kW cm –2 ). These short‐wavelength nanolasers operate at room temperature and the areal density of these nanolasers on substrate readily reaches 1 × 10 10 cm –2 . The observation of lasing action in these nanowire arrays without any fabricated mirrors indicates these single‐crystalline, well‐facetted nanowires can function as self‐contained optical resonance cavities. This argument is further supported by our recent near‐field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) studies on single nanowires.