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Influence of metallic coatings on the photoluminescence properties of ZnO nanowires
Author(s) -
Richters J.P.,
Dev A.,
Müller S.,
Niepelt R.,
Borschel C.,
Ronning C.,
Voss T.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
physica status solidi (rrl) – rapid research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.786
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1862-6270
pISSN - 1862-6254
DOI - 10.1002/pssr.200903176
Subject(s) - photoluminescence , nanowire , materials science , metal , exciton , coating , band gap , spectral line , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , optoelectronics , metallurgy , condensed matter physics , physics , astronomy , engineering
We report on low‐temperature photoluminescence studies of ZnO nanowires coated with thin metallic films. For all analyzed metals (Al, In, Au, Ni, Cu), we find an increased relative intensity of the green deep‐level emission. This is accompanied by a significant reduction of the relative intensity of the surface exciton band. The observed effects are most likely related to the formation of metal induced gap states in the surface region of the ZnO nanowires. A model for the band structure in the surface region of the metal‐coated nanowires is proposed that successfully explains the changes in the photoluminescence spectra after the coating process. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)