Patterned fabrication of single ZnO nanorods and measurement of their optoelectrical characteristics.

This work develops a new process of growing well ordered ZnO nanorods in large scale on the Si(111) substrate. Nanosphere lithography (NSL) was adopted to produce a matrix in an extensive area. A pattern with a controlled amount of gold was formed through the nanosphere mask. The ZnO nanorods were then grown on a patterned Au/Si substrate through a metal catalytic vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) process. The structure and characteristics of ZnO nanorods were investigated by XRD, SEM and TEM. The hexagonal nanorods were dominated at (0002) direction with a lattice constant of approximately 5.03 A. The optoelectronical properties were studied by PL emission spectroscopy. A strong UV emission at 380 nm was observed. The band gap of the single ZnO nanorod was directly measured to be 3.36 eV using a conductive AFM. The superiority of patterned ZnO nanorods indicates their great potential in field emission display arrays.