Formation and photoluminescent properties of embedded ZnO quantum dots in ZnO/ZnMgO multiple-quantum-well-structured nanorods

ZnO/Zn0.8Mg0.2O multiple-quantum-well (MQW) nanorods with a different number of periods and well widths were grown by catalyst-free metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy. Their optical and structural characteristics were investigated using photoluminescence, transmission electron microscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy. Unlike ZnO/ZnMgO MQW thin films, it was observed that embedded quantum dots played a more important role in the optical characteristics of ZnO/ZnMgO MQW nanorods than quantum confined Stark effect due to polarization field. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.