Optical and structural properties of ZnO nanorods grown on polyimide films

We report the direct growth of vertically well-aligned single-crystal ZnO nanorods on a polyimide film by low-temperature catalyst-free metal organic chemical vapor deposition at 450 C. The polyimide film maintained its flexibility after the nanorods were grown. The growth direction of the nanorods was along the c-axis. They exhibited excellent photoluminescence characteristics. The spectral full-width at half-maximum measured at room temperature was found to be comparable to that of ZnO nanorods grown on sapphire substrate. (C) 2008 The Japan Society of Applied Physics.