Stable enhancement of near-band-edge emission of ZnO nanowires by hydrogen incorporation

We report on the photoluminescence properties of ZnO nanowires treated with a mild Ar plasma. The nanowires exhibited stable and strong enhancement of the near-band-edge emission and quenching of the deep level emission. The low temperature PL revealed a strong hydrogen donor-bound-exciton line in the plasma-treated samples indicating unintentional incorporation of hydrogen during the plasma treatment. To confirm the results, hydrogen was implanted into the ZnO nanowires with a low ion energy of 600 eV and different fluences. The observed result can be related to the passivation of deep centers by hydrogen. The absolute photoluminescence intensity measured by an integrating sphere showed stable and strong UV emission from the treated samples even after several weeks.