Impact of seed layer annealing on the optoelectronic properties of double-step CBD grown n-ZnO nanowires/p-Si heterojunctions

In the current work, n-ZnO nanowires are grown by employing double-step chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique on p-Si substrate for the fabrication of n-ZnO nanowires/p-Si heterojunction diodes. The as-deposited ZnO seed layer is furnace annealed at 400 degrees C and 600 degrees C for 30 min in argon ambient for studying comparative changes of their optoelectronic properties. The systematic change of surface morphology, chemical compositions, crystallite structure, oxidation states, defect levels and photodetecting properties due to annealing of the seed layer has been investigated. Annealing the seed layer at 400 degrees C exhibits a nanosphere-like structure and provides superior nucleation sites for vertical growth of the nanowires in comparison to the as-deposited and 600 degrees C-annealed samples. The electrical, electro-optical and physical characterization results suggest the nanowires grown on 400 degrees C-annealed ZnO seeds to provide superior performance.

Automated summary

In this study, n-ZnO nanowires were grown on p-Si substrate using the CBD technique, and the influence of annealing the ZnO seed layer at different temperatures was investigated. It was found that nanowires grown on seeds annealed at 400 degrees C exhibited superior performance.