Structural and optical investigations on seed layer assisted hydrothermally grown ZnO nanorods on flat and textured substrates

In this article we report the synthesis of vertically aligned ZnO nanorods on plain as well as textured fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrate using hydrothermal method. Prior to hydrothermal method, AZO seed layer of thickness 5, 10 and 15 nm were deposited on the chosen substrates by DC magnetron sputtering. The as-grown nanorods were annealed at 450 °C for 3 h to improve the crystallinity. Morphology and structure of the nanorods was observed by field emission scanning electron microscopy. The formation of wurtzite structure was confirmed through x-ray diffraction studies. The optical mode of ZnO, E₂ (high) at 434 cm⁻¹ present in the samples was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. The seed layer assisted growth of ZnO nanorods were defect free, which is confirmed from the photoluminescence spectra, and the intensity of band to band emission is much greater than the emission from the defects at the deep level. (paper)