Properties of zinc oxide at low and moderate temperatures

The properties of zinc oxide as an analogue of gallium nitride are considered in a wide temperature range and the field of its potential applications. The economic and ecologic benefits as well as radiation resistivity of ZnO in comparison with Group III nitrides are indicated. Methods of growth of films and nanostructures of high crystal perfection are proposed. In particular, a magnetron method for layer growth of films is implemented which permits to realize their high structural perfection and considerable thickness inappropriate to some other methods. It is shown that monochromatic UV light may be obtained on excitation of films by short-wave radiation and electrons. This makes it possible to use them in the sources of short-wave radiation. The effectiveness of field emission for ZnO nanostructures and films is demonstrated which opens the prospect for their use in vacuum microelectronics devices. In particular, a phototransistor based on ZnO films doped with nitrogen was fabricated the photosensitivity of which was two orders of magnitude higher than that of conventional detectors. The physical basis of creating blue, green LEDs based on zinc oxide film and its solid solutions with CdO are outlined. The importance of active research in physics, and production procedures of zinc oxide-based devices is underlined.