Enhanced luminescent and electrical properties of hydrogen-plasma ZnO nanorods grown on wafer-scale flexible substrates

Photoelectronic characteristics are performed in well-aligned hydrogen-plasma ZnO nanorods grown on 4 in. flexible organic substrates buffered with ZnO film. Enhancement of photoluminescence (PL) properties due to H-2 plasma treatment by a factor of 60 times for relative intensity ratio (ultraviolet emission to deep level emission) has been observed. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis reveals that the enhanced PL property is attributed to both defect passivation and modification on the surface region of ZnO nanorods due to the absorption of hydrogen ions. However, the PL spectra of H-2 plasma ZnO nanorods can be restored to the original state of ZnO nanorods by thermal annealing process. The current-voltage measurements suggest that the n-type ZnO nanorods with H-2 plasma treatment present a higher conductivity of about 5-6 orders of magnitude than the nonplasma ZnO nanorods. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.