Wurtzite ZnO (001) films grown on cubic MgO (001) with bulk-like opto-electronic properties

We report the growth of ZnO (001) wurtzite thin films with bulk-like opto-electronic properties on MgO (001) cubic substrates using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. In situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction patterns and ex situ high resolution transmission electron microscopy images indicate that the structure transition from the cubic MgO substrates to the hexagonal films involves 6 ZnO variants that have the same structure but different orientations. This work demonstrates the possibility of integrating wurtzite ZnO films and functional cubic substrates while maintaining their bulk-like properties. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3647846]