Investigations on the growth of Zinc Oxide crystals from molten hydrous KOH solution and on the impedance analysis of Zinc Oxide crystals

Single crystals of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) were grown by flux growth technique. The conditions for the growth were optimized. The quality of the crystals has been evaluated using X-ray rocking curve studies. The grown crystals were confirmed to be of wurtzite structure using X-ray Diffraction. Surface morphology of ZnO crystals was analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy. A strong band-edge emission at 3.14 eV for ZnO crystals has been observed through Photoluminescence. The measurement of complex impedance response to small ac signals was carried out in the frequency range of 1 Hz to 1 MHz and in the temperature range of 300 to 473 K. The impedance plot shows a single semicircle in the measured frequency range. Dielectric analysis includes measuring dielectric constant as a function of frequency at different temperatures. Activation energy has been calculated using the Arrhenius plot of d.c conductivity as a function of temperature. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.