Local homoepitaxial growth and optical properties of ZnO polar nanoleaves

Using a mixture of ZnO and Te powders as the source material, ZnO nanoleaves with high yield and uniform morphology are fabricated by thermal evaporation. Each nanoleaf is constructed with a nanowire and a nanodisc on one side of the nanowire near the top. The polygonal nanodisc is in symmetric distribution in relation to the nanowires and has polar planes +/-(0001) as surfaces. A local homoepitaxial growth mechanism of ZnO polar nanodiscs induced by Te is proposed. With thin nanodiscs, the ZnO nanoleaves could be used in nanolasers, sensors, and photoelectronic nanodevices. Room-temperature photoluminescence result implies good crystalline quality of the ZnO nanoleaves.