Hydrogen implantation of ZnO substrates and thin films

With renewed interest in ZnO for short wavelength light emission applications, further understanding of the effects of hydrogen on its optical properties is needed. Several studies of the low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) of bulk ZnO have reported the observation of multiple neutral-donor-bound-exciton peaks, however, the identity of specific shallow donors remains unclear. Whereas hydrogen has been shown to contribute to the unintentional n-type conductivity observed for vapor-phase-grown material, research on its participation in the bound-exciton PL of ZnO is on-going. We are currently investigating the optical and electronic properties of ion-implanted hydrogen in bulk and thin film single crystal ZnO. Our characterization methods include low-temperature and temperature-dependent PL, infrared absorption, electron spin resonance and Hall measurements.

Funding provided by:

NSF and OCAST

Collaborators:

M. Nastasi and J. -K. Lee, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Relevant publication:

Hamby, D.W., Lucca, D.A., Lee, J.-K., Nastasi, M., Kang, H.S. and Lee, S.Y., "Effects of Hydrogen Implantation on the Photoluminescence and Carrier Mobility of ZnO Films", Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B, 249, (2006) 196-199.

Hamby, D.W., Lucca, D.A., Lee, J.-K. and Nastasi, M., "Photoluminescence of He-implanted ZnO", Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B, 242, (2006) 636-666.

Lee, J. -K., Nastasi, M, Hamby, D. W. and Lucca, D. A., "Optical Observation of Donor-Bound Excitons in Hydrogen-Implanted ZnO", Applied Physics Letters, 86, (2005) 171102.