SpringerLink
Log in

Fabrication of two-dimensional zinc oxide nanorod patterns and their application for optical diffraction grating effect

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Materials Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We present a novel method for fabricating two-dimensional arrays of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod patterns. Vertically aligned ZnO nanostructure patterns were synthesized by hydrothermal growth on a two-dimensional seed layer pattern formed by atomic layer deposition. Various characteristics of ZnO seed films were experimentally studied in order to optimize the fabrication of ZnO rod structures in terms of their uniformity and vertical alignment on the two-dimensional-patterned surfaces. Using these ZnO structures as hierarchical electrodes, we demonstrate that localized electric fields in the proximity of ZnO rod patterns can be used for periodic alignment of liquid crystal molecules, resulting in the optical diffraction grating effect. Process conditions for creating ZnO rod patterns that best enhance diffraction efficiency are further discussed. The current study is the first demonstration of hierarchical ZnO rod patterns as electrodes for optical modulation of a medium. We believe this will be beneficial for future optical applications.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (Spain)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Park WI, Yi G-C (2004) Electroluminescence in n-ZnO nanorod arryas vertically grown on p-GaN. Adv Mater 16:87–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Law M, Greene Le, Johnson JC, Saykally R, Yang P (2005) Nanowire dye-sensitized solar cells. Nat Mater 4:455–459

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Weintraub B, Wei Y, Wang ZL (2009) Optical fiber/nanowire hybrid structures for efficient three-dimensional dye-sensitized solar cells. Angew Chem Int Ed 48:8981–8985

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Wei Y, Xu C, Xu S, Li C, Wu W, Wang ZL (2010) Planar waveguide-nanowire integrated three-dimensional dye-sensitized solar cells. Nano Lett 10:2092–2096

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Wang W, Zeng B, Yang J et al (2006) Aligned ultralong ZnO nanobelts and their enhanced field emission. Adv Mater 18:3275–3278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Zhu YW, Zhang HZ, Sun XC et al (2003) Efficient field emission from ZnO nanoneedle arrays. Appl Phys Lett 83:144–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Kim SI, Choi JH, Baik CW et al (2012) Electrically driven diffraction grating designed for visible-wavelength region. IEEE Electr Device Lett 34:84–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Wang LL, Gong SD, Wu LH, Li XJ (2013) Field emission from zinc oxide nanorod bundles grown on silicon nanoporous pillar array. Appl Surf Sci 270:124–127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Kim UJ, Lee IH, Bae JJ et al (2011) Graphene/Carbon nanotube hybrid-based transparent 2D optical array. Adv Mater 23:3809–3814

    Google Scholar 

  10. Huang MH, Mao S, Feick H et al (2001) Room-temperature ultraviolet nanowire nanolasers. Science 292:1897–1899

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Choi M-Y, Choi D, ** M-J et al (2009) Mechanically powered transparent flexible charge-generating nanodevices with piezoelectric ZnO nanorods. Adv Mater 21:2185–2189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Yang R, Qin Y, Dai L, Wang ZL (2009) Power generation with laterally packaged piezoelectric fine wires. Nat Nanotechnol 4:34–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Palmer C (2002) Diffraction Grating Handbook, 5th edn. Thermo RGL, New York

    Google Scholar 

  14. Won K, Palani A, Butt H et al (2013) Electrically switchable diffraction grating using a hybrid liquid crystal and carbon nanotube-based nanophotonic device. Adv Opt Mater 1:368–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Li C, Fang G, Su F, Li G, Wu X, Zhao X (2006) Synthesis and photoluminescence properties of vertically aligned ZnO nanorod nanowall junction arrays on a ZnO-coated silicon substrate. Nanotechnology 17:3740

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Umar A, Karunagaran B, Suh E-K, Hahn YB (2006) Structural and optical properties of single-crystalline ZnO nanorods grown on silicon by thermal evaporation. Nanotechnology 17:4072

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Breedon M, Rahmani MB, Keshmiri S-H, Wlodarski W, Kalantar-zadeh K (2010) Aqueous synthesis of interconnected ZnO nanowires using spray pyrolysis deposited seed layers. Mater Lett 64:291–294

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Zoolfakar AS, Kadir RA, Rani RA et al (2013) Engineering electrodeposited ZnO films and their memristive switching performance. Phys Chem Chem Phys 15:10376–10384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Berger H, Bradaczek H-A, Bradaczek H (2008) Omega-Scan: an X-ray tool for the characterization of crystal properties. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 19:S351–S355

    Google Scholar 

  20. Zhao XJ, Ji L, Zhang C et al (2006) Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 thin films on MgO and Sapphire substrates. J Korean Phys Soc 48:1143–1146

    Google Scholar 

  21. Min Y-S, An CJ, Kim SK, Song J, Hwang CS (2010) Growth and characterization of conducting ZnO thin films by atomic layer deposition. Bull Korean Chem Soc 31:2503–2508

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Guo M, PengDiao Cai S (2005) Hydrothermal growth of well-aligned ZnO nanorod arrays: dependence of morphology and alignment ordering upon preparing conditions. J Solid State Chem 178:1864–1873

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Ashfold MNR, Doherty RP, Ndifor-Angwafor NG, Riley DJ, Sun Y (2007) The kinetics of the hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanostructures. Thin Solid Films 515:8679–8683

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Rachamim AR, Dalal SH, Pfaendler SM-L, Swanwick ME, Flewitt AJ, Milne WI (2009) Quantitative investigation of the factors affecting the hydrothermal growth of zinc oxide nanowires. Mater Res Soc Symp Proc 1174:08–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Polsongkrama D, Chamninok P, Pukird S et al (2008) Effect of synthesis conditions on the growth of ZnO nanorods via hydrothermal method. Phys B 403:3713–3717

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Dem’yanets LN, Kostomarov DV, Kuz’mina IP (2002) Chemistry and kinetics of ZnO growth from alkaline hydrothermal solutions. Inorg Mater 38:124–131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Buka A, Eber N, Pesch W, Kramer L (2007) Isotropic and anisotropic electroconvection. Phys Rep 448:115–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Pesch W, Kramer L (2006) Role of initial conditions in the decay of spatially periodic patterns in a nematic liquid crystal. Phys Rev E 73:061705

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Toth-Katona T, N. Eber AB (2008) Flexoelectricity and competition of time scale in electroconvection. Phys Rev E 78:036306

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Gachon University research fund of 2014 (Grant No. GCU-2014-0123).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nano Electronics Laboratory, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, 443-803, Republic of Korea

    Un Jeong Kim, Sun Il Kim & Sungwoo Hwang

  2. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Gachon University, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, 461-701, Republic of Korea

    Jaehyun Hur

Authors
  1. Un Jeong Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sun Il Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sungwoo Hwang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jaehyun Hur
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jaehyun Hur.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 1330 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kim, U.J., Kim, S.I., Hwang, S. et al. Fabrication of two-dimensional zinc oxide nanorod patterns and their application for optical diffraction grating effect. J Mater Sci 49, 8328–8334 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-014-8541-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-014-8541-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation