Growth and electrical properties of zinc oxide nanowires

Zinc oxide nanowires were grown on molybdenum grids with a simple chemical vapor transport and deposition method through thermal evaporation of zinc powder at a temperature of 600 degrees C. These nanowires are 20-50 nm in diameter and over ten microns in length. High resolution transmission electron microscopy studies show that the as-grown nanowires are single crystal of wurtzite structure and grow along the (0001) direction. The growth process was explained with a vapor-solid mechanism under zinc-rich conditions. We further patterned electrodes on individual ZnO nanowires by e-beam lithography and studied thier electrical properties.