Synthesis of alpha-GaO(OH) nanorods and their optical properties

Here, we report the synthesis of uniform alpha-GaO(OH) nanorods on Si substrates at low temperature (200 degrees C) using solvothermal technique. alpha-GaO(OH) uniform nanorods is converted to beta-Ga2O3 after annealing at 900 degrees C under ambient atmosphere. A series of electron microscopy characterizations including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) are used to understand the growth mechanism of alpha-GaO(OH) nanorods formation. This nanostructure emits defect-related strong PL emissions at blue (492 nm) and green (522 nm) regions and the relative intensities of these emissions peaks can be modified by varying the reaction conditions. Similarly, we also observed room temperature cathodoluminescence (CL) and the uniform CL contrast of the nanorods in their CL image indicates a homogeneous defect distribution along the nanorods.