An Sb-doped p-type ZnO nanowire based random laser diode

Area of Science:

• Semiconductor Nanostructures
• Optoelectronics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a promising material for optoelectronic devices due to its wide bandgap and high exciton binding energy.
• Developing efficient p-type ZnO is crucial for fabricating ZnO-based p-n homojunctions for various electronic and photonic applications.
• Antimony (Sb) doping has been explored as a method to achieve p-type conductivity in ZnO.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate an electrically pumped random laser based on a Sb-doped ZnO nanowire/Ga-doped ZnO p-n homojunction.
• To investigate the structural, optical, and electrical properties of Sb-doped ZnO nanowires.
• To characterize the performance of the fabricated p-n homojunction random laser.

Main Methods:

• Catalyst-free growth of Sb-doped ZnO nanowires on Ga-doped ZnO thin films using chemical vapor deposition.
• Morphological characterization using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
• Dopant incorporation and electronic structure analysis using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and photoluminescence (PL) measurements.
• Electrical characterization of the p-n homojunction using current-voltage (I-V) measurements.
• Demonstration of random lasing under electrical pumping at room temperature.

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis of Sb-doped ZnO nanowires on Ga-doped ZnO thin films.
• Confirmation of Sb incorporation and shallow acceptor states in the nanowires.
• Observation of typical p-n diode characteristics with a threshold voltage of approximately 7.5 V.
• Excellent photoresponse in the ultraviolet (UV) region.
• Demonstration of room-temperature random lasing with a low threshold current of around 10 mA and an output power of 170 nW at 30 mA.

Conclusions:

• An electrically pumped Sb-doped ZnO nanowire/Ga-doped ZnO p-n homojunction random laser was successfully fabricated and demonstrated.
• The study confirms the potential of Sb-doped ZnO nanowires for creating functional p-n homojunctions for optoelectronic applications.
• This work highlights a viable pathway towards low-threshold, room-temperature random lasers using ZnO-based nanostructures.