Fe solubility, growth mechanism, and luminescence of Fe doped ZnO nanowires and nanorods grown by evaporation-deposition

Fe doped ZnO nanowires, nanorods, and urchin-like nanostructures have been grown using an evaporation-deposition method with compacted mixtures of ZnS and Fe2O3 powders, with different Fe contents as precursors. Treatments at 950 degrees C under argon flow lead to the growth of iron doped nanowires, nanorods, and other nanostructures on the surface of the compacted sample. The incorporation of iron into the nanostructures has been investigated via energy dispersive spectroscopy as well as by cathodoluminescence in a scanning electron microscope and photoluminescence in an optical microscope. The iron content in the structures is limited to the range of 0.5-0.7 at.% and does not depend on the content in the precursor. Bright and dark field imaging and twist contour analysis via transmission electron microscopy support the possibility of a dislocation driven growth of the nanowires. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3609073]