Crystallinity, stoichiometry, and luminescence of high quality ZnO nanoclusters

Quasiperfect ZnO nanoclusters (similar to 6 nm in diameter) are synthesized in non steady state by an original process (the low energy cluster beam deposition, LECBD). The drastic cooling rate (10(10) K/s) of this cluster source induces an improvement of nanometric ZnO cluster quality as compared to more standard conditions of growth. The enhancement of the particle quality is justified by kinetics growth argument associated with X-ray photoelectron and Auger spectroscopies. Finally, we correlate the structural analysis to in situ cathodoluminescence spectroscopy. The study confirms the importance of the crystallinity more than the stoichiometry itself on the luminescence of the nanoparticles.