Synthesis and photoluminescence investigation of ZnO:P nanorods on an InP substrate by pulsed laser deposition

ZnO nanorods were synthesized on an InP substrate by pulsed laser deposition technique at 400 and 500 °C. Low-temperature photoluminescence measurements were conducted to investigate the optical properties of the ZnO nanorods. It revealed that phosphorus-doped ZnO (ZnO:P) nanorods were formed by the diffusion of phosphorus from the InP substrate at 500 °C, and four acceptor-bound exciton-related emission peaks emerged in the PL spectrum of ZnO:P nanorods. The effect of phosphorus-doping on the optical characteristics of the ZnO nanorods was investigated by excitation intensity and temperature dependent PL spectra. The binding energies of the acceptor were calculated to be ∼125 meV.