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Title: ZnO Luminescence and scintillation studied via photoexcitation, X-ray excitation and gamma-induced positron spectroscopy

Journal Article · · Scientific Reports
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/srep31238· OSTI ID:1624847
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [5];  [8];  [9];  [10]
  1. Bowling Green State Univ., OH (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
  2. Bowling Green State Univ., OH (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
  3. Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden (Germany). Institute of Radiation Physics
  4. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Materials Science and Technology Division
  5. Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden (Germany). Institute of Radiation Physics
  6. Bowling Green State Univ., OH (United States). Center for Photochemical Sciences
  7. Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden (Germany). Institute of Radiation Physics; Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden,(Germany)
  8. Martin-Luther University, Halle (Germany). Dept. of Physics
  9. Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden (Germany). Institute of Radiation Physics; Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden,(Germany)
  10. Bowling Green State Univ., OH (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy; Bowling Green State Univ., OH (United States). Center for Photochemical Sciences
+ Show Author Affiliations

The luminescence and scintillation properties of ZnO single crystals were studied by photoluminescence and X-ray-induced luminescence (XRIL) techniques. XRIL allowed a direct comparison to be made between the near-band emission (NBE) and trap emissions providing insight into the carrier recombination efficiency in the ZnO crystals. It also provided bulk luminescence measurements that were not affected by surface states. The origin of a green emission, the dominant trap emission in ZnO, was then investigated by gamma-induced positron spectroscopy (GIPS) - a unique defect spectroscopy method that enables positron lifetime measurements to be made for a sample without contributions from positron annihilation in the source materials. The measurements showed a single positron decay curve with a 175 ps lifetime component that was attributed to Zn vacancies passivated by hydrogen. Both oxygen vacancies and hydrogen-decorated Zn vacancies were suggested to contribute to the green emission. By combining scintillation measurements with XRIL, the fast scintillation in ZnO crystals was found to be strongly correlated with the ratio between the defect luminescence and NBE. This study reports the first application of GIPS to semiconductors and it reveals the great benefits of the XRIL technique for the study of emission and scintillation properties of materials.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1624847
Journal Information:
Scientific Reports, Vol. 6, Issue 1; ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (10)

The Bright X‐Ray Stimulated Luminescence of HfO 2 Nanocrystals Activated by Ti Ions journal November 2019
Multifunctional Mesoporous ZnO@BMMs with Strong Fluorescence and High Loading Capacity for Controlled Drug Delivery: Multifunctional Mesoporous ZnO@BMMs with Strong Fluorescence and High Loading Capacity for Controlled Drug Delivery journal January 2019
Combustion Synthesis of ZnO/ZnS Nanocomposite Phosphors journal September 2019
Enhanced Antifungal Activity of Pure and Iron-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles Prepared in the Absence of Reducing Agents journal November 2019
V-I characteristics of X-ray conductivity and UV photoconductivity of ZnSe crystals journal February 2018
Efficient frequency conversion by combined photonic–plasmonic mode coupling journal March 2018
Positron annihilation lifetime and Doppler broadening spectroscopy at the ELBE facility
  • Wagner, Andreas; Butterling, Maik; Liedke, Maciej O.
  • INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON PHYSICS WITH POSITRONS AT JEFFERSON LAB, AIP Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5040215
conference January 2018
Synthesis of zinc oxide and zinc oxide/zinc sulfide nano composite via solution combustion route journal December 2019
The Dependencies of X-Ray Conductivity and X-Ray Luminescence of ZnSe Crystals on the Excitation Intensity journal May 2018
Verstärkung nichtlinearer optischer Effekte durch plasmonische Nanoantennen text January 2018

Figures / Tables (8)

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Table 1(p. 6)table Table 1
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