ZnO films and crystals on bulk silicon and SOI wafers: Formation, properties and applications

In present work the investigation of the electrochemical and chemical hydrothermal deposition processes of ZnO on silicon is presented. The influence of the electrochemical process parameters on the characteristics and morphology of the ZnO deposits is analyzed. Electrochemical deposition from non aqueous DMSO solutions on porous silicon buffer layer is also discussed. The details of the chemical hydrothermal deposition from the nitrate bath of high-quality ZnO crystals on silicon substrate are presented. It was shown that morphology and size of synthesized ZnO crystals depends on the temperature of the deposition bath. Differences between photoluminescence of electrochemically deposited ZnO thin films and hydrothermally synthesized crystals are shown. Electrochemically deposited ZnO films demonstrate defect-caused luminescence and hydrothermally grown ZnO crystals shows intensive exciton luminescence band in UV region. Hydrothermal deposition of high-quality ZnO crystals on the surface of electrochemically deposited ZnO seed layer with porous silicon buffer improves photoluminescence properties of the structure which is useful for optoelectronics applications. Possible applications of ZnO as gas sensors and photovoltaic devices are considered. Aspects of ZnO electrochemical deposition on bulk silicon and silicon-on-isolator wafers for integration purposes are discussed.