Growth of ZnO (wurtzite) whiskers using the floating zone method at high oxygen pressure

ZnO (wurtzite) whiskers were grown by the floating zone method by using ZnO powder as the starting materials at various oxygen pressures. The as-grown samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering, and their characteristic peaks show that the as-grown ZnO whiskers have an excellent hexagonal wurtzite phase and (001) orientation. The photoluminescence properties of the as-grown ZnO whiskers were measured by-using Nd: YAG laser(266 nm), and the influence of oxygen pressure on the crystal structure and defects was investigated. It is found that the presence of excessive oxygen reduced the defects in the as-grown ZnO whiskers, and the optimum oxygen pressure may be 0.3 MPa, which is favorable to the growth of ZnO whiskers.