Sol-Gel Synthesis of ZnO Nanorods for MEMS

A liquid-phase method to grow strictly ordered arrays of ZnO nanorods is introduced. Silicon substrates with a sol-gel pre-deposited seed layer of ZnO were used to grow nanostructures of zinc oxide. The types, the content of precursors and the technological parameters of sol-gel synthesis have been determined and their effects on the morphology and crystallinity of the investigated materials were evaluated. We demonstrated that an appropriate choice of parameters of the hydrothermal synthesis is necessary to ensure a directional change in the properties and morphology of the resulting materials. This is a pre-requisite for the fabrication of MEMS.