Correlation between green luminescence and morphology evolution of ZnO films

Photoluminescence and atomic force microscopy have been used to characterize ZnO thin films grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) at varied growth pressures. The surface morphology with different grain structures has strong influence on the green photoluminescence of ZnO. When large discrete islands or structureless overgrowth cover the rough surface, broad green emissions around 500 nm go beyond the ultraviolet (UV) emission band; whereas, when the surface is packed closely with small grains, only weak green emission is observed with a red-shift to 528 nm. This variation of green emissions is ascribed to changes in the charge states of oxygen vacancies, which is strongly dependent on the surface morphology and grain structures. Based on the grain boundary defect model, two possible recombination processes for the green emission are proposed and discussed in detail.