Cathodoluminescence of single ZnO nanorod heterostructures

Abstract

Optical properties of ZnO-based single nanorods are probed by cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements at T=5 K. We observe a variation of the ZnO near band edge CL by three orders of magnitude along the nanorod axis, accompanied by a spectral blueshift of 10-30 meV. This indicates a rather poor structural quality of the nanorod bottom part, close to the substrate. ZnO/ZnMgO quantum wells grown on top of ZnO nanorods are found to exhibit much stronger confinement effects as compared to their two-dimensional counterparts, suggesting a reduced spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization effects.