Patterned synthesis of ZnO nanorod arrays for nanoplasmonic waveguide applications

Abstract

We report the patterned synthesis of ZnO nanorod arrays of diameters between 50 nm and 130 nm and various spacings. This was achieved by patterning hole arrays in a polymethyl methacrylate layer with electron beam lithography, followed by chemical synthesis of ZnO nanorods in the patterned holes using the hydrothermal method. The fabrication of ZnO nanorod waveguide arrays is also demonstrated by embedding the nanorods in a silver film using the electroplating process. Optical transmission measurement through the nanorod waveguide arrays is performed and strong resonant transmission of visible light is observed. We have found the resonance shifts to a longer wavelength with increasing nanorod diameter. Furthermore, the resonance wavelength is independent of the nanowaveguide array period, indicating the observed resonant transmission is the effect of a single ZnO nanorod waveguide. These nanorod waveguides may be used in single-molecule imaging and sensing as a result of the nanoscopic profile of the light transmitted through the nanorods and the controlled locations of these nanoscale light sources.

Deposition Time and Annealing Effects of ZnO Seed Layer on Enhancing Vertical Alignment of Piezoelectric ZnO Nanowires

“…ZnO is both a piezoelectric and semiconducting material [1], with an energy band gap of about 3.37 eV. A broad range of applications have been demonstrated for one-dimensional (1D) ZnO nanostructures, for example as a photoconductor [2], field emitter [3], logic gate [4], and waveguide [5]. Recently, the application of ZnO nanowires in energy conversion, for example in dye sensitized solar cells [6] and gas sensors [7], has attracted increasing research interests.…”

Nanowaveguide-illuminated fluorescence correlation spectroscopy for single molecule studies

“…Resonant transmission of 490 nm light through 40-nm-diameter cylindrical zinc oxide nanowires embedded in a silver film was demonstrated, 23 and the transmission wavelengths can be tuned by varying the nanowire diameter. 25 As the strong transmission is enabled by a resonant mechanism, the transmitted light is dominated by near fields emerging from the nanowaveguide exit and is strongly localized in both lateral and longitudinal directions. The lateral confinement is set by the nanowire diameter, while the transmitted light decays exponentially in the axial direction and only extends for about 10 nm, which is on the order of typical cell membrane thickness.…”

Theoretical Investigation of the Prospect to Tailor ZnO Electronic Properties with VP Thin Films

“…Zinc oxide has been of particular interest to the researchers during the last several decades due to its chemical stability and non-toxicity along with the low cost. This material is promising for a number of potential applications such as photoelectric elements [1][2][3][4][5][6][7], lightemitting diodes (LEDs) [8][9][10][11][12], gas sensors [13][14][15], biosensors [16], photodetectors [17,18] and photocatalytic devices [19,20].…”