ABSTRACTHighy-quality nano-structured ZnO samples have been synthesized by simple chemical solution and post-thermal treatment. The samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) spectra measurements. XRD patterns illustrated that there were no second phases in these ZnO samples, and the TEM results indicated that the ZnO samples are single crystalline with a hexagonal structure. Room-temperature PL spectra of ZnO thin films showed a strong UV near-band-edge (NBE) emission located at about 390 nm and a green defect-related (G) emissions, where the intensity ratio (INBE/IG) varies with the annealing temperatures. Meanwhile, the ZnO samples exhibited free exciton and very sharp exciton emissions at low temperatures. Particularly, room-temperature UV random lasing characteristic of ZnO films has been observed as well. It is shown that these nano-structured ZnO samples can exhibit random laser action depending on the growth condition. The threshold intensity for the lasing is comparable to earlier reported data. These results indicate that nano-structured ZnO samples prepared by simple techniques may be a promising material for further photonic devices. Possible lasing mechanism is discussed and further investigation to clarify the mechanism between the nano-structured ZnO samples is still underway.
