Fabrication of ZnO nanorod-based p–n heterojunction on SiC substrate

Due to the special properties of ZnO and numerous envisaged areas of application of its nanostructures, much effort has been made in fabricating ZnO nanostructures. The next challenging step seems to be the processing and hence realisation of devices based on the nanostructure. We have grown ZnO nanorods of high crystal quality and good optical properties on 6H-SiC and 4H-SiC substrates. Considering the p–n junction as a basis for electronic and optoelectronic devices, we realised ohmic contacts on p-type 4H-SiC and fabricated ZnO nanorod-based p–n heterojunctions with the p-type 4H-SiC serving as the hole-conducting region. Nanorod-based p–n diodes with a turn-on voltage of 1.8 V and relatively large reverse-bias breakdown voltage were obtained, thus suggesting both the possibility of ZnO nanorod-based ultraviolet photodetectors and light-emitting devices, and the miniaturisation of device scales.