Growth Kinetic and Characterization of RF-Sputtered ZnO:Al Nanostructures

ZnO:Al nanostructures with 1% by mole of Al were prepared by radio frequency sputtering on copper and quartz substrates. The ZnO:Al nanostructures obtained exhibited needle‐ or tree‐like structures with the diameter ranging from 30 to 100 nm. It was suggested that these ZnO:Al nanostructures could be single‐crystalline hexagonal structures growing along the direction with branching along the 〈0001〉 direction. From Hall measurement, ZnO:Al nanostructures had a resistivity in the order of 10−2Ω·cm, a carrier concentration of 1020 cm−3, and a Hall mobility of 3 cm2·(V·s)−1. From X‐ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and Raman results, ZnO:Al nanostructures had direction perpendicular to the surface, whereas ZnO nanobelts had the c‐axis perpendicular to the surface. In addition, the growth mechanism of the wire and belt‐like nanostructure could be explained by kinetics of anisotropic growth via a vapor–solid mechanism. This information would be useful for further applications of ZnO:Al nanostructures.