Blue-shifted and picosecond amplified UV emission from aqueous chemical grown ZnO microrods

• Uniform and well-faceted ZnO microrods are fabricated by the ACG method.
• The ZnO microrods have only a single narrow UV emission with picosecond lifetimes.
• The grown ZnO microrods also exhibit room-temperature ASE.
• The microrods’ ASE is characterized by blue-shifted peaks and shortened lifetimes.
• The results indicate that the ZnO microrods have good structural and optical quality making them suitable for future optoelectronic applications.

Room-temperature amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) has been observed from aqueous chemical grown zinc oxide (ZnO) microrods. The well-faceted microrods have only a single narrow ultraviolet (UV) emission at 390 nm (3.2 eV) with average lifetimes as fast as 85–100 ps. The characteristic ASE also exhibits blue-shifted peaks and shortened lifetimes. At present, the peak shifting and the lifetime shortening are attributed to the band filling and photo-induced screening effects and to the nonradiative relaxation process, respectively. Results indicate that the ZnO microrods have good structural and optical quality which leads to their suitable use for optoelectronic applications.