Photoluminescence properties of a single ZnO microstructure for potential scintillator applications

• ZnO microstructures are successfully prepared by the carbothermal reduction route.
• A single free-standing ZnO microribbon exhibits UV and visible emissions which behave differently along the microstructure.
• The ZnO microstructures are characterized with fast UV emission lifetimes of 40 and 50 ps compared to 440 ps and 2 ns for a bulk crystal.
• The ZnO microstructures have promising potentials as future scintillators for XFEL and other related applications.

Photoluminescence properties of ZnO microstructures are investigated for potential scintillator applications. Samples are successfully prepared by the carbothermal reduction method. A single free-standing ZnO microribbon exhibits UV and visible emissions which behave differently along the microstructure. Fast UV emission lifetimes of 40 and 150 ps have been observed for the microstructures compared to 440 ps and 2 ns for a bulk crystal. With waveguided emissions and fast lifetimes, the ZnO microstructures have promising applications as future XFEL scintillators.