Nitrogen incorporation in ZnO nanowires using N2O dopant gas

Aligned nitrogen-doped ZnO nanowires were grown by chemical vapour deposition using Au catalyst. N incorporation was achieved through the introduction of N2O gas as a dopant source and confirmed by Raman spectroscopy, which reveals additional N-related modes at 275, 580 and 642 cm−1. The nanowires have a hexagonal faceted shape and are predominantly grown along the [001] direction. The nanowire morphology is unaffected by N incorporation. The luminescence peak at 3.24 eV was monitored as a function of N2O content. Intensity analysis of this band reveals that it can be partly attributed to donor–acceptor pair (DAP) emission originating from the N doping.

► Nitrogen-doped ZnO nanowires were grown by chemical vapour deposition.
► Nitrogen incorporation was achieved through introduction of N2O during growth.
► Raman spectroscopy reveals N-related vibrational modes.
► The intensity of 3.24 eV luminescence peak increases with increasing N2O content.
► The enhancement is attributed to N-related acceptor state.