Vertical zinc oxide nanowires embedded in self-assembled photonic crystal

A dense array of vertical ZnO nanowires was grown on an Al0.3Ga0.7N/AlN distributed Bragg reflector. The ZnO nanowires were embedded in a photonic crystal formed by self-assembly of SiO2 nanospheres into a close-packed fcc structure. The photonic crystal modified the spontaneous emission spectrum of the ZnO nanowires. A calculation confirmed that a close spacing in the ZnO nanowires will lead to coupling in the wire-to-wire electromagnetic fields.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (152 K)Download as PowerPoint slideResearch highlights▶ ZnO nanowires embedded in photonic crystal by self-assembly of SiO2 nanospheres. ▶ Close-packed fcc structure modified emission spectrum of the ZnO nanowires. ▶ Nanowire acts as a self-aligned line defect in the photonic crystal. ▶ Avoiding necessity for nanometer-scale alignment of photonic crystal.