Exceptionally Long Exciton Photoluminescence Lifetime in ZnO Tetrapods

The fabrication of ZnO tetrapods of an exceptional optical quality, based on a photoluminescence (PL) lifetime in the range of tens of nanoseconds and the absence of defect emission, is found to be possible in a very narrow temperature range only. A reduction in the PL lifetime and an increase in the defect emission are observed for both higher and lower growth temperatures. The obtained PL lifetime for the optimal growth temperature is an order of magnitude higher than the best results achieved in epilayers and single crystals. Temperature dependence of the PL lifetime of high-quality tetrapod samples indicates that the dominant recombination processes are radiative.