Fabrication and studies of short period ZnO/MgO superlattices

In this work we present the optical and structural characteristics of ZnO/MgO short period superlattices grown on c-plane ZnO. The structures were composed on 80 pairs of ZnO/MgO thin layers. Rutherford backscattering allowed to estimate the real thickness of the structures and compare them with the intended one. The thicknesses differed from growth to growth and they were on the order of 1 nm ZnO to 1-1.5 nm MgO. The thickness of MgO layers was crucial for the growth mode and resulting quality of the structures. Channeling measurement revealed that in the case of the thinnest MgO layers the growth of superlattices was coherent, as χmin of the backscattering yield for the superlattice is the same as for ZnO substrate. This very good crystalline quality was also reflected in photoluminescence (PL) measurements, which revealed PL typical of superlattice. However, the PL of some structures showed that ZnMgO alloy was formed instead of the superlattice. PL excitation spectra allowed to determine the band gap values of the ZnO/MgO structures by observation of the PL from the ZnO substrate. Reasons for it are discussed. Transmission Electron Microscope imaging allows to compare both types of structures. Acknowledgements. The work was supported by the NCN project DEC-2014/15/B/ST3/04105 and by the EU 7th FP project REGPOT-CT-2013-316014 (EAgLE).