Fabrication of periodic microstructures for improving light-extraction efficiencies of light-emitting ZnO/Si devices

Abstract

This article presents the first demonstration of integrating a simple one-dimensional (1-D) periodic microstructure and a light-emitting zinc oxide (ZnO) thin film on a silicon (Si) substrate using a simple process with two-beam interference lithography and sputtering. A 1-D microstructure composed of ZnO was obtained using our fabrication process without using a photomask and dry etching. The intensity of a photoluminescence (PL) peak observed from a sample with the periodic microstructure was approximately 5.3 times stronger than that without it. The light-extraction efficiency from the ZnO thin film seems to be improved by the integration of the 1-D periodic microstructure. Keywords: ZnO/Si, Luminescence, Periodic microstructure, Light-extraction efficiency, Sputtering, Two-beam interference lithography