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Abstract: We report on the electrochemical growth of n-type ZnO NWs on thin films of atomic layer deposited ZnO on polystyrene spheres. The development of crystal agglomerates during ALD is shown to control the diameter of nanowires obtained by electrochemical deposition. Increasing the thickness of the ALD coating from 20nm to 100nm increases the crystallite size from about 10nm to 22nm on the polystyrene spheres as well as the maximum agglomerate size from 80nm to 190nm of the coatings. Subsequent electrochemical deposition with identical parameters showed that the resulting ZnO nanowire diameter is almost 1:1 related to the agglomerate dimensions of the ALD coating. This effect offers another degree of freedom in synthesizing transparent, high surface, tailored urchin-inspired building blocks having applications in solar cells and low wetting coatings. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Crystalline KY(WO4)2 thin layers doped with different rare-earth ions were grown on b-oriented, undoped KY(WO4)2 substrates by liquid-phase epitaxy employing a low-temperature flux. The ternary chloride mixture of NaCl, KCl, and CsCl with a melting point of 480°C was used as a solvent. X-ray diffraction, differential-interference contrast microscopy, and profilometry confirmed that the layers were oriented in [0 1 0] direction with a thickness of 5–10 μm. Tb3+, Dy3+, or Yb3+ ions were incorporated into the KY(WO4)2 host, and their distribution coefficients were estimated by electron-probe microanalysis. The layers were crack-free and solvent inclusions could not be found, although the presence of secondary phases in the solution has been observed. The high optical quality of the layers was confirmed by the demonstration of passive and active planar waveguiding. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We have studied the morphology, the structure and the chemical composition of micro- and nano-structures grown by electron beam-induced deposition of [RhCl(PF3)2]2. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the deposits are made up of face centered cubic crystalline Rh grains (4–6 nm in diameter) immersed in an amorphous matrix. Auger electron spectroscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy showed that a carbon contamination layer is present at the deposit surface, while the bulk material contains the elements Rh (60 at%), P (20 at%), Cl, O and N (remaining 20 at%). The structure, the chemical composition of the deposits and the size of the Rh nano-crystals are independent of the deposit shape and of the deposition parameters, within the range explored in this work. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]