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In this study, the Mg doping effects on the nanostructural dependence of photoluminescence and the photosensing properties in Zn1−xMgxO (x = 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05) nanorod arrays were systematically examined. The vertical-aligned nanorod arrays were separately grown on ZnO-seeded n-Si substrates via a low-temperature hydrothermal process. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that all Zn1−xMgxO nanorod arrays exhibited the same preferentially c-oriented wurtzite structure. Images of all the Zn1−xMgxO nanorod arrays provided by field emission scanning electron microscope showed that both the length and diameter of the Zn1−xMgxO nanorod arrays increased with increasing Mg doping concentration. Also, an enhanced blue-shifted ultraviolet (UV) emission and a reduced visible emission were observed from the photoluminescence spectra of the Zn1−xMgxO nanorod arrays. The former indicated the decrease of defects and the latter indicated the enhancement of the crystallinity and the increase in optical bandgap. Current–voltage curves were separately measured in the dark and under UV illumination. Finally, the mechanism of the Mg doping effects on the corresponding defects, bandgap, and UV photosensing characteristics of the Zn1−xMgxO nanorod arrays was investigated in detail.

Praseodymium-substituted bismuth titanate (Bi 3.2 Pr 0.8 Ti 3 O 12 , BPTO) thin films were successfully deposited on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO 2 /Si(100) substrates by spin coating with a sol-gel technology and rapid thermal annealing. The effects of annealing atmospheres (vacuum, ambient atmosphere and oxygen) on the growth and properties of thin films were investigated. The results show that the intensity of the (117) diffraction peak of Bi 3.2 Pr 0.8 Ti 3 O 12 film annealed in oxygen is stronger than those annealed in ambient atmosphere and vacuum. The XRD spectra demonstrated that a highly (117) orientation could be obtained when the Bi 3.2 Pr 0.8 Ti 3 O 12 thin film was annealed in an oxygen-sufficient environment. The BPTO thin films annealed in oxygen atmosphere exhibits the maximum remanent polarization (2P r ) of 49 μC/cm 2 and a low coercive field (2E c ) of 130 kV/cm, fatigue free characteristics up to ≥10 11 switching cycles. These results indicate that the BPTO thin film is useful in nonvolatile ferroelectric random access memory applications.

La -doped and Cu -doped ZnO nanowires have been prepared to compare the substitution effect on the microstructural and magnetic properties. The XRD patterns of both compositions with single diffraction peak (002) show the same wurtzite hexagonal structure. The growth rate of the ZnO nanowires were enhanced by Cu doping, which were different from the suppression of growth rate by La doping. Room temperature ferromagnetism is observed for all ZnO , Cu -doped ZnO and La -doped ZnO nanowires. The saturation magnetizations are 0.102, 0.232 and 0.04 emu/g for ZnO , Cu -doped ZnO and La -doped ZnO nanowires, respectively. The results showed that the ferromagnetism is restrained by Cu doping, but enhanced by the La doping.

One-dimensional pure zinc oxide (ZnO) and Y-doped ZnO nanorod arrays have been successfully fabricated on the silicon substrate for comparison by a simple hydrothermal process at the low temperature of 90°C. The Y-doped nanorods exhibit the same c-axis-oriented wurtzite hexagonal structure as pure ZnO nanorods. Based on the results of photoluminescence, an enhancement of defect-induced green-yellow visible emission is observed for the Y-doped ZnO nanorods. The decrease of E2(H) mode intensity and increase of E1(LO) mode intensity examined by the Raman spectrum also indicate the increase of defects for the Y-doped ZnO nanorods. As compared to pure ZnO nanorods, Y-doped ZnO nanorods show a remarked increase of saturation magnetization. The combination of visible photoluminescence and ferromagnetism measurement results indicates the increase of oxygen defects due to the Y doping which plays a crucial role in the optical and magnetic performances of the ZnO nanorods.