Point defects in ZnO crystals grown by various techniques

In the present work point defects in ZnO crystals were characterized by positron lifetime spectroscopy combined with back-diffusion measurement of slow positrons. Defects in ZnO crystals grown by various techniques were compared. Hydrothermally grown ZnO crystals contain defects characterized by lifetime of ≈181 ps. These defects were attributed to Zn vacancies associated with hydrogen. ZnO crystals prepared by other techniques (Bridgman, pressurized melt growth, and seeded chemical vapour transport) exhibit shorter lifetime of ≈165 ps. Positron back-diffusion studies revealed that hydrothermally grown ZnO crystals contain higher density of defects than the crystals grown by other techniques. The lowest concentration of defects was detected in the crystal grown by seeded chemical vapor transport.