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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Anisotropic chemical etching of semipolar \{10\bar {1}\bar {1}\}\mbox {/} \{10\bar {1}{+}1\} ZnO crystallographic planes: polarity versus dangling bonds
Elisa Palacios-lidónJesús Zúñiga-pérezJaime ColcheroB Pérez-garcíaPhilippe VennéguèsVicente Muñoz-sanjosésubject
Kelvin probe force microscopeMaterials scienceMechanical EngineeringDangling bondBioengineeringGeneral ChemistryEpitaxyIsotropic etchingCrystallographyElectron diffractionMechanics of MaterialsEtching (microfabrication)General Materials ScienceElectrical and Electronic EngineeringThin filmWurtzite crystal structuredescription
ZnO thin films grown by metal?organic vapor phase epitaxy along the nonpolar direction and exhibiting semipolar facets have been chemically etched with HCl. In order to get an insight into the influence of the ZnO wurtzite structure in the chemical reactivity of the material, Kelvin probe microscopy and convergent beam electron diffraction have been employed to unambiguously determine the absolute polarity of the facets, showing that facets are unstable upon etching in an HCl solution and transform into planes. In contrast, facets undergo homogeneous chemical etching perpendicular to the initial crystallographic plane. The observed etching behavior has been explained in terms of surface oxygen dangling bond density, suggesting that the macroscopic polarity plays a secondary role in the etching process.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-01-15 | Nanotechnology |