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Journal of Materials Science, 2015, Volume 50, Issue 1, pp 28-33.
O. Chichvarina(1), T. S. Herng (1), K. C. Phuah (1), W. Xiao (1), N. Bao (1), Y. P. Feng (2), J. Ding (1)
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, 7 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore, 117574, Singapore and
- Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, 2 Science Drive 3, Singapore, 117542, Singapore.
Abstract
The development of technologically important material zinc-blende ZnO has been hindered due to the difficulties inherent in obtaining a stable zinc-blende phase. In this paper, we fabricate the stable zinc-blende ZnO on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate through phase transformation from the originally wurtzite to the zinc-blende phase. X-ray diffraction data in combination with high-resolution TEM measurements provide the direct evidence on the formation of the well-defined zinc-blende structure with predominated (202) orientation. According to the experimental results and first principles calculations, the incorporation of titanium dopants into ZnO system favors the formation of the zinc-blende structure. The platinum (Pt) surface stabilizes the ZnO zinc-blende structure at the interface (thin film) due to its low ZnO/Pt interface energy, preventing the decomposition in ZnO wurtzite and Zn2TiO4. Additionally, magnetic and optical properties of the ZnO zinc-blende thin films are investigated. Unexpectedly, the film is found to exhibit magnetization of ~75 emu/cm3, while its ZnO wurtzite counterpart is non-ferromagnetic.
