Using the hydrothermal method to grow p-type ZnO nanowires on Al-doped ZnO thin film to fabricate a homojunction diode.

In this study, the hydrothermal method is used to grow phosphorus-doped ZnO nanowires on Si/SiO2 substrates deposited with Al-doped ZnO thin film. This structure forms a homogeneous p-n junction. In this study, we are the pioneers to use ammonium hypophosphite (NH4H2PO2) as a source of phosphorus to prepare the precursor solution. Ammonium hypophosphite of different concentration levels is used to observe its effects on the growth of nanowires. The results show that the precursor solution prepared from ammonium hypophosphite can produce good crystalline ZnO nanowires while there is no linear relationship between the amounts and concentration levels of phosphorus doped into the nanowires. Whether the phosphorus-doped ZnO nanowires have the characteristics of a p-type semiconductor is indirectly verified by measuring whether the p-n junction made up of Al-doped ZnO thin film and phosphorus-doped ZnO nanowires shows rectifying behavior. I-V measurements are made on the specimens. The results show good rectifying behavior, proving that the phosphorus-doped ZnO nanowires and Al-doped AZO films have p-type and n-type semiconductor properties, constituting a good p-n junction. This result also proves that ammonium hypophosphite is a better source of phosphorus in the hydrothermal method to synthesize phosphorus-doped ZnO nanowires.