In this study, a Sb-doped ZnO microrod array was successfully grown on an Al-doped n-type ZnO thin film by electrodeposition. Strong violet luminescence, originated from free electron-to-acceptor level transitions, was identified by temperature-dependent learn more photoluminescence measurements. This acceptor-related transition was attributed to substitution of Sb dopants for Zn sites, instead of O sites, to form a complex with two Zn vacancies (VZn), the SbZn-2VZn complex. This

SbZn-2VZn complex has a lower formation energy and acts as a shallow acceptor which can induce a strong violet luminescence. ZnO homojunction diode made with Sb-doped ZnO and Al-doped ZnO exhibits the expected p-n diode characteristic on the current-voltage (I-V) measurement and confirms that the Sb-doped ZnO microrod array is p-type and can be

fabricated successfully using the electrodeposition method. Finally, the photoresponse of the ZnO p-n diode operating at an increased PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor reverse bias shows a good optical response and high photocurrent gain, indicating that it can be a good candidate for use as an ultraviolet photodetector. Methods A Sb-doped ZnO microrod array was electrodeposited on a patterned Al-doped n-type ZnO thin film at 98°C for 1 h [15]. The array pattern was fabricated on the ZnO thin film by optical lithography method. The reaction solution for the growth of the microrod

array was a mixture of 0.05 M zinc nitrate (Zn(NO3)2·6H2O), 0.05 M hexamethylenetetramine (C6H12N4), and 0.05 g antimony acetate (Sb(CH3COO)3). The conditions for electrodeposition were optimized at I = 10 mA and V = 3.1 V. Ohmic contacts on the n-type ZnO thin film and on the Sb-doped ZnO microrod array were fabricated by depositing aluminum and gold antimony (AuSb), respectively, for the electrical characterization. The surface morphology and the crystalline structure of the sample were examined using a 5-FU scanning electron microscope (SEM; HITACHI S-2400, Chiyoda-ku, Japan) and by X-ray diffraction (XRD; PANalytical X’Pert PRO, Almelo, The Netherlands), respectively. The chemical and elemental identification on the surface was carried out by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A He-Cd laser at the wavelength of 325 nm was used for the photoluminescence (PL) measurement. Keithley 236 and 4200-SCS (Cleveland, OH, USA) were used for the characteristic I-V measurement. To study the photoresponse of our ZnO homojunction device, we employed a xenon arc lamp (LHX150 08002, Glasgow, UK) as a variable-wavelength light source. The monochromatic light was selected using an iHR-320 monochromator (HORIBA Scientific, Albany, NY, USA) and irradiated on the sample. The beam line of 365 nm was selected in the photocurrent measurement.