Temperature-dependent photoluminescence of nanocrystalline ZnO thin films grown on Si (100) substrates by the sol–gel process

Temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) of nanocrystalline ZnO thin films grown on Si (100) substrates using a sol–gel method has been investigated. From the PL spectra measured in 83–293 K, the excitonic emissions and their multiple-phonon replicas have been observed in ultraviolet region, and their origins have been identified. Moreover, it has been found that the temperature dependence of the free exciton peak position can be described by standard expression, and the thermal activation energy extracted from the temperature dependence of the free exciton peak intensity is about 101 meV.