Photoluminescence characterization of ZnO nanowires decorated with metallic nanoparticles

The room and low temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra of as grown zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires and those coated with aluminum (Al) and nickel (Ni) nanoparticles by RF magnetron sputtering have been investigated. A strong enhancement of UV emission is seen for those samples coated with metallic nanoparticles. Noting that the presence of high energy Ar atoms and the absence of hydrogen incorporation during the metal deposition a model is proposed that can explain the experimental results.