Synthesis and Characterization of Gd Doped ZnO Nanocrystals

Rare earth doped semiconductor nanocrystals are of great interest due to their applications in optoelectronic and display devices. By introducing the rare earth ions into semiconductor crystal at nano scale, the luminescence of semiconductor host crystal gets affected due to the interaction between these dopant ions and host crystal. Nanocrystals of zinc oxide with gadolinium doping were prepared by sol-gel method. Systematic structural studies on Gd3+ ion doped ZnO nanocrystals were carried out using X-ray diffraction, high resolution transmission electron microscopy. Steady state photoluminescence spectroscopy was also carried out to understand the excited state energy redistribution between the band to band transitions and the defect states (surface states) transitions. It was observed that by incorporation of Gd3+ ion into ZnO, the UV and visible emission of ZnO gets affected. Since luminescence of the host can be modified by incorporation of Gd3+ ions, display devices of required luminescence can be developed