Optical properties of ZnO nanocrystals embedded in PMMA

International audienceWe report in this work the preparation of thin films of ZnO nanocrystals synthesized and dispersed in polymethylmethacrylate using a easy route and deposited in class substrate by spin coating technique. Their structural and optical properties were investigated by X-ray, absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The XRD patterns exhibit sharp peaks at 2θ corresponding to the hexagonal (wurtzite) phase diffraction planes. The optically characterization, exhibit a wide absorption band in the range of the study and a large emission band with three peaks at 481.5, 531.09 and at 671.28 nm.The crystallites radius (R) was estimated by applying the effective mass approximation model and was about 1.8 nm. From measurements of second order susceptibilities using harmonic generation technique at λ=1,064 nm  in picoseconds regime we deduced λ2eff equal to 5.95×10−10  m/V. Obtained λ2eff was four order of magnitude larger compared with ZnO bulk material (2.5 pm/V).