ZnO as a novel photonic material for the UV region

This paper will address the feasibility of ZnO as photonic material for the UV region. ZnO films are grown by plasma-assisted MBE. Detailed XRD studies suggest the growth of structurally different epilayers on Al2O3 (0001) and MgAl2O4 (111) substrates. PL shows dominant excitonic emission and very low deep level emission which is indicative of low density of defects or impurities. Stimulated emission based on the excitonic mechanism has been achieved up to 550 K. It is concluded that ZnO can be used for exciton-based photonic device applications owing to the high exciton binding energy. Optically pumped lasing has been demonstrated at room temperature.