Effects of 2D SiO2 Nanorod-Modified Substrates on the Morphology and CL Properties of ZnS:Mn Particle-like Thin-Film Phosphors

Abstract

To improve light extraction from ZnS:Mn thin-film phosphors, we have studied the effects of introducing various two-dimensional (2D) nanorod arrays onto glass substrates. We determined the effects of 2D nanorods on the morphology and cathodoluminescence (CL) emissions of ZnS:Mn thin films with a view to optimizing the lattice constant of the array and the diameters of the nanorods. Particle-like thin-film phosphors were obtained from the sputtering growth of ZnS:Mn thin films on the nanorod-modified glass substrates, particularly for nanorods with higher aspect ratios and lower nanorod array density. We obtained a significant enhancement (a factor of ) of the CL extraction efficiency at the interface between ZnS and air, for low voltage electron beam excitation of ZnS:Mn thin-film phosphors deposited on 2D nanorod-modified substrates. This improvement in the extraction efficiency is due to the uniform and nanoscale particle-like morphology of these thin-film phosphors, as well as to the diffraction scattering produced by the 2D periodic nanorod array.