Growth of ZnO on Nanosphere templates by Glancing Angle Vapor Deposition and Growth Modeling

Growth of coatings on a curved surface at steep angles enables the formation of pillar structures. In this research glancing angle laser deposition method was used to deposit Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanostructures on silica nanoparticle templates in the size range of 3.5um to 250 nm. Self-assembled silica nanosphere templates were prepared by the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. It was observed that the diameter of the pillars and the number of pillars on each nano sphere decreased with decreasing sphere size. A simple model based on the nucleation theory that is adopted for nucleation and growth on a curved surface was developed to predict the evolution of the nanopillar structures. Results pertaining to the morphology, structure, and composition investigated for varying template sphere sizes by SEM, EDS, AFM, and XRD will also be presented.