Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a highly sought after material in which electronic, semiconducting, optical, piezoelectric, etc properties can be integrated. It can be synthesized in different nano-configurations, apart from bulk crystals and thin films. It can be grown both in both n- and p-types nanostructures giving possibilities of electronic and optical applications. Additionally, ZnO is environmentally friendly and bio-compatible.

Pure and doped (rare earth, Cr, V, Li, etc) ZnO nanocrystals are grown by low cost chemical route and their structural, dielectric, optical, ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties are studied. They are mostly grown in the form of nanorods with diameter around 20 nm and length in the range of 50-300 nm.  The effect of doping on size and structure are studies by microscopic and x-ray diffraction methods. In dielectric studies, room temperature dielectric constant has been found to change significantly as a result of doping. In all the cases, dielectric constant for nano crystals is higher than their bulk counterpart. While the pure ZnO showed no phase transition, ferroelectric to paraelectric phase transition is observed at different transition temperatures for different doping; the highest Tc was observed for V-doping at 345 ^oC. In optical studies, we report the results of UV-Vis, Raman, photoluminescence, band gap tuning studies as a result of above doping in which interesting improvement has been observed. The piezoelectric charge coefficient was found to be practically unaffected by doping and remained in the range of 1.5-2.0 pC/N. The change in ferroelectric properties viz shape of P-E loop, remnant and coercivity are significant. The results obtained in the case of rare earth doping have been compared with the results of other doping. In summary, it has been shown that various doping can be used to enhance the optical, ferroelectric or dielectric properties of ZnO.

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