Catalyst-free CVD synthesis of ZnO nanowire networks on SiO2 substrate and its photoresponse

High-purity ZnO nanowire networks were directly synthesized on SiO2/Si substrates via catalyst-free chemical vapor deposition. we grow single-crystal ZnO nanowire networks through the reactive ion etching make a rough SiO2/Si substrate surface, which ZnO nanowire networks can grow in the RIE etched area and do not need any pre-deposited metal catalyst or seed layer. The as-grown ZnO nanowire networks achieved on SiO2/Si substrates have good crystal quality with the hexagonal wurtzite phase containing very less structural defects and transfer-free to fabricate UV photodetector, which showed high performance in photocurrent and response speed. Moreover, the fabrication of UV photodetector method we showed here, which would dramatically lower the complexity of the nanodevice fabrication processes and vigorously promot the application of ZnO nanostructures in nanoelectronics and optoelectronics.