The role of a liquid Al sublayer as a catalyst for the directional growth of ZnO nanocrystals

The behavior and influence of a preformed Al alloying layer deposited on a silicon substrate on the morphology and orientational growth of arrays of ZnO:Al nanocrystallites have been studied. The stages of the decomposition of the Al doping layer into droplets of the quasi-liquid phase under the action of temperature treatment at the initial stage of the growth process by the vapor–liquid–crystal mechanism are shown. A scheme of the stages of growth of ZnO nanocrystallites by the vapor–liquid–crystal mechanism on a Si substrate with a preliminarily deposited doping metal layer is presented.