ZnO epitaxy on (111) Si using epitaxial Lu2O3 buffer layers

We report the growth and characterization of single-crystalline, crack-free, epitaxial (0001) ZnO films on (111) Si substrates using intervening epitaxial Lu2O3 buffer layers. The epitaxial orientation relationships are (0001)ZnO∥(111)Lu2O3∥(111)Si and [12¯10]ZnO∥[1¯10]Lu2O3∥[11¯0]Si. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy reveal that the ZnO films have high structural quality and an atomically sharp ZnO∕Lu2O3 interface. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence measurements show optical properties comparable to ZnO single crystals. The films have a resistivity of 0.31Ωcm, an electron concentration of 2.5×1017cm−3, and a mobility of 80cm2∕V⋅s at room temperature. The epitaxial growth of ZnO on Si represents a significant step toward the integration of ZnO-based multifunctional devices with Si electronics.