Shadow mask assisted direct growth of ZnO nanowires as a sensing medium for surface acoustic wave devices using a thermal evaporation method

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires were directly synthesized on high temperature stable one-port surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators made of LiNbO₃ substrate and Pt/Ti electrodes using a self-seeding catalyst-free thermal evaporation method. To enhance post-growth device functionality, one half of an SAW resonator was masked along the interdigital transducer aperture length during the nanowire growth process using a stainless steel shadow mask, while the other half was used as the ZnO nanowire growth site. This was achieved by employing a precisely machined stainless steel sleeve to house the chip and mask in the reaction chamber during the nanowire growth process. The ZnO nanowire integrated SAW resonator exhibited ultraviolet radiation sensing abilities which indicated that the ZnO nanowires grown on the SAW device were able to interact with SAW propagation on the substrate even after the device was exposed to extremely harsh conditions during the nanowire growth process. The use of a thermal evaporation method, instead of the conventionally used solution-grown method for direct growth of ZnO nanowires on SAW devices, paves the way for future methods aimed at the fabrication of highly sensitive ZnO nanowire-LiNbO₃ based SAW sensors utilizing coupled resonance phenomenon at the nanoscale.