Experimental observation of bulk band dispersions in the oxide semiconductor ZnO using soft X-ray angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

Kobayashi, Masaki*; Song, G.-S.*; Kataoka, Takashi*; Sakamoto, Yuta*; Fujimori, Atsushi; Okochi, Takuo*; Takeda, Yukiharu   ; Okane, Tetsuo  ; Saito, Yuji  ; Yamagami, Hiroshi; Yamahara, Hiroyasu*; Saeki, Hiromasa*; Kawai, Tomoji*; Tabata, Hitoshi*

ZnO is one of the most promising oxide semiconductors for applications to semiconductor electronics, especially for optical devices. Their inexpensiveness and environmental safety are also advantages for practical applications. The surface electronic structure of ZnO has been investigated so far using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) in the ultraviolet ray region (less than 150 eV), although those measurements are surface sensitive. Considering their potentiality of ZnO for extensive applications, it is desired to investigate the bulk electronic structure of ZnO experimentally. In this work, we have performed soft X-ray (SX) ARPES measurements on a ZnO thin film in order to probe the bulk electronic structure. All the obtained band dispersion reflects the hexagonal Brillouin zone of ZnO, indicating we succeeded in the observation of the band dispersion of ZnO by SX-ARPES.