  Nanocomposite thin films of Zinc Oxide and Silicon were grown by
co-evaporating powdered ZnO and Si. This resulted in nanocrystallites of ZnO
being embedded in Silicon. The mismatch in crystal structures of constituent
materials result in the ZnO nanocrystals to exist in a state of stress. This
along with oxygen vacancies in the samples result in good Photoluminescence
emission at 520nm. Also, Silicon background gave a photoluminescence emission
at 620nm. The structure was found quite stable over time since the homgenously
dispersed ZnO nanocrystals do not agglomerate. The nanocomposites promises to
be a useful candidate for future optoelectronic devices.
