Quenching of cathodeluminescene of a heterogeneous mixture of ZnO and polymethylphenylsiloxane, when treated by low-temperature plasma

The experimentally detected quenching of cathode luminescence of heterogeneous mixtures of ZnO with polymethylphenylsiloxane by oxygen and nitrogen plasma is related to changes in the luminescence properties of the polycrystalline ZnO. This effect is attributed to concentration quenching of luminescence and amorphization of ZnO upon enrichment of the surface by cations and atoms of the metal, as a result of volumetric diffusion, which is stimulated by Auger neutralization of positive plasma ions with energies of ~10 eV on the surface of the crystal lattice.