In this paper, we investigate the laser irradiation of ZnO single crystals and its influence on photoluminescence. Our study shows that the photoluminescence of ZnO single crystals strongly depends on surface morphologies. The ultraviolet emissions of laser treated-ZnO under 200 mJ/cm^2 become stronger, whereas for those deteriorated by irradiation above 200 mJ/cm^2, the green emissions centred at 2.53 eV are significantly enhanced with a red-shift to 2.19 eV, probably due to the changes in the charge states of the defects. Enhanced yellow-green emissions are well resolved into four peaks at around 1.98, 2.19, 2.36, and 2.53 eV due to a shallow irradiation depth. Possible origins are proposed and discussed.
Brillouin light scattering technique can be successfully used to determine the whole set of elastic and piezoelectric constants of a ZnO single crystal irradiated by different laser energy densities, into a micron range （radiation layer thickness）. It is found that the scattering intensity, the linewidth and the Brillouin scattering shift of acoustic phonons are all strongly dependent on laser energy density. Based on the sound propagation equations and these results, the directional dependences of the compressional and shear moduli of the irradiated ZnO sample in the （001） plane are investigated. It is found that under an appropriate laser condition, 248 nm KrF excimer laser irradiation can significantly improve the surface quality and increase the elastic properties of ZnO single crystal. This procedure has potential applications in the fabrication of ZnO-based surface acoustic wave and optic-electronic devices.
