ZnO nanowire (NW) arrays are assembled on the Al-doped ZnO (AZO) seed layer by a hydrothermal process. Effects of the temperature and growth time of the hydrothermal process on morphological and photoluminescence properties of the as-assembled ZnO NW arrays are characterized and studied. Results indicate that the length and diameter of the ZnO NWs increase with a lengthening of the growth time at 80 degrees C and the hydrothermal temperature has a significant effect on the growth rate and the photoluminescence properties of the ZnO NW arrays. The patterned AZO seed layer is fabricated on a silicon substrate by combining a sol-gel process with an electron-beam lithography process, as well as a surface fluorination technique, and then the ZnO NW arrays are selectively grown on those patterned regions of the AZO seed layer by the hydrothermal process. Room-temperature photoluminescence spectra of the patterned ZnO NW arrays shows that only a strong UV emission at about 380 nm is observed, which implies that few crystal defects exist inside the as-grown ZnO NW arrays. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.