TO produce high quality ZnO/Si for the applications in short wavelength optoelectronic devices, the effects of different silicon surface modifications on the overgrown ZnO thin film were investigated. Samples were grown by a plasma assistant molecular beam epitaxy at room temperature, avoiding the oxidation of the Si surface and the thermal stress caused by difference of the thermal expansion coefficients between ZnO and silicon. Different modifications on the Si(100) substrate surface including nitridation, oxidation, and depositions of Mg and Zn, were employed. The effects on the overgrown ZnO layers and the interlayer SiOx were investigated by atomic force microscopy, photoluminescence, X-ray diffraction and auger depth electron spectroscopy. All the modifications were effective in different degrees at reducing the SiOx amorphous layer. However, different mechanisms resulted in distinct performance in crystal structure and optical property. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.