Reply to ＂Comment on ＇Electrical Conductivity and Current-Voltage Characteristics of Individual Conducting Polymer PEDOT Nanowires＇＂

Recently we reported electrical properties of an individual PEDOT nanowire .Ohlckers and Pipinys suggested that the temperature-behavior of I- V curves and resistance can be described in the framework of a phonon-assisted tunneling （PhAT） model. However, there are two points which need to be addressed. First, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of Ohlckers and Pipinys＇s Comment, obvious deviations have been observed between the experimental data and the fitting curves obtained from this model especially at low temperatures. Second, the PhAT model is based on the assumption that a source of charge carriers is the local electronic traps in the electrode-nanowire interface layer, the carriers enter the conduction band of the nanowire due to the PhAT through the barrier from these traps. This model has not considered the structure characteristics and conduction mechanism in polymer nanowires.     

Effect of Annealing on Microstructure and Electrical Characteristics of Doped Poly （3-Hexylthiophene） Films

The effect of annealing on the microstructure and electrical characteristics of poly （3-hexylthiophene） （P3HT） films doped with very small amounts of the electron acceptor 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane （F4-TCNQ） is studied. X-ray diffraction and UV-vis spectrum studies show that unlike the pure P3HT film, the thermal treatment on the doped fihns under an Ar atmosphere can effectively enhance the crystalline order of P3HT films, as well as successfully facilitate the orientation of the polymer chains. This improvement is attributed to the electrostatic force between P3HT and F4-TCNQ molecules. This force induces the polymer chains to crystallize and orient during the annealing process. As a result, annealing significantly improves performance, especially for the Ion/Ioff ratio of the TFTs based on the doped P3HT films.     

Electrical Conductivity and Current--Voltage Characteristics of Individual Conducting Polymer PEDOT Nanowires

We report the current-voltage （Ⅰ-Ⅴ） characteristics and electrical conductivity of individual template-synthesized poly（3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene） （PEDOT） nanowires （190 ± 6 nm in diameter and δRT = 11.2 ± 2Ω^-1 cm^-1） over a wide temperature range from 300 to 10K. With lowering temperature, the Ⅰ - Ⅴ characteristics become nonlinear around 50K, and a clear Coulomb gap-like structure appears in the differential conductance （dI/dV） spectra. The temperature dependence of the resistance below 70 K follows In R α T^-1/2, which can be interpreted as Efros-Shklovskii hopping conduction in the presence of a Coulomb gap. In addition, the influences of measurement methods such as the applied bias voltage magnitude, the two-probe and four-probe techniques used in the resistance measurements are also reported and discussed.     

Electronic structure of ZnO wurtzite quantum wires

The electronic structure and optical properties of ZnO wurtzite quantum wires with radius R≥3 nm are studied in the framework of six-band effective-mass envelope function theory. The hole effective-mass parameters of ZnO wurtzite material are calculated by the empirical pseudopotential method. It is found that the electron states are either two-fold or four-fold degenerate. There is a dark exciton effect when the radius R of the ZnO quantum wires is in the range of [3,19.1] nm (dark range in our model). The dark ranges of other wurtzite semiconductor quantum wires are calculated for comparison. The dark range becomes smaller when the |Δ_so| is larger, which also happens in the quantum-dot systems. The linear polarization factor of ZnO quantum wires is larger when the temperature is higher.     

Quantum wire lasers with high uniformity formed by cleaved-edge overgrowth with growth-interrupt anneal

High-quality T-shaped quantum wire lasers are fabricated by cleaved-edge overgrowth with the molecular beam epitaxy on the interface improved by a growth-interrupt high-temperature anneal. Micro-photoluminescence (PL) and PL excitation spectroscopy reveals unprecedented high quality of the wires, and structures of one-dimensional (1D) free excitons and 1D continuum states. At high pumping levels, PL evolves from a sharp free exciton peak via a biexciton peak to a red-shifted broad band. Lasing has been achieved with low lasing threshold. The lasing energy is on the red-shifted broad band and is about 5 meV below the free exciton. The observed shift excludes free excitons in lasing, and suggests contribution of highly Coulomb-correlated electron-hole plasma.     

Surface passivation of III-V semiconductors for future CMOS devices—Past research, present status and key issues for future

Currently, III-V metal-insulator-semiconductor field effect transistors (MISFETs) are considered to be promising device candidates for the so-called “More Moore Approach” to continue scaling CMOS transistors on the silicon platform. Strong interest also exists in III-V nanowire MISFETs as a possible candidate for a “Beyond CMOS”-type device. III-V sensors using insulator-semiconductor interfaces are good candidates for “More Moore”-type of devices on the Si platform. The success of these new approaches for future electronics depends on the availability of a surface passivation technology which can realize pinning-free, high-quality interfaces between insulator and III-V semiconductors.This paper reviews the past history, present status and key issues of the research on the surface passivation technology for III-V semiconductors. First, a brief survey of previous research on surface passivation and MISFETs is made, and Fermi level pinning at insulator-semiconductor interface is discussed. Then, a brief review is made on recent approaches of interface control for high-k III-V MIS structures. Subsequently, as an actual example of interface control, latest results on the authors’ surface passivation approach using a silicon interface control layer (Si ICL) are discussed. Finally, a photoluminescence (PL) method to characterize the interface quality is presented as an efficient contactless and non-destructive method which can be applied at each step of interface formation process without fabrication of MIS capacitors and MISFETs.     

Surface passivation technology for III-V semiconductor nanoelectronics

The present status and key issues of surface passivation technology for III-V surfaces are discussed in view of applications to emerging novel III-V nanoelectronics. First, necessities of passivation and currently available surface passivation technologies for GaAs, InGaAs and AlGaAs are reviewed. Then, the principle of the Si interface control layer (ICL)-based passivation scheme by the authors’ group is introduced and its basic characterization is presented. Ths Si ICL is a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)-grown ultrathin Si layer inserted between III-V semiconductor and passivation dielectric. Finally, applications of the Si ICL method to passivation of GaAs nanowires and GaAs nanowire transistors and to realization of pinning-free high-k dielectric/GaAs MOS gate stacks are presented.     

Bipolar Resistance Switching Characteristics of ZnO/Nb-Doped SrTiO3 Heterojunctions

An electrical pulse induced resistance switching effect in ZnO/Nb-doped SrTiO3 heterojunctions is reported. The current-voltage curves of these junctions show hysteresis. Multi-resistance states are realized by applying voltage pulses with different amplitudes, and the resistance switching effect is more remarkable at low temperatures. The junction capacitance decreases dramatically with increasing frequency. Analysis of the results suggests that the trapping-detrapping process plays an important role in the resistance switching effect.     

Influence of metallic coatings on the photoluminescence properties of ZnO nanowires

We report on low‐temperature photoluminescence studies of ZnO nanowires coated with thin metallic films. For all analyzed metals (Al, In, Au, Ni, Cu), we find an increased relative intensity of the green deep‐level emission. This is accompanied by a significant reduction of the relative intensity of the surface exciton band. The observed effects are most likely related to the formation of metal induced gap states in the surface region of the ZnO nanowires. A model for the band structure in the surface region of the metal‐coated nanowires is proposed that successfully explains the changes in the photoluminescence spectra after the coating process. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Relaxation semiconductors: In theory and in practice

Relaxation semiconductors are materials dominated by free carrier transport and defined by the condition that the dielectric relaxation time _D is longer than the free carrier lifetime ₀. Novel transport behavior has been demonstrated, both theoretically and experimentally, to be associated with this regime of semiconductor behavior. This review surveys the history of the field, emphasizes recent experimental and modeling work and summarizes our current understanding of relaxation behavior in crystalline semiconductors.Dedicated to H.-J. Queisser on the occasion of his 60th birthday