Growth of self-assembled ZnO nanowire arrays

This paper reports on ZnO nanowires arrays synthesized using Sn as a catalyst. The Sn particles were produced from the reduction of SnO₂ powders via a vapour-solid growth process. Control of growth conditions led to the formation of ZnO nanowire arrays, radial nanowire ‘flowers’ and uniaxial fuzzy nanowires. ZnO nanowire–nanobelt junctions were also grown by changing the growth direction. As-grown nanowire arrays could be fundamental materials for investigating physical and chemical properties at nano-scale dimensions.     

The research on suspended ZnO nanowire field-effect transistor

This paper reports that a novel type of suspended ZnO nanowire field-effect transistors (FETs) were successfully fabricated using a photolithography process, and their electrical properties were characterized by I--V measurements. Single-crystalline ZnO nanowires were synthesized by a hydrothermal method, they were used as a suspended ZnO nanowire channel of back-gate field-effect transistors (FET). The fabricated suspended nanowire FETs showed a p-channel depletion mode, exhibited high on--off current ratio of ～10⁵. When V_DS=2.5 V, the peak transconductances of the suspended FETs were 0.396 μS, the oxide capacitance was found to be 1.547 fF, the pinch-off voltage V_TH was about 0.6 V, the electron mobility was on average 50.17 cm²/Vs. The resistivity of the ZnO nanowire channel was estimated to be 0.96× 10²Ω cm at V_GS = 0 V. These characteristics revealed that the suspended nanowire FET fabricated by the photolithography process had excellent performance. Better contacts between the ZnO nanowire and metal electrodes could be improved through annealing and metal deposition using a focused ion beam.     

Vertically integrated nanogenerator based on ZnO nanowire arrays

We report a technique to construct a vertically integrated nanogenerator (VI‐NG) based on ZnO nanowire (NW) arrays. The VI‐NG consists of nine single NGs connected mixed parallel and serial by a layer‐by‐layer stacking. For the single layer NG, the peak output voltage and current are 0.045 V and 2.5 nA, respectively. The VI‐NG produces an output power density of 2.8 nW/cm² with a peak output voltage of 0.15 V and output current of 7.2 nA. The vertical integration of the multi‐NG provides a feasible technique for effectively converting mechanical energies to electricity from environment. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Multiphoton route to ZnO nanowire lasers

With intense femtosecond laser excitation, multiphoton absorption-induced stimulated emission and laser emission in ZnO bulk crystal and nanowires have been demonstrated at room temperature. UV-stimulated emission peaks appeared in both bulk crystal and nanowires when the excitation exceeded certain thresholds, and a sharp lasing peak with a linewidth of ~0.5 nm was observed from ZnO nanowires. The emission properties were attributed to the band-edge emission of the recombination of carriers excited by two- and three-photon absorption processes in the wide-bandgap semiconductor.     

分子团簇表面吸附敏化ZnO纳米线的第一性原理研究

ZnO纳米线作为新型太阳能电池结构的重要组成部件之一, 其导电能力直接影响到太阳能电池的性能. 采用密度泛函理论平面波超软赝势方法, 计算并分析了C₂H₆O(乙醇)、 C₆H₅FS(4-氟苯硫酚)、 C₇HF₇S(4-(三氟甲基L)-2, 3, 5, 6-四氟硫代苯酚) 等小分子吸附的六边形结构\langle0001angle ZNWs (ZnO 纳米线) 的几何结构、 吸附能和电子结构. 首先, 通过几何优化得到了不同基团吸附的ZNWs的稳定结构, 同时吸附能计算结果表明C₇HF₇S吸附的体系结构最为稳定, 且吸附呈现放热反应; 其次, 为研究表面敏化对导电性能的影响, 计算了不同小分子基团吸附下的能带结构和态密度, 并利用能带理论分析了表面吸附敏化对禁带宽度的调控机理, 结果分析表明小分子表面吸附敏化对ZNWs的电学性能有一定的影响, 其中C₇H₇FS和C₆H₅FS分子均发生了不同程度的电荷转移.     

Co-sensitized quantum dot solar cell based on ZnO nanowire

An efficient photoelectrode is fabricated by sequentially assembled CdS and CdSe quantum dots (QDs) onto a ZnO-nanowire film. As revealed by UV-vis absorption spectrum and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), CdS and CdSe QDs can be effectively adsorbed on ZnO-nanowire array. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measured demonstrates that the electron lifetime for ZnO/CdS/CdSe (13.8 ms) is calculated longer than that of ZnO/CdS device (6.2 ms), which indicates that interface charge recombination rate is reduced by sensitizing CdSe QDs. With broader light absorption range and longer electron lifetime, a power conversion efficiency of 1.42% is achieved for ZnO based CdS/CdSe co-sensitized solar cell under the illumination of one Sun (AM 1.5G, 100 mW cm⁻²).     

Control of ZnO nanowire arrays by nanosphere lithography (NSL) on laser-produced ZnO substrates

Nanosphere lithography (NSL) is a successful technique for fabricating highly ordered arrays of ZnO nanowires typically on sapphire and GaN substrates. In this work, we investigate the use of thin ZnO films deposited on Si by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) as the substrate. This has a number of advantages over the alternatives above, including cost and potential scalability of production and it removes any issue of inadvertent n-type doping of nanowires by diffusion from the substrate. We demonstrate ordered arrays of ZnO nanowires, on ZnO-coated substrates by PLD, using a conventional NSL technique with gold as the catalyst. The nanowires were produced by vapor phase transport (VPT) growth in a tube furnace system and grew only on the areas pre-patterned by Au. We have also investigated the growth of ZnO nanowires using ZnO catalyst points deposited by PLD through an NSL mask on a bare silicon substrate.     

Investigation of the effects of tensile strain on optical properties of ZnO nanowire

In this paper, the effects of mechanical tensile strain on optical properties of ZnO nanowire before and after embedding ZnS nanowire were investigated by simulation. Finite element modeling (FEM) software package ABAQUS and three-dimensional (3D) finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) methods were furnished to analyze the problems numerically, including the nonlinear mechanical behavior and optical properties of the sample, respectively. The physical deformation model was imported into the FDTD to investigate optical properties of ZnO nanowire under mechanical tensile strain. Besides, the stress-strain curve via tensile experimental was compared with stress-strain curve that was obtained from finite element modeling. The results disclosed that the mechanical strain was demonstrated to play an important role in determining the optical properties of ZnO nanowire such as absorption coefficient and optical density.     

Characterizations of low-temperature electroluminescence from ZnO nanowire light-emitting arrays on the p-GaN layer

Low-temperature electroluminescence from ZnO nanowire light-emitting arrays is reported. By inserting a thin MgO current blocking layer in between ZnO nanowire and p-GaN, high-purity UV light emission at wavelength 398 nm was obtained. As the temperature is decreased, contrary to the typical GaN-based light emitting diodes, our device shows a decrease of optical output intensity. The results are associated with various carrier tunneling processes and frozen MgO defects.     

ZnO nanowire array ultraviolet photodetectors with self-powered properties

A ZnO nanowire (NW) array ultraviolet photodetector (PD) with Pt Schottky contacts has been fabricated on a glass substrate. Under UV light illumination, this PD showed a high photo-to-dark current ratio of 892 at 30 V bias. Interestingly, it was also found that this PD had a high sensitivity of 475 without external bias. This phenomenon could be explained by the asymmetric Schottky barrier height (SBH) at the two ends causing different separation efficiency of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, which resulted in the formation of photocurrent. It is anticipated to have potential applications in self-powered UV detection field.     

Contact barriers in a single ZnO nanowire device

The contact potential between a single ZnO nanowire and Ti/Au contacts was estimated to be ∼30 meV by considering the Arrhenious plot of the two-probe resistance, the thermionic emission conduction, and the Fowler–Nordheim tunneling model. The net voltages applied to the contacts were calculated by subtracting the four-probe voltages from the two-probe voltages at the same currents. The activation energy of the four-probe resistance was about 2.4 mV which was 1/11th of that of the two-probe resistance. The Fowler–Nordheim plot clearly showed the crossover of the conduction mechanism from thermionic emission to tunneling regime as lowering the temperatures below T<100 K.     

Aligned growth of ZnO nanowires and lasing in single ZnO nanowire optical cavities

Ordered ZnO nanowire arrays have been fabricated in N₂ background gas by catalyst-free nanoparticle-assisted pulsed-laser deposition. A single ZnO nanowire was collected in an electrode gap by dielectrophoresis. Under the optical pumping above an exciting laser (λ= 355 nm) threshold of ∼ 334 kW/cm², ultraviolet lasing action in a single ZnO nanowire was observed at room temperature, indicating that the as-synthesized nanowires in pure N₂ background gas are of high quality. The crystalline facets of both ends of the nanowire acted to form an optical cavity. Therefore, the mode spacings corresponding to cavity lengths of the respective nanowires were observed in photoluminescence spectra. PACS 78.66.Hf; 81.07.Bc; 78.67.-n; 81.16.Mk     

Exciton polaritons confined in a ZnO nanowire cavity

Semiconductor nanowires of high purity and crystallinity hold promise as building blocks for miniaturized optoelectrical devices. Using scanning-excitation single-wire emission spectroscopy, with either a laser or an electron beam as a spatially resolved excitation source, we observe standing-wave exciton polaritons in ZnO nanowires at room temperature. The Rabi splitting between the polariton branches is more than 100 meV. The dispersion curve of the modes in the nanowire is substantially modified due to light-matter interaction. This finding forms a key aspect in understanding subwavelength guiding in these nanowires.     

Contact welding study of carbon nanotube with ZnO nanowire

Study of proton beam induced welding of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with ZnO nanowires (NWs) has been carried out by proton (H⁺) beam irradiation. The samples were irradiated by 70-keV proton (H⁺) ion beams at different substrate temperatures. The irradiation-induced defects in CNTs and ZnO NWs were greatly reduced at elevated temperature. The crystalline structure of ZnO NWs and MWCNTs were found to remain stable after the irradiation at 700 K. As a preparation step, a coupling of two parallel ZnO NWs with irradiation has also been demonstrated. The welding mechanisms of MWCNTs and ZnO NWs were also been suggested. These two welding processes between same and distinct nanostructures to form homo- and hetero-junctions have provided an opportunity to mass produce interconnecting one-dimensional structures used for the manufacturing of future nanowire-based electronic circuits and devices.     

Physical model for the exotic ultraviolet photo-conductivity of ZnO nanowire films

Employing a simple and efficient method of electro-chemical anodization,ZnO nanowire films are fabricated on Zn foil,and an ultraviolet(UV)sensor prototype is formed for investigating the electronic transport through back-to-back double junctions.The UV(365 nm)responses of surface-contacted ZnO film are provided by I–V measurement,along with the current evolution process by on/off of UV illumination.In this paper,the back-to-back metal–seconductor–metal(M–S–M)model is used to explain the electronic transport of a ZnO nanowire film based structure.A thermionic-field electron emission mechanism is employed to fit and explain the as-observed UV sensitive electronic transport properties of ZnO film with surface-modulation by oxygen and water molecular coverage.     

Surface reconstruction of ZnO nanowire arrays via solvent-evaporation-induced self-assembly

Vertically aligned ZnO nanowires (NWs) can be reconstructed on large scales by a solvent-evaporation-induced method. The morphologies of the nanowires are regulated by changing the concentration of the solution. Possible mechanism, which the compressive residual stresses and wires/wires self-attraction can be responsible for the surface reconstruction, is addressed. Furthermore, we compare the structural properties of ZnO nanowires before and after reconstructed.     

Effect of Sb-doping on the morphology and dielectric properties of chrysanthemum-like ZnO nanowire clusters

Chrysanthemum-like ZnO nanowire clusters with different Sb-doping concentrations were prepared using a hydrothermal process. The microstructures, morphologies, and dielectric properties of the as-prepared products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), field emission environment scanning electron microscope (FEESEM), and microwave vector network analyzer respectively. The results indicate that the as-prepared products are Sb-doped ZnO single crystallines with a hexagonal wurtzite structure, the flower bud saturation degree F d is obviously different from that of the pure ZnO nanowire clusters, the good dielectric loss property is found in Sb-doped ZnO products with low density, and the dielectric loss tangent tanδ e increases with the increase of the Sb-doping concentration in a certain concentration range.     

Effects of surface roughness on the electrical characteristics of ZnO nanowire field effect transistors

We have systematically investigated the effects of surface roughness on the electrical characteristics of ZnO nanowire field effect transistors (FETs) before and after passivation by poly (methyl metahacrylate) (PMMA), a polymer-insulating layer. To control the surface morphology of ZnO nanowires, ZnO nanowires were grown by the vapor transport method on two different substrates, namely, an Au-catalyzed sapphire and an Au-catalyzed ZnO film/sapphire. ZnO nanowires grown on the Au-catalyzed sapphire substrate had smooth surfaces, whereas those grown on the Au-catalyzed ZnO film had rough surfaces. Electrical characteristics such as the threshold voltage shift and transconductance before and after passivation were strongly affected by the surface morphology of ZnO nanowires.     

Investigation of the fill factor of dye-sensitized solar cell based on ZnO nanowire arrays

The fill factor of dye-sensitized solar cells based on the ZnO nanowire array is very low, which is usually ascribed to a rapid charge recombination. In this article, the influence on the fill factor of ZnO nanowire array cell is investigated and discussed by comparing dark current and decay rate of open circuit potential of the ZnO nanowire array cell with those of the ZnO nanoparticle cell, TiO₂ nanoparticle cell and TiO₂-coated ZnO nanowire array cell. The results demonstrate that the low fill factor of the ZnO nanowire array cell is largely caused by a rapid decrease of electron injection efficiency rather than a rapid charge recombination, which is decided by the absorption nature of Ru-complexed dye molecules on ZnO surface and repellency of radial electric field. The fill factor of the ZnO nanowire array cell can be improved by coating ZnO nanowires with a wide band gap semiconductor material or metal oxide insulator.     

Influence of defects on magnetism of Co-doped ZnO

Two kinds of Zn_0.97Co_0.03O powders were prepared by precursor thermal decomposition under different conditions. One grown at low temperature has a positive Curie-Weiss temperature Θ, while the other grown at high temperature has a negative Θ. Both of them contain oxygen vacancies. There are more shallow donors in the former than those in the latter. It is proposed that coexistence of oxygen vacancies and shallow donors is necessary to induce ferromagnetic coupling between Co ions.