Growth of ternary ZnCdSe nanowires and the fabrication of ZnCdSe nanowire photodetectors

The authors report the growth of high density ternary ZnCdSe nanowires on an oxidized Si(100) substrate using molecular beam epitaxy and the fabrication of a ZnCdSe nanowire photodetector. It was found that the as-grown ZnCdSe nanowires exhibited a mixture of cubic zinc-blende and hexagonal wurtzite structures. It was also found that average length and width of the ZnCdSe nanowires were ∼1.8 μm and ∼42.7 nm, respectively. Furthermore, it was found that photocurrent to dark current contrast ratio was around 25 for the fabricated photodetector under 5 V applied bias.     

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.     

Thermal annealing effects on the dynamic photoresponse properties of Al-doped ZnO nanowires network

In this study, UV photodetectors based on a network of aluminium-doped zinc oxide (AZO) nanowires were manufactured at a low cost; for this purpose, a fast and simple fabrication process that involved dropping nanowires dispersion solution was employed instead of the conventional e-beam lithography process that is used to manufacture single nanowire–based UV photodetectors. It was demonstrated that nanowire network–based UV photodetectors provide a much faster UV photoresponse than conventional single nanowire–based UV photodetectors. The fast UV photoresponse of the fabricated UV photodetector can be attributed to the fact that the potential barriers formed in the nanowire network junctions effectively block the flow of electrons during the process of photocurrent decay. Furthermore, the UV photoresponse under illumination by a 254 nm UV source was studied as a function of the annealing temperature of the AZO nanowires network at a bias of 5 V. The fabricated UV photodetector showed the fastest response of 2 s to UV illumination in air when the sample was annealed in air for 1 h at 300 °C.     

Dynamics of Au-induced nanowires on Ge(001)

We have studied the dynamics of Au-induced nanowires on Ge(001) using scanning tunnelling microscopy. The ridges of these nanowires consist of buckled dimers that have their dimer bond aligned in a direction perpendicular to the nanowire direction. Neighbouring dimers have a preference to buckle in an opposite direction, leading to rows with a zigzag appearance. Dimers located at anti-phase boundaries continuously flip back and forth between their two buckled configurations. This process is thermally induced and occurs at an average frequency of 25 Hz at room temperature.     

An electrical characterization of a hetero-junction nanowire (NW) PN diode (n-GaN NW/p-Si) formed by dielectrophoresis alignment

This is a report on the electrical characterization of gallium nitride (GaN) nanowire (NW) p–n junction diodes. These diodes were formed by assembling n-GaN NWs on p-Si (1 0 0) substrates using alternating current (AC) dielectrophoresis (DEP). The AC DEP was optimized with a bias voltage of 15 V_p−p at a frequency of 1 kHz. The hetero-junction single GaN nanowire p-n diode (n-GaN NW/p-Si) showed well-defined current rectifying behavior with a forward voltage drop of 1.2–2.0 V at a current density of 10–60 A/cm². The GaN nanowire p–n diodes had a high parasite resistance in the range of >470 kΩ. We observed that these high resistances were mostly the result of the metal contacts to the n-GaN NWs. We also found that these parasite resistances were reduced by the formation of an additional capping layer on the top of the n-GaN NW as well as high temperature annealing.     

Photocurrent response in a double barrier structure with quantum dots–quantum well inserted in central well

We report the photocurrent response in a double barrier structure with quantum dots–quantum well inserted in central well. When this quantum dots–quantum well hybrid heterostructure is biased beyond +1 or −1 V, the photocurrent response manifests itself as a step-like enhancement, increasing linearly with the light intensity. Most probably, at proper bias condition, the pulling down of the X minimum of GaAs at the outgoing interface of the emitter barrier by the photovoltaic effect in GaAs QW will initiate the Γ–X–X tunneling at much lower bias as compared with that in the dark. That gives rise to the observed photocurrent response.     

Reprint of : Absorbing/Emitting Phonons with one dimensional MOSFETs

We consider nanowires in the field effect transistor device configuration. Modeling each nanowire as a one dimensional lattice with random site potentials, we study the heat exchanges between the nanowire electrons and the substrate phonons, when electron transport is due to phonon-assisted hops between localized states. Shifting the nanowire conduction band with a metallic gate induces different behaviors. When the Fermi potential is located near the band center, a bias voltage gives rise to small local heat exchanges which fluctuate randomly along the nanowire. When it is located near one of the band edges, the bias voltage yields heat currents which flow mainly from the substrate towards the nanowire near one boundary of the nanowire, and in the opposite direction near the other boundary. This opens interesting perspectives for heat management at submicron scales: arrays of parallel gated nanowires could be used for a field control of phonon emission/absorption.     

Absorbing/emitting phonons with one dimensional MOSFETs

We consider nanowires in the field effect transistor device configuration. Modeling each nanowire as a one dimensional lattice with random site potentials, we study the heat exchanges between the nanowire electrons and the substrate phonons, when electron transport is due to phonon-assisted hops between localized states. Shifting the nanowire conduction band with a metallic gate induces different behaviors. When the Fermi potential is located near the band center, a bias voltage gives rise to small local heat exchanges which fluctuate randomly along the nanowire. When it is located near one of the band edges, the bias voltage yields heat currents which flow mainly from the substrate towards the nanowire near one boundary of the nanowire, and in the opposite direction near the other boundary. This opens interesting perspectives for heat management at submicron scales: arrays of parallel gated nanowires could be used for a field control of phonon emission/absorption.     

Pt-chain induced formation of Ge nanowires on the Ge(001) surface

A new reconstructed Pt/Ge(001)–4 × 2 surface structure of 0.25 ML Pt deposition is suggested based on density functional theory. The Ge dimers form nanowire arrays on a Pt-chain modified Ge(001) surface in which the chain is located between the two quasi-dimer rows and below the Ge nanowire. The simulated scanning tunneling microscope (STM) images of the surface are in excellent agreement with the previously observed STM features and sample bias dependence. It is the nanowire Ge dimers and not the Pt atoms that contribute to the STM images for occupied states at high sample biases, contrary to what has always been assumed in experiments. The surface bands of the Pt chain and quasi-dimer rows exhibit quasi-one-dimensional metallic behavior in the direction of the nanowire. When changing from the 4 × 2 to the 4 × 4 structure, there are likely pseudogaps opened at the new surface Brillouin zone boundary, which simultaneously reduce the metallicity. This may be related to the Peierls instability. The interaction between the Pt chain and the quasi-dimer row, as well as the inter-quasi-dimer row interaction, is of essential importance for stabilization.     

Electronic band alignment in AlGaN/GaN high electron-mobility transistors investigated using scanning photocurrent microscopy

The band alignment in AlGaN/GaN HEMT devices was investigated using scanning photocurrent microscopy (SPCM) with UV and visible light sources. The polarity of the SPCM on the conduction channel exhibited a switching behavior from p-type to n-type response as the gate bias was increased. The flat-band voltage, which was higher than the DC turn-on voltage, indicates that an ohmic metallic contact was formed for electron transport. We obtained the band offset between the conduction band and the metal Fermi level, which yielded a value of 2.1 eV on average.     

Nature of the band gap of silicon and germanium nanowires

Nanowires of both Si and Ge have been predicted to have band gaps that are either direct or indirect depending upon the crystallographic direction along which the nanowire is oriented. We use a sp³d⁵s^* tight binding model to calculate the band structures for both Ge and Si nanowires oriented along the (1 0 0), (1 1 0) and (1 1 1) directions. We show that the nature of the band gap and the variation of the zone centre band gap with nanowire width depends upon the nanowire stacking direction for both Si and Ge nanowires. We then show, by considering bulk unit cells along the (1 0 0), (1 1 0) and (1 1 1) directions, that it is possible to accurately predict whether a nanowire stacked in the same direction as one of these bulk unit cells has a direct or indirect band structure.     

Variation of co-tunneling and Kondo effects by control of the strength of coupling between a vertical dot and a two-dimensional electron gas

We have fabricated a vertical quantum dot with lateral coupling, modulated by a split gate voltage, to a two-dimensional electron. We thereby control not only electron configurations but also the strength of coupling between the dot and the lateral lead, by applying gate voltages. We have measured the conductance enhancement when the applied bias exceeds the single-electron excitation energy, in the Coulomb blockade regime. This conductance enhancement disappears as the split gate voltage decreases (reducing the coupling). This indicates that this enhancement is caused by inelastic co-tunneling. Furthermore, we observed a conductance enhancement at zero source–drain bias with stronger coupling. An anomaly is observed that we attribute to Kondo resonance between the dot and the leads.     

Magnetic properties of amorphous β-FeOOH nanowire arrays

β-FeOOH nanowire arrays with diameters of 50–200 nm have been fabricated by electrochemical deposition using two-step anodic porous alumina templates. The as-prepared nanowires are homogeneous and have large aspect ratios. The selected area electron diffraction photo performed on a single wire was used to confirm the amorphous crystal structure further. The magnetic properties of these nanowire arrays were firstly investigated by using a SQUID magnetometry. The ZFC and FC studies show that these nanowire arrays exhibit spin-freezing phenomena at low temperature. The temperature-dependent magnetization curves show that the Neel transition temperatures are much lower than that of bulk material. Moreover, hysteresis was found at 5 K and the coercivities up to about 1500 Oe. The size-dependent magnetic properties were also investigated. These abnormal magnetic behaviours can be interpreted in terms of the amorphous crystal structure and the low dimensionality of the nanowire arrays.     

Magnetic domain structure in small diameter magnetic nanowire arrays

Fe_0.3Co_0.7 alloy nanowire arrays were prepared by ac electrodepositing Fe²⁺ and Co²⁺ into a porous anodic aluminum oxide (PAO) template with diameter about 50 nm. The surface of the samples were polished by 100 nm diamond particle then chemical polishing to give a very smooth surface (below ±10 nm/μm²). The morphology properties were characterized by SEM and AFM. The bulk magnetic properties and domain structure of nanowire arrays were investigated by VSM and MFM respectively. We found that such alloy arrays showed strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy with easy axis parallel to nanowire arrays. Each nanowire was in single domain structure with several opposite single domains surrounding it. Additionally, we investigated the domain structure with a variable external magnetic field applied parallel to the nanowire arrays. The MFM results showed a good agreement with our magnetic hysteresis loop.     

Improved gate-control in InAs nanowire structures by the use of GdScO3 as a gate dielectric

We investigated the properties of gadolinium scandate (GdScO₃) as a gate dielectric for top-gate electrodes on undoped InAs nanowires. It is demonstrated that due to the high dielectric constant of GdScO₃ (k=22), a better control of the conductance of the nanowire is achieved compared to a reference SiO₂-isolated back-gate electrode. We analyzed the output and transfer characteristics of top-gate-controlled InAs wires at room temperature and at temperatures down to 4 K. Owing to the good coverage of the InAs nanowire by the 50-nm-thick GdScO₃ layer, which was deposited by pulsed-laser deposition, the gate leakage current is sufficiently suppressed.     

Photocurrent spectra for above and below bandgap energies from photovoltaic PbS infrared detectors with graphene transparent electrodes

We discussed photocurrent spectra of photovoltaic PbS infrared detectors using multi-layer graphene as transparent electrode, where p-PbS films were deposited on TiO₂/FTO substrates by chemical bath deposition. In the photocurrent spectra, we observed both above-bandgap and sub-bandgap photocurrent without any external bias. We discussed impurity band model and grain boundary model in order to explain the sub-bandgap photocurrent near 15 μm. Since FTO is transparent in the visible range, we were able to illuminate green laser beam from the FTO back-side, and photo-response up to 50 μm was found to be enhanced. This long wavelength photo-response was attributed to the excitation of the photo-electrons accumulated at the TiO₂/PbS interface. Our photovoltaic PbS devices can detect not only short-infrared but also terahertz radiation at room temperature, which is highly applicable to various fields.     

Creation of helical vortices during magnetization of aligned carbon nanotubes filled with Fe: theory and experiment

We report a novel magnetic phenomenon consisting of the formation of helical spin configurations during the magnetization of densely packed ferromagnetic nanowires encapsulated inside carbon nanotubes. We studied the hysteresis loops when the magnetic fields are applied parallel and perpendicular to the nanotubes axes. We also performed theoretical calculations on aligned nanowire arrays that clearly indicate the creation of helical spin vortices in the hysteresis loops. The latter are caused by the presence of strong dipolar interactions among neighboring wires.     

一维纳米氧化锌自驱动紫外探测器的构建与性能研究

本文通过化学气相沉积法制备了ZnO纳米材料, 利用扫描电镜、光致发光谱、X衍射光谱及拉曼光谱等方法对制备的材料进行了表征. 基于制备的单根ZnO线分别构建了三种不同结构的紫外探测器件: Ag-ZnO-Ag肖特基型、PEDOT:PSS/n-ZnO结型和p-Si/n-ZnO结型紫外探测器, 并对器件的性能进行了研究. 结果表明: 三种不同结构的器件都表现出良好的整流特性, 对紫外线均有明显的光响应; 在零偏压下, 都有明显的自驱动特性. 三种器件中, p-Si/n-ZnO型紫外探测器性能最为优异: 在零偏压下, 暗电流约在1.2×10^-3 nA, 光电流在5.4 nA左右, 光暗电流比为4.5×10³, 上升和下降时间分别为0.7 s和1 s. 通过三类器件性能比较, 表明无机p-Si更适合与ZnO构建pn结型自驱动紫外探测器.     

Photoelectrochemical switch based on cis-Azobenzene chromophore modified TiO2 nanowires

Carboxylated-azobenzene chromophore modified TiO₂ nanowire composites were prepared and characterized. Photocurrent measured with monochromatic incident light irradiation results showed that azobenzene modified TiO₂ nanowire electrode had obviously higher photocurrent and broader visible light response covering range of 350-650 nm, and the wavelength position corresponding to the maximum photocurrent was red shift to about 470 nm. After alternate irradiation with UV and visible light, the azobenzene modified TiO₂ nanowire electrode exhibited obvious photoelectrochemical switching properties. Furthermore, the photocurrent under visible light irradiation was much higher than that under UV irradiation due to the cis-to-trans isomerization transformation of azobenzene chromophore.     

Subthreshold swing characteristics of nanowire tunneling FETs with variation in gate coverage and channel diameter

In this study, we demonstrate the simulated subthreshold swing (SS) of silicon nanowire tunneling field-effect transistors (NWTFETs) by varying both the channel diameter from 10 nm to 40 nm and the gate coverage ratio from 30% to 100%. Our simulation work reveals that both a decrease in the channel diameter and an increase in the gate coverage ratio contribute to a reduction in the SS. Additionally, our work shows that the magnitude of the on-current depends linearly on the gate coverage ratio and that the drain current increases with a decrease in the channel diameter. Thus, an NWTFET with a channel diameter of 10 nm and a gate coverage ratio of 100% exhibits superior electrical characteristics over other silicon NWTFETs in that the NWTFET shows a point SS of 22.7 mV/dec, an average SS of 56.3 mV/dec, an on/off current ratio of ∼10¹³, and an on-current of ∼10⁻⁵ A/μm.