Structural and electrical studies of template synthesized copper nanowires

The template strategy combined with electrodeposition technique has been used to produce copper nanowires in the cylindrical pores of track-etched polycarbonate membranes. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and UV–visible spectroscopy have been used to characterize as-prepared copper nanowires. XRD study shows the face centered cubic crystal structure of copper nanowires. Williamson–Hall (WH) analysis has been used to determine the crystallite size and microstrain induced due to lattice deformation. FESEM results reveal that copper nanowires are continuous, well aligned with uniform diameter and having high aspect ratio. The optical absorption spectra exhibit a strong peak at 568 nm attributed to the surface plasmon resonance. The current–voltage (I–V) characteristics show an ohmic behavior of the fabricated copper nanowires. The increase in resistivity of nanowires than that of bulk counterpart has been attributed to the surface and size effects in nanowires and explained in the light of Fuchs–Sondeimer and Mayadas–Shatzkes models.     

Synthesis and field emission properties of GaN nanowires

Gallium nitride (GaN) nanowires grown on nickel-coated n-type Si (1 0 0) substrates have been synthesized using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and the field emission properties of GaN nanowires have been studied. The results show that (1) the grown GaN nanowires, which have diameters in the range of 50-100 nm and lengths of several micrometers, are uniformly distributed on Si substrates. The characteristics of the grown GaN nanowires have been investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and through these investigations it was found that the GaN nanowires are of a good crystalline quality (2) When the emission current density is 100 μA/cm², the necessary electric field is an open electric field of around 9.1 V/μm (at room temperature). The field enhancement factor is ∼730. The field emission properties of GaN nanowires films are related both to the surface roughness and the density of the nanowires in the film.     

A comparison between optical properties of TiO2 nanowires obtained by EMA method and experiment

Optical properties of TiO₂ nanowires, synthesized by two-step thermal evaporation process, have been studied experimentally and theoretically. Based on the theoretical method optical constants of nanowires have been calculated with the use of the effective medium approximation (EMA). As evidenced by X-ray diffraction patterns our synthesized nanowires, whose diameters and lengths were within the ranges of 50-90 nm and 500-1500 nm, respectively, were found to be crystalline rutile TiO₂ with the major refraction being along the (1 1 0) direction. The experimental data of the reflectance of TiO₂ nanowires has been obtained using spectrometer in wavelength 250-800 nm, and then, compared with the spectrum of reflectance predicted by the EMA theoretical model. Our measured experimental optical data has been found to be in good accord with our predicted results spectrum with the use of the EMA modeling; this agreement indicates that our estimation of the volume fraction from atomic force microscopy (AFM) data was accurate.     

Effect of surface roughness on nucleation and growth of vanadium pentoxide nanowires

The effect of surface roughness on subsequent growth of vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) nanowires is examined. With increasing surface roughness, both the number density and aspect ratio of V₂O₅ nanowires increase. Structures and morphology of obtained nanowires were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The nanowires are approximately 40-90 nm in diameter and 2 μm in length. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicates that the obtained nanowires are orthorhombic structure with (0 0 1) out-of-plane orientation. The luminescence property of V₂O₅ nanowires has been investigated by photoluminescence (PL) at 150 K and 300 K. PL results show intense visible emission, which is attributed to different inter-band transitions between the V 3d and O 2p band. This simple fabrication approach might be useful for fabrication of large area V₂O₅ nanowires arrays with high density.     

Synthesis and characterization of cadmium hydroxide nanowires by arc discharge method in de-ionized water

In this study, Cd(OH)₂ nanowires have been synthesized by using arc discharge method in de-ionized water. The morphology and properties of the Cd(OH)₂ nanowires were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and UV–Vis spectroscopy. TEM observations revealed that Cd(OH)₂ nanowires were abundant morphology in synthesized nanostructures, and the diameter of the Cd(OH)₂ nanowires ranges from 5 to 40 nm with several micrometers of length. In addition, the width of nanowires is not uniform and varies throughout the nanowire. XRD analysis revealed that the Cd(OH)₂ nanowires grow along [001] direction. Furthermore, hexagonal- and irregular-shaped Cd(OH)₂ nanoplates were synthesized during arc discharge. It was obtained that required arc current is 50 A for the effective and large scale production of Cd(OH)₂ nanowires. Furthermore, the optical properties of the nanowires have been characterized by UV–Vis spectra. By the means of the optical studies, the direct band gap of Cd(OH)₂ nanowires was found to be 4.0 eV with strong quantum size effect. It is also shown that a simple and cheap method which does not require relatively expensive vacuum and laser equipment stipulates an economical alternative for the synthesis of Cd(OH)₂ nanowires.     

Room temperature synthesis and characterization of CdO nanowires by chemical bath deposition (CBD) method

A chemical synthesis process for the fabrication of CdO nanowires is described. In the present work, transparent and conductive CdO films were synthesized on the glass substrate using chemical bath deposition (CBD) at room temperature. These films were annealed in air at 623 K and characterized for the structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties were studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical and electrical resistivity. The XRD analysis showed that the as-deposited amorphous can be converted in to polycrystalline after annealing. Annealed CdO nanowires are 60-65 nm in diameter and length ranges typically from 2.5 to 3 μm. The optical properties revealed the presence of direct and indirect band gaps with energies 2.42 and 2.04 eV, respectively. Electrical resistivity measurement showed semiconducting behavior and thermoemf measurement showed n-type electrical conductivity.     

Synthesis and functionalization study of hierarchical ZnO nanowires for potential nitroaromatic sensing applications

In this work, we synthesize hierarchical ZnO nanowires in a customized atmospheric CVD furnace and investigate their surface modification behavior for prospective nitroaromatic sensing applications. The morphology and crystal structure of pristine nanowires are characterized through FE-SEM, TEM, X-ray diffraction and EDAX studies. Photoluminescence behavior of pristine nanowires is also reported. Surface modification behavior of synthesized nanowires on a ZnO–oleic acid system is studied by utilizing Raman and FT-IR spectroscopy. Based on these findings, 1-pyrenebutyric acid (PBA) has been identified as an appropriate fluorescent receptor for sensing p-nitrophenol. Fluorescence quenching experiments on a PBA–p-nitrophenol system are reported and a detection limit of up to 28 ppb is envisaged for PBA-grafted ZnO nanowire-based optical sensor.     

Synthesis and characterization of GaN nanowires by ammoniating Ga2O3/Cr thin films deposited on Si(1 1 1) substrates

GaN nanowires have been successfully synthesized on Si(1 1 1) substrates by magnetron sputtering through ammoniating Ga₂O₃/Cr thin films at 950 °C. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), FT-IR spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and photoluminescence (PL) spectrum were carried out to characterize the microstructure, morphology, and optical properties of GaN samples. The results demonstrate that the nanowires are single-crystal GaN with hexagonal wurtzite structure and high-quality crystalline, have the size of 30-80 nm in diameter and several tens of microns in length with good emission properties. The growth direction of GaN nanowires is perpendicular to the fringe of (1 0 1) plane. The growth mechanism of GaN nanowires is also discussed in detail.     

Ab initio study of [001] GaN nanowires

We present the results of a study of structural, electronic, and optical properties of the unpassivated and H-passivated GaN nanowires having diameters in the range of 3.29 to 18.33 Å grown along [001] direction by employing the first-principles pseudopotential method within density functional theory in the local density approximation. Two types of nanowires having hexagonal and triangular cross-sections have been investigated. The binding energy increases with the diameter of the nanowire because of a decrease in the relative number of the unsaturated surface bonds. The binding energies of the triangular cross-sectional nanowires are somewhat smaller than those of the hexagonal cross-sectional nanowires in accordance with the Wulff’s rule except the smallest diameter triangular cross-sectional nanowire, where the binding energy is comparable with the corresponding hexagonal cross-sectional nanowires. The band gap varies rapidly with the diameter of the nanowire in the case of the smaller diameter nanowires, and quite slowly for the larger diameter nanowires. After atomic relaxation, appreciable distortion occurs in the nanowires, where the chains of Ga- and N-atoms are curved in different directions. These distortions are reduced with the diameters of the nanowires. The optical absorption in the GaN nanowires is quite strong in the ultra-violet region but an appreciable absorption is also present in the visible region for the larger diameter nanowires. The present results indicate the possibility of engineering the properties of nanowires by manipulating their diameter and surface structure. The presently predicted smaller diameter GaN nanowire possessing the triangular cross-section should be observable in the experiments.     

A simple method to synthesize worm-like AlN nanowires and its field emission studies

The worm-like AlN nanowires are fabricated by the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on Si substrates through using Al powder and N₂ as precursors, CaF₂ as fluxing medium, Au as catalyst, respectively. The as-grown worm-like AlN nanowires each have a polycrystalline and hexagonal wurtzite structure. Their diameters are about 300 nm, and the lengths are over 10 μm. The growth mechanism of worm-like AlN nanowires is discussed. Hydrogen plasma plays a very important role in forming the polycrystalline structure and rough surfaces of worm-like AlN nanowires. The worm-like AlN nanowires exhibit an excellent field-emission (FE) property with a low turn-on field of 4.5 V/μm at a current density of 0.01 mA/cm² and low threshold field of 9.9 V/μm at 1 mA/cm². The emission current densities of worm-like AlN nanowires each have a good stability. The enhanced FE properties of worm-like AlN nanowires may be due to their polycrystalline and rough structure with nanosize and high aspect ratio. The excellent FE properties of worm-like AlN nanowires can be explained by a grain boundary conduction mechanism. The results demonstrate that the worm-like AlN nanowires prepared by the proposed simple and the PECVD method possesses the potential applications in photoelectric and field-emission devices.     

Optical limiting properties of CdS nanowires

Intensity-dependent nonlinear optical transmission studies of cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanowires (∼ 50-100 nm diameter) suspended in dimethylformamide have been carried out in the visible region using the Z-scan technique with 7 ns pulses from the second harmonic of an Nd:YAG laser. The optical limiting threshold of CdS nanowires suspension was determined to be 1.3 J cm^− 2, with normalized transmittance of 0.47, which is relatively lower when compared with those of many popular metal nanowire suspensions reported in the literature. Based on an effective three-photon absorption model, nonlinear absorption and nonlinear scattering were identified as the dominant processes for the measured reduced transmittance.     

InN纳米线的低压化学气相沉积及其场发射特性研究

利用低压化学气相沉积方法在以Au作催化剂的Si衬底上生长了InN纳米线. 扫描电子显微镜分析表明，这些纳米线的直径在60—100 nm的范围内, 而其长度大于1 μm.高分辨透射电子显微镜图像表明，合成的纳米线中含有六方相和立方相的InN晶体.这些InN纳米线具有良好的场发射特性和稳定的场发射电流，其开启场为10.02 V/μm(电流密度为10 μA/cm²)，在24 V/μm 的电场下，其电流密度达到5.5 mA/cm².此外，对InN纳米线的场发射机理也进行了讨论. 关键词： InN纳米线 场电子发射 非线性Fower-Nordheim曲线     

Quasi-Rayleigh light scattering by internal elements of a metamaterial in a light-carrying core of a single-mode optical fiber based on the Veselago effect

At present, single-mode optical fibers composed of metamaterials—so-called “left-handed” optical media—for the far- and mid-IR ranges have already been created. In the near future, left-handed singlemode optical fibers for the visible and near-IR ranges will be created, light-carrying cores of which will be composed by an ordered structure of dielectric elements, the dimensions of which will be much smaller than the light wavelength, while the effective refractive index of the structure will be negative; i.e., the structure will possess the so-called “Veselago effect.” We show that, because the dimensions of these dielectric elements many times exceed the dimensions of molecules of optical media, the elements should strongly scatter light, with this scattering considerably exceeding the Rayleigh (molecular) light scattering that occurs in conventional quartz single-mode optical fibers. We propose to term this phenomenon the quasi-Rayleigh light scattering. Numerical estimates of the quasi-Rayleigh light scattering for left-handed single-mode optical fibers at a light wavelength of λ = 1.55 μm have been made.     

(Mg,Fe)SiO_3钙钛矿在高压下光学性质的第一性原理研究

采用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理平面波超软赝势方法并结合局域密度近似(LDA),计算了(Mg_(0.875),Fe_(0.125))SiO_3钙钛矿在高压下的光吸收和折射率性质.结果表明:(1)计算得到的二价铁吸收带的波数位置以及其吸收带随压力增大出现的蓝移现象与实验观测结果基本一致.(2)压力是导致二价铁吸收带强度降低的一个重要因素,而二价铁自旋态的转变对其吸收带强度的降低没有贡献.因此,实验中观测到的二价铁吸收带强度的降低或许与其自旋态的转变无关.(3)在近红外和可见光区,折射率随着压力增大而降低,随波数增加而缓慢上升.     

ZnO可见区发光机理研究进展

近年来,科研工作者对ZnO纳米材料研究产生了浓厚的兴趣。ZnO是一种具有宽带隙(3.37 eV)和较大的激子束缚能(60 meV)的六方纤锌矿结构半导体材料。它具有优异的光电、压电、压敏及发光等特性,在发光(激光)二极管、传感器、发光器件、紫外探测器等领域都有非常好的应用前景。至今,有很多非常成熟的实验方法(包括静电纺丝、水热法、溶胶-水热法、化学气相沉积法、旋涂法及电化学沉积法等)用来合成ZnO纳米材料,如纳米线、纳米棒、纳米盘及量子点等。氧化锌纳米结构的制备和性质已得到了广泛的研究,ZnO的可见发光机理一直是研究的热点,但很少有人对可见光范围内的光致发光进行总结。光致发光光谱能反映一些重要信息,如表面缺陷和氧空位、半导体材料的表面状态、光诱导电荷转移过程等。有学者认为ZnO的发光机理与其晶体缺陷有关,还有研究者认为其发光机理与氧空位有关等。通过量子限域效应、带边调制、表面修饰方法、缺陷调控方法等方面综述了ZnO可见区发光机理。     

金属纳米线弹性性能的尺寸效应及其内在机理的模拟研究

本文应用分子动力学(MD)方法和改进分析型嵌入原子模型(MAEAM)研究了Ni, Al和V纳米线的弹性性能尺寸效应及表面对其影响, 并计算了相应完整晶格材料的弹性性能. 结果表明本文计算完整晶格材料的弹性性能与已有实验和理论的结果相符合. 而计算所得各金属纳米线的体模量明显低于相应块体材料的结果, 且随纳米线的尺寸增加而呈指数增加, 并接近于常数. 在此基础上, 通过研究Ni, Al和V纳米线表面能的尺寸效应及其分布特征进一步探讨了自由表面在尺寸影响纳米线弹性性能过程中的作用及其内在机理.     

Fabrication and low-temperature photoluminescence spectra of Mn-doped ZnO nanowires

Mn-doped ZnO nanowires have been fabricated through a high temperature vapor-solid deposition process. The low-temperature photoluminescence spectra of the samples show that there are multipeak emissions at the ultraviolet (UV) region (about 3.4?C3.0?eV). The excitonic and phonon-assisted transitions in Mn-doped ZnO nanowires were investigated. The results show that there is an obvious oscillatory structure emission at the UV region under low temperature from 12?C125?K. The oscillatory structure has an energy periodicity about 70?meV and the oscillatory structure is mainly attributed to longitudinal optical (LO) phonon replicas of free excitons?(FX). The multipeak emissions at 12?K are attributed to a donor-bound exciton (DBX, 3.3617?eV), 1LO-phonon replicas of a free exciton (FX-1LO, 3.3105?eV), 2LO-phonon replicas of a free exciton (FX-2LO, 3.2396?eV), and 3LO-phonon replicas of a free exciton (FX-3LO, 3.1692?eV), respectively. The intensity of UV emission and the efficiency of emission from the Mn-doped ZnO nanowires are improved.     

Phase-matching properties of PPKTP, MgO:PPSLT and MgO:PPcLN for ultrafast optical parametric oscillation in the visible and near-infrared ranges with green pump

Ultrashort pulses with wavelength tuning in the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) ranges (here approximately 680 to 2000 nm) have wide application in many biomedical devices especially in imaging and spectroscopy. The theoretical studies here consider the phase-matching conditions of three periodically poled crystals (PPKTP, MgO:PPcLN and MgO:PPSLT) to use for femtosecond optical parametric oscillators (OPO) to generate wavelength tunability in this range. The basic optical properties and the wavelength tuning ranges are calculated with respect to different grating periods and temperature variation. Dispersive properties of crystals relevant to the ultrafast operation regime are also discussed. The excitation wavelength used here for the analysis is 520 nm which is the second harmonic wavelength of Yb-doped ultrashort pulse solid state lasers. The concept of the tunable femtosecond OPOs with green excitation presented here can be a better alternative to the widely used expensive Ti:Sapphire lasers.     

Electronic structure and optical properties of CdWO4 with oxygen vacancy studied from first principles

The electronic structures, dielectric functions and absorption coefficient of both perfect CdWO₄ crystal (CWO) and the CWO crystal containing oxygen vacancy (CWO: V _O) have been studied using the CASTEP code with the lattice structure optimized. The calculated total density of states (TDOS) of CWO: V _O indicates that the oxygen vacancy would introduce a new electronic state within the band gap compared with that of perfect CWO. The dielectric functions are calculated since the imaginary part of the dielectric function can reduce the optical absorption of a certain crystal, and then the absorption coefficient is calculated. The calculated absorption spectra show that CWO: V _O exhibits two absorption bands in the ultraviolet and visible region, peaking at about 3.0 eV (413 nm) and 3.5 eV (354 nm), respectively, which are in agreement with the experimental results showing that the yellow CWO has two optical absorption bands in this region peaking at around 350 nm and 400 nm respectively. It can be concluded that oxygen vacancy causes these two absorption bands. The calculations also indicate that the optical properties of CWO exhibit anisotropy, and can be explained by the anisotropy of the crystal lattice.