Facile route to high-density, ordered ZnO nanowire arrays and their photoluminescence properties

A simple template-directed wet chemistry route based on traditional thermal decomposition technique has been developed for the preparation of high-density, ordered ZnO nanowire arrays. The fabrication was performed at relative low temperature without involving complex procedures, sophisticated equipment and rigorous experiment conditions, thereby providing a straightforward and mild method to produce metal/metal oxide ordered nanostructures. The nanowire array system was evaluated by SEM, XRD, TEM and PL. A stable luminescence at 425 nm was present.     

Multiphoton ionization studies of amines with UV-VIS lasers

Three and four photon ionization studies at 355 and 532 nm are presented for the isomeric propylamines and n-pentylamine. Ionic fragmentation patterns and ion yields are presented as a function of laser wavelength and fluence. These time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectra are compared with both electron impact data and the TOF mass spectra of the previously reported butylamines. A brief discussion of the dynamics of the decomposition process is presented in light of the butylamine results and competitive ionic fragmentation pathways.     

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.     

Study on the defects of ZnO nanowire

The room-temperature photoluminescence property of ZnO nanowires was studied. It showed an ultraviolet peak and a visible light band in the PL spectrum. Through Gaussian fitting, it was found that the visible light band can be divided into two peaks at 2.37 eV and 2.53 eV, which was originated from oxygen antisite and oxygen vacancy defects, respectively. After being exposed to air or post-annealed in oxygen ambience, aging effect was observed and the peak at 2.53 eV disappeared due to the removal of oxygen vacancy defects. Therefore, it is suggested that oxygen antisite and oxygen vacancy coexist in ZnO and induce visible light emission.     

Multiphoton ionization of atoms and ions by high-intensity X-ray lasers

Coulomb corrections to the action function and rate of multiphoton ionization of atoms and ions in a strong linearly polarized electromagnetic field are calculated for high values of the Keldysh adiabaticity parameter. The Coulomb corrections significantly increase the ionization rate for atoms (by several orders of magnitude). An interpolation formula proposed for ionization rate is valid for arbitrary values of the adiabaticity parameter. The high accuracy of the formula is confirmed by comparison with the results of numerical calculations. The general case of elliptic polarization of laser radiation is also considered.     

Characterization of ZnO nanowire field-effect transistors and exposed to ultraviolet radiation

A ZnO nanowire (NW) field-effect transistor (FET) is fabricated and characterized, and its characterization of ultraviolet radiation is also investigated. On the one hand, when the radiation time is 5~min, the radiation intensity increases to 5.1~μ W/cm², while the saturation drain current (I_\rm dss) of the nanowire FET decreases sharply from 560 to 320~nA. The field effect mobility (μ ) of the ZnO nanowire FET drops from 50.17 to 23.82~cm²/(V.s) at V_\rm DS=2.5~V, and the channel resistivity of the FET increases by a factor of 2. On the other hand, when the radiation intensity is 2.5~μ W/cm^2 , the DC performance of the FET does not change significantly with irradiation time (its performances at irradiation times of 5 and 20~min are almost the same); in particular, the I_\rm dss of NW FET only reduces by about 50~nA. Research is underway to reveal the intrinsic properties of suspended ZnO nanowires and to explore their device applications.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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     

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).     

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.     

A templateless surfactant-free seedless aqueous route to single-crystalline ZnO nanowires synthesis

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires (NWs) have been synthesized using zinc nitrate and hexamethylenetetramine by templateless, surfactant-free and seedless aqueous solution route. The morphology of ZnO NWs was considerably affected by growth time: a longer reaction time results in the formation of ZnO NWs. Structural analysis of the synthesized NWs showed an average diameter of 20–30 nm length of several micrometers and single-crystalline wurtzite hexagonal structure. Photoluminescence studies of ZnO NWs showed a strong green emission peak at 585 nm.     

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.     

Experimental evidence and physical understanding of ZnO vapor-liquid-solid nanowire growth

Metal-catalyst-assisted thermal chemical vapor transport is one of most popular techniques for ZnO nanowires preparation, and the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) process is recognized to be responsible for ZnO nanowires growth upon metal-catalyst-assisted thermal chemical vapor transport. However, there have been very few investigations to provide substantial experimental evidence for supporting ZnO VLS nanowires growth upon metal-catalyst-assisted thermal chemical vapor transport, so far. Herein, we report a study of ZnO nanowires growth using metal-catalyst-assisted thermal chemical vapor transport based on laser ablation, and we provide solid experimental evidence for the VLS process of ZnO nanowires.     

Growth mechanism studies of ZnO nanowire arrays via hydrothermal method

Well-controlled ZnO nanowire arrays have been synthesized using the hydrothermal method, a low temperature and low cost synthesis method. The process consists of two steps: the ZnO buffer layer deposition on the substrate by spin-coating and the growth of the ZnO nanowire array on the seed layer. We demonstrated that the microstructure and the morphology of the ZnO nanowire arrays can be significantly influenced by the main parameters of the hydrothermal method, such as pH value of the aqueous solution, growth time, and solution temperature during the ZnO nanowire growth. Scanning electron microscopy observations showed that the well oriented and homogeneous ZnO nanowire arrays can be obtained with the optimized synthesis parameters. Both x-ray diffraction spectra and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) observations revealed a preferred orientation of ZnO nanowires toward the c-axis of the hexagonal Wurtzite structure, and HRTEM images also showed an excellent monocrystallinity of the as-grown ZnO nanowires. For a deposition temperature of 90 °C, two growth stages have been identified during the growth process with the rates of 10 and 3 nm/min, respectively, at the beginning and the end of the nanowire growth. The ZnO nanowires obtained with the optimized growth parameters owning a high aspect ratio about 20. We noticed that the starting temperature of seed layer can seriously influence the nanowire growth morphology; two possible growth mechanisms have been proposed for the seed layer dipped in the solution at room temperature and at a high temperature, respectively.     

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.     

Dye-sensitized solar cells based on ZnO nanowire array/TiO2 nanoparticle composite photoelectrodes with controllable nanowire aspect ratio

The ZnO nanowire (NW) array/TiO₂ nanoparticle (NP) composite photoelectrode with controllable NW aspect ratio has been grown from aqueous solutions for the fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), which combines the advantages of the rapid electron transport in ZnO NW array and the high surface area of TiO₂ NPs. The results indicate that the composite photoelectrode achieves higher overall photoelectrical conversion efficiency (η) than the ZnO NW alone. As a result, DSSCs based on the ZnO NW array/TiO₂ NP composite photoelectrodes get the enhanced photoelectrical conversion efficiency, and the highest η is also achieved by rational tuning the aspect ratio of ZnO NWs. With the proper aspect ratio (ca. 6) of ZnO NW, the ZnO NW array/TiO₂ NP composite DSSC exhibits the highest conversion efficiency (5.5 %). It is elucidated by the dye adsorption amount and interfacial electron transport of DSSCs with the ZnO NW array/TiO₂ NP composite photoelectrode, which is quantitatively characterized using the UV-Vis absorption spectra and electrochemical impedance spectra. It is evident that the DSSC with the proper aspect ratio of ZnO NW displays the high dye adsorption amount and fastest interfacial electron transfer.     

ZnO nanowire lines and bundles: Template-deformation-guided alignment for patterned field-electron emitters

One-dimensional ZnO materials have been promising for field-emission (FE) application, but how to facially control the alignment of ZnO emitters is still a great challenge especially for patterned display application. Here, we report the fabrication of novel ZnO nanowire (NW) line and bundle arrays for patterned field-electron emitters. The effects of PS template size and heating time on the resulted ZnO nanoarrays were systematically studied. The deformation degree of PS templates was controlled and hence utilized to adjust the alignment of electrochemically deposited ZnO arrays. It was found that the length of NW lines and the density of NW bundles can effectively tuned by the PS template heating time. The optimal FE performance with turn-on electric field as low as of 4.4 V μm⁻¹ and the field-enhancement factor as high as of 1450 were achieved through decreasing the screening effect among the patterned field-electron emitters.