Effect of ambient temperature on electrical properties of nanostructure n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction diode

The nanostructure n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction diode was fabricated by sol–gel method. The structural and morphological properties of the nanostructure ZnO film have been investigated. The X-ray diffraction spectra indicated that the films are of polycrystalline nature. The scanning electron microscopy images indicate that the surface morphology of ZnO film is almost homogeneous and the ZnO film is consisted of the circular formed with coming together of the nanoparticles. The electrical characterization of nanostructure n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction diode has been investigated by current–voltage characteristics. The ideality factor (n) of the diode was found for different ambient temperatures and the obtained 6.40 value for 296 K is higher than unity due to the interface states between the two semiconductor materials and series resistance. The values of n increased with decreasing ambient temperature. The reverse current of the diode increased with illumination intensity of 100 mW cm⁻² and the diode gave a maximum open circuit voltage V_oc of 0.19 V and short-circuits current I_sc of 8.03 × 10⁻⁸ A.     

Effect of MgZnO barrier layer on the UV emission of n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction diodes

ZnO-based heterojunction light emitting diodes (LEDs) with MgZnO barrier layer had been fabricated on the p-Si substrate by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technology. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics exhibited a typical p-n diode behavior. Both ultraviolet (UV) and visible emissions could be detected in the electroluminescence (EL) measurement. The result was compared with the EL spectrum of n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction LED without MgZnO barrier layer. An improved light extraction efficiency by about 31% was realized owing to the current-blocking effect of MgZnO layer. The result indicated that MgZnO barrier layer can prevent the electrons as expected and realize electron-hole recombination in ZnO layer effectively.     

The effect of Ag intermediate layer on crystalline, optical and electrical properties of nano-structured thin film

ITO thin films and ITO/Ag/ITO multilayered films were prepared on glass substrate by reactive thermal evaporation technique without intentionally heating the substrate. After deposition the films were annealed in air at three different temperatures (300°C, 420°C and 540°C). The thickness of each layer in the ITO/Ag/ITO films was kept constant at 50 nm/10 nm/40 nm. The opto-electrical and structural properties of ITO/Ag/ITO multilayered films were compared with conventional ITO single-layer films. Although both films had identical thickness, 100 nm, the ITO/Ag/ITO films showed a lower resistivity. XRD spectra showed that Ag intermediate layer had a small effect on crystalline properties of ITO/Ag/ITO films.     

Direct-current piezoelectric nanogenerator based on p-Si/n-ZnO heterojunction

We have demonstrated a direct-current piezoelectric nanogenerator with a novel structure of p-Si/n-ZnO heterojunction. Low resistance p-type silicon chip, with a large number of nano-concaves on the surface, was utilized as a top electrode over the n-type ZnO nanorod arrays, forming a heterojunction nanogenerator. Piezoelectric current, with average singles about 1 nA, was generated from the heterojunction nanogenerator. Rectifying behavior of the p-Si/n-ZnO heterojunction in our piezoelectric nanogenerator was analyzed from the I–V curve and the energy band structure. Furthermore, output tests of reverse connection and two devices parallel connection clearly eliminate the effects from measurement system errors and confirms that the current is generated from the nanogenerator. Our research presents an approach to integrating a new type of nanogenerator using the silicon chip directly, without expensive Pt or Au coated on the electrode surfaces.     

AFM analysis of piezoelectric nanogenerator based on n-diamond/n-ZnO heterojunction

We have demonstrated a high performance piezoelectric nanogenerator by scanning a diamond-coated conductive tip on ZnO nanorod arrays in an AFM system with contact-mode. About 95% ZnO nanorods generate piezoelectric current due to the excellent mechanical and electrical properties of the tip. The tip's nitrogen-doped diamond coating is the key factor to maintain effective physical contact and electrical contact to ZnO nanorods, leading to efficient piezoelectric generation. Rectifying n⁺-n heterojunction is formed when the nitrogen-doped diamond tip contacted with a ZnO nanorod, which plays an important role in accumulating and releasing piezoelectric charges of the piezoelectric nanogenerator. Our research indicates that conductive diamond film is an ideal electrode for this type of piezoelectric nanogenerator.     

Effect of doping on structural,optical and electrical properties of nanostructure ZnO films deposited onto a-Si:H/Si heterojunction

We investigated the structural; optical and electrical properties of ZnO thin films as the n-type semiconductor for silicon a-Si:H/Si heterojunction photodiodes. The ZnO film forms the front contact of the super-strata solar cell and has to exhibit good electrical (high conductivity) and optical (high transmittance) properties. In this paper we focused our attention on the influence of doping on device performance. The results show that the X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra revealed a preferred orientation of the crystallites along c-axis. SEM images show that all films display a granular, polycrystalline morphology and the ZnO:Al exhibits a better grain uniformity. The transmittance of the doped films was found to be higher when compared to undoped ZnO. A low resistivity of the order of 2.8 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm is obtained for ZnO:Al using 0.4 M concentration of zinc acetate. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra exhibit a blue band with two peaks centered at 442 nm (2.80 eV) and 490 nm (2.53 eV). It is noted that after doping the ZnO films a shift of the band by 22 nm (0.15 eV) is recorded and a high luminescence occurs when using Al as a dopant. Dark I–V curves of ZnO/a-Si:H/Si structure showed large difference, which means there is a kind of barrier to current flow between ZnO and a-Si:H layer. Doping films was applied and the turn-on voltages are around 0.6 V. Under reverse bias, the current of the ZnO/a-Si:H/Si heterojunction is larger than that of ZnO:Al/a-Si:H/Si. The improvement with ZnO:Al is attributed to a higher number of generated carriers in the nanostructure (due to the higher transmittance and a higher luminescence) that increases the probability of collisions.     

Effect of dimethyl sulfoxide on the electrical properties of PEDOT:PSS/n-Si heterojunction diodes

Effect of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) on the electrical properties of PEDOT:PSS/n-Si heterojunction diodes has been studied. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) was deposited on n-type Si wafer using facile process of spin coating. The DMSO content was varied from 0 to 8 vol%. Electrical characterization of these heterojunction diodes as performed using both current–voltage (I–V) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurements. All diodes showed rectifying behavior. AFM measurement revealed that the surface became more rough after the DMSO treatment of PEDOT:PSS films. The RMS values were found in the range of 4–6 nm. The resistivity of the PEDOT:PSS films decreased with increase in temperature. The addition of DMSO into PEDOT:PSS solution results in a decrease in resistivity of films by approximately two orders of magnitude. PEDOT:PSS films showed high transmission more than 85% in the entire visible region. Raman spectroscopy indicated effect of the DMSO treatment on the chemical structure of PEDOT chains, suggesting a conformational change of PEDOT chain in the film. An optimal value of DMSO was obtained with 5 vol% content, and it showed the best PEDOT:PSS films properties and good quality heterojunction diodes characteristics with ideality factor of 2.4 and barrier height 0.80 eV.     

Influence of growth temperature and post-annealing on an n-ZnO/p-GaN heterojunction diode

We report on an n-ZnO/p-GaN heterojunction diode fabricated from zinc oxide (ZnO) films at various growth temperatures (450, 500, 550, and 600 °C) by RF sputtering. The films were subsequently annealed at 700 °C in N₂ ambient. To investigate the influence of the growth temperature of n-ZnO films, the microstructural, optical, and electrical properties were measured using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL), and Hall measurements. The XRD pattern showed the preferred orientation along the c-axis (002) regardless of growth temperature. The PL spectra showed a dominant sharp near-band-edge (NBE) emission. Current–voltage (I–V) curves showed excellent rectification behavior. The turn-on voltage of the diode was observed to be 3.2 V for the films produced at 500 °C. The ideality factor of ZnO film was observed to be 1.37, which showed the best performance of the diode.     

Effect of the polymer emission on the electroluminescence characteristics of n-ZnO nanorods/p-polymer hybrid light emitting diode

Hybrid light emitting diodes (LEDs) based on zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods and polymers (single and blended) were fabricated and characterized. The ZnO nanorods were grown by the chemical bath deposition method at 50°C. Three different LEDs, with blue emitting, orange-red emitting or their blended polymer together with ZnO nanorods, were fabricated and studied. The current–voltage characteristics show good diode behavior with an ideality factor in the range of 2.1 to 2.27 for all three devices. The electroluminescence spectrum (EL) of the blended device has an emission range from 450 nm to 750 nm, due to the intermixing of the blue emission generated by poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) denoted as PFO with orange-red emission produced by poly(2-methoxy-5(20-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene) 1,4-phenylenevinylene) symbolized as MEH PPV combined with the deep-band emission (DBE) of the ZnO nanorods, i.e. it covers the whole visible region and is manifested as white light. The CIE color coordinates showed bluish, orange-red and white emission from the PFO, MEH PPV and blended LEDs with ZnO nanorods, respectively. These results indicate that the choice of the polymer with proper concentration is critical to the emitted color in ZnO nanorods/p-organic polymer LEDs and careful design should be considered to obtain intrinsic white light sources.     

Structural, optical, and electrical properties of p-type NiO films and composite TiO2/NiO electrodes for solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells

p-Type nickel oxide thin films were prepared by sol-gel method, and their structural, optical and electrical properties were investigated. The Ni(OH)₂ sol was formed from nickel (II) acetate tetrahydrate, Ni(CH₃COO)₂·4H₂O, in a mixture of alcohol solution and poly(ethylene glycol), and deposited on an ITO substrate by spin coating followed by different heat treatments in air (50-800 °C). The formation and composition of NiO thin film was justified by EDX analysis. It is found that the thickness of the NiO film calcined at 450 °C for 1 h is about 120 nm with average particle size of 22 nm, and high UV transparency (∼75%) in the visible region is also observed. However, the transmittance is negligible for thin films calcined at 800 °C and below 200 °C due to larger particle size and the amorphous characteristics, respectively. Moreover, the composite electrode comprising n-type TiO₂ and p-type NiO is fabricated. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the composite TiO₂/NiO electrode demonstrate significant p-type behavior by the shape of the rectifying curve in dark. The effect of calcination temperature on the rectification behavior is also discussed.     

磁控溅射法制备ZnO/YBCO异质结及电学特性

利用磁控溅射技术在YBCO上沉积ZnO薄膜,获得ZnO/YBCO异质结.测量其不同温度下的电学性质,样品显示良好的整流特性,并且随着温度的升高,ZnO/YBCO异质结电流逐渐增大.     

Light scattering by a sphere with variable optical properties of the intermediate layer

A two-parameter model of a scattering spherical particle with a layer of a variable thickness (the first parameter), inside which the refractive index is specified by an arbitrary continuous function (the second parameter), is proposed. An algorithm for calculating the extinction and backscattering efficiency factors with the help of a developed piecewise-hyperbolic approximation of the scattering coefficients is presented. A correct choice of the parameters allowed us to obtain good agreement between the experimental and calculated data on the extinction and backscattering efficiency for typical polydisperse systems of particles of irregular shape.     

电泳法制备ZnO/YBCO异质结及电学性质研究

采用电泳方法及高温煅烧工艺制备ZnO/YBCO异质结,XRD图谱显示ZnO具有c轴方向的择优取向。在SEM的截面图中可观察到ZnO与YBCO结合致密,放大500倍的表面形貌图呈现织构(textured)的微结构特征,放大5000倍的表面形貌图中可观察微米量级的六方晶粒。通过对ZnO/YBCO异质结的电学性质进行测试,结果显示整流特性。     

Fabrication and characterization of p-ZnO/n-Zn0.8Cd0.2O/n-ZnO heterojunction

We report the fabrication of p-ZnO/n- Zn_0.8Cd_0.2O/n-ZnO heterojunctions that contain Al–N codoped p-ZnO, undoped n- Zn_0.8Cd_0.2O, and Al-doped n-ZnO layers. An InZn alloy is used as the p- and n-ZnO Ohmic contact electrodes. This structure exhibits improved rectifying p–n junction behavior, with forward turn-on voltage in the range of 3–5 V. The reverse breakdown voltage can be as high as 15 V, with 10^?6-A reverse leakage current. Photoluminescence spectra show strong near band-edge emissions for both p- and n-ZnO at 368 nm and for undoped n- Zn_0.8Cd_0.2O, which is substantially red-shifted to 399 nm.     

Valence-band offset of p-NiO/n-ZnO heterojunction measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to measure the valence-band offset (VBO) of the NiO/ZnO heterojunction grown on quartz substrate by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. Core levels of Ni 2p and Zn 2p were used to align the VBO of p-NiO/n-ZnO heterojunction. The valence-band offset (ΔEV) is determined to be 1.47 eV. According to the band gap of 3.7 eV for NiO and 3.37 eV for ZnO, the conduction-band offset (ΔEC) in the structure was calculated to be 1.8 eV, and it has a type-II band alignment.     

Effects of the passivation layer deposition temperature on the electrical and optical properties of GaN-based light-emitting diodes

In this paper, silicon oxynitride is deposited through plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) to serve as an antireflection passivation layer. We have studied the effects of the deposition temperature (from 100 to 300 °C) on the electrical and optical performances of GaN-LEDs. It is found that the light output of GaN-LEDs improves greatly after the deposition of SiON antireflection passivation layer at 200 °C and is better than that of GaN-LEDs whose layers are deposited at 100 and 300 °C. The electrical properties of GaN-LED do not degrade at 100 and 200 °C, but degrade significantly at 300 °C.     

The demonstration of hybrid n-ZnO nanorod/p-polymer heterojunction light emitting diodes on glass substrates

We report a demonstration of heterojunction light emitting diode (LED) based on a hybrid n-ZnO-nanorod/p-polymer layered structure. The ZnO was grown using the aqueous chemical growth (ACG) on top of the polymer(s) which were deposited on glass. The current–voltage (I–V) behavior of the heterojunctions showed good rectifying diode characteristics. Room-temperature electroluminescence (EL) spectra of the LEDs provided a broad emission band over a wide LED color range (430–650 nm), in which both zinc and oxygen vacancy peaks are clearly detected. We present here luminescent devices based on the use of ZnO-nanorods in combination with two different blended and multi-layered p-type polymers. Electroluminescence of the first batch of devices showed that white bluish strong emission for the presently used polymers is clearly observed. We obtained a turn-on voltage of 3 V and break-down voltage equal to −6 V for PVK-TFB blended device. The corresponding values for the NPD-PFO multilayer device were 4 V and −14 V, respectively. The rectification factors were equal to 3 and 10 for the two devices, respectively. The films and devices processed were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), DEKTAK 3ST Surface Profile, Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer, photoluminescence (PL), and electroluminescence (EL).     

Fabrication and characterization of n-ZnO on p-SiC heterojunction diodes on 4H-SiC substrates

We report on the growth and characterization of n-ZnO/p-4H-SiC heterojunction diodes. Our n-ZnO layers were grown with radical-source molecular beam epitaxy (RS-MBE) on p-4H-SiC epilayers, which was previously prepared in a horizontal hot-wall reactor by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) on the n-type 4H-SiC wafers. Details on the n-ZnO growth on 8-off 4H-SiC wafers, the quality of the layers and the nature of realized p–n structures are discussed. Mesa diode structures were fabricated. Al was sputtered through a circle mask with diameter 1 mm and annealed to form Ohmic contacts to p-SiC. Ohmic contacts to the n-ZnO were formed by 30 nm/300 nm Ti/Au sputtered by electron beam evaporation. Electrical properties of the structures obtained have been studied with Hall measurements, and current–voltage measurements (I–V). I–V measurements of the device showed good rectifying behavior, from which a turn-on voltage of about 2 V was obtained.