Scalable silicon nanowire photodetectors

This paper presents photodetectors having vertically stacked electrodes with sub-micron (300 nm) separation based on silicon nanowire (SiNW) nanocomposites. The thin-film-like devices are made using standard photolithography instead of electron beam lithography and thus are amenable to scalable low-cost manufacturing. The processing technique is not limited to SiNWs and can be extended to different nanowires (NWs) (e.g., ZnO, CdSe) and substrates. The current–voltage characteristics show Schottky behaviour that is dependent on the properties of the contact metal and that of the pristine SiNWs. This makes these devices suitable for examination of electronic transport in SiNWs. Preliminary results for light sensitivity show promising photoresponse that is a function of effective NW density.     

Graphene oxide–MnO_2 nanocomposite-modified glassy carbon electrode as an efficient sensor for H_2O_2

In this study, a new facile preparation method of nanocomposites consisting of graphene oxide and manganese dioxide nanowires(GO/MnO_2 NW_s) was developed. The morphology, structure and composition of the resulted products were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and N_2 adsorption and desorption. The GO/MnO_2 nanocomposite was used as an electrode material for non-enzymatic determination of hydrogen peroxide. The proposed sensor exhibits excellent electrocatalytic performance for the determination of hydrogen peroxide in phosphate buffer solution(PBS, pH7) at an applied potential of 0.75 V. The non-enzymatic biosensor for determination of hydrogen peroxide displayed a wide linear range of 4.90 mmol L~(-1)–4.50 mmol L~(-1)with a correlation coefficient of 0.9992, a low detection limit of 0.48 mmol L~(-1) and a high sensitivity of 191.22μA(mmol L~(-1))~(-1)cm~(-2)(signal/noise, S/N = 3). Moreover, the non-enzymatic biosensor shows an excellent selectivity.     

Tunable magnetic properties of arrays of Fe(1 1 0) nanowires grown on kinetically grooved W(1 1 0) self-organized templates

We report a detailed magnetic study of a new type of self-organized nanowires discussed briefly previously [B. Borca et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 90 (2007) 142507]. The templates, prepared on sapphire wafers in a kinetically limited regime, consist of uniaxially grooved W(1 1 0) surfaces, with a lateral period here tuned to 15 nm. Fe deposition leads to the formation of (1 1 0) 7 nm-wide wires located at the bottom of the grooves. The effect of capping layers (Mo, Pd, Au, Al) and underlayers (Mo, W) on the magnetic anisotropy of the wires was studied. Significant discrepancies with figures known for thin flat films are evidenced and discussed in terms of step anisotropy and strain-dependent surface anisotropy. Demagnetizing coefficients of cylinders with a triangular isosceles cross-section have also been calculated, to estimate the contribution of dipolar anisotropy. Finally, the dependence of magnetic anisotropy with the interface element was used to tune the blocking temperature of the wires, here from 50 to 200 K.     

Growth and characterization of type-II ZnO/ZnTe core-shell nanowire arrays for solar cell applications

Large area, well-aligned type-II ZnO/ZnTe core-shell nanowire arrays have been fabricated on an a-plane sapphire substrate. The ZnO nanowires were grown in a furnace by chemical vapor deposition with gold as catalyst and then were coated with a ZnTe shell on the ZnO nanowires surface by a metal-organic chemical deposition chamber. The morphology and size distribution of the ZnO/ZnTe core-shell nanowire arrays were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the crystal structure was examined by x-ray diffraction (XRD). Transmission measurement was used to study the optical properties of the core-shell nanowires. The results indicated that the ZnO/ZnTe core-shell nanowire arrays have good crystalline quality. In addition, it was found that the nanowire arrays have good light absorption characteristics and these properties make it suitable for making photovoltaic devices.     

Synthesis and optical characterization of vertically grown ZnO nanowires in high crystallinity through vapor-liquid-solid growth mechanism

The gas-phase growth and optical characteristics of 1-dimensional ZnO nanostructure have been investigated. The ZnO nanowires (NWs) were grown vertically on Au coated silicon substrates by vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mechanism using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The ZnO NWs were grown in the crystal direction of [0 0 0 1]. The ZnO NWs exhibit the uniform size of less than 100 nm in diameter and up to 5 μm in length. Photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of ZnO NWs shows the strong band-edge emission at ∼380 nm (∼3.27 eV) without significant deep-level defect emission. The exciton lifetime of ZnO NWs was measured to be approximately 150 ± 10 ps.     

Plasmonic waveguiding properties of the gap plasmon mode with a dielectric substrate

The plasmonic waveguiding properties of the gap plasmon mode between two adjacent silver nanowires with a substrate are theoretically investigated using finite element method. The results show that there is a critical gap distance between two silver nanowires which approximately equals to the radius of the nanowires. When the gap distance is less than the critical distance, the influence of the substrate on the gap plasmon mode can be neglected. The gap plasmon mode has a combination of high confinement and long propagation length. Moreover, the plasmonic waveguiding properties of the gap plasmon mode are not sensitive to the wire-to-substrate distance between silver nanowires and the substrate.     

Nanowire plasmonic waveguides,circuits and devices

As typical one‐dimensional nanostructures for waveguiding tightly confined optical fields beyond the diffraction limit, metal nanowires have been used as versatile nanoscale building blocks for functional plasmonic and photonic structures and devices. Metal nanowires, especially those fabricated by bottom‐up synthesis such as Ag and Au nanowires, usually exhibit excellent diameter uniformity and surface smoothness with diameters down to tens of nanometers, which offers great opportunities for plasmonic waveguiding of optical fields with deep‐subwavelength confinement, coherence maintenance and low scattering losses. Based on nanowire plasmonic waveguides, a variety of applications ranging from plasmonic couplers, interferometers, resonators to photon emitters have been reported in recent years. In this article, significant progresses in these nanowire plasmonic waveguides, circuits and devices are reviewed. Future outlook and challenges are also discussed.     

Influence of Mn ions concentration on optical and magnetic properties of Mn-doped ZnS nanowires

The optical and magnetic properties of ZnS:Mn²⁺ nanowires are tuned by Mn²⁺ concentration. The magnetic variation is ascribed to the competition between antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic exchange interactions.

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Ordered mesoporous silica-based inorganic nanocomposites

This article reviews the synthesis and characterization of nanoparticles and nanowires grown in ordered mesoporous silicas (OMS). Summarizing work performed over the last 4 years, this article highlights the material properties of the final nanocomposite in the context of the synthesis methodology employed. While certain metal-OMS systems (e.g. gold in MCM-41) have been extensively studied this article highlights that there is a rich set of chemistries that have yet to be explored. The article concludes with some thoughts on future developments and challenges in this area.     

聚乙烯醇辅助合成CdS纳米线及其表征

以聚乙烯醇为辅助剂, 使用溶剂热法成功制备CdS纳米线, 并用XRD、TEM、HRTEM、UV-Vis和PL(荧光)发射谱等方法对样品进行表征. 结果表明, 该法制备的CdS纳米线为六方纤锌矿结构, 直径为70 nm, 长约10 μm, 沿[001]晶向择优生长, 具有量子禁域效应. 同时, 根据对比实验结果提出了CdS纳米线的聚合物辅助生长机理.