Electrical properties of individual ZnO nanowires

Influence of morphology on electrical and optical properties of graphene/Al-doped ZnO-nanorod composites

The development of future 3D-printed electronics relies on the access to highly conductive inexpensive materials that are printable at low temperatures (<100 ^◦C). The implementation of available materials for these applications are, however, still limited by issues related to cost and printing quality. Here, we report on the simple hydrothermal growth of novel nanocomposites that are well suited for conductive printing applications. The nanocomposites comprise highly Al-doped ZnO nanorods grown on graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs). The ZnO nanorods play the two major roles of (i) preventing GNPs from agglomerating and (ii) promoting electrical conduction paths between the graphene platelets. The effect of two different ZnO-nanorod morphologies with varying Al-doping concentration on the nanocomposite conductivity and the graphene dispersity are investigated. Time-dependent absorption, photoluminescence and photoconductivity measurements show that growth in high pH solutions promotes a better graphene dispersity, higher doping levels and enhanced bonding between the graphene and the ZnO nanorods. Growth in low pH solutions yields samples characterized by a higher conductivity and a reduced number of surface defects. These samples also exhibit a large persistent photoconductivity attributed to an effective charge separation and transfer from the nanorods to the graphene platelets. Our findings can be used to tailor the conductivity of novel printable composites, or for fabrication of large volumes of inexpensive porous conjugated graphene-semiconductor composites.

Low-friction nanojoint prototype

High surface energy of individual nanostructures leads to high adhesion and static friction that can completely hinder the operation of nanoscale systems with movable parts. For instance, silver or gold nanowires cannot be moved on silicon substrate without plastic deformation. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate an operational prototype of a low-friction nanojoint. The movable part of the prototype is made either from a gold or silver nano-pin produced by laser-induced partial melting of silver and gold nanowires resulting in the formation of rounded bulbs on their ends. The nano-pin is then manipulated into the inverted pyramid (i-pyramids) specially etched in a Si wafer. Due to the small contact area, the nano-pin can be repeatedly tilted inside an i-pyramid as a rigid object without noticeable deformation. At the same time in the absence of external force the nanojoint is stable and preserves its position and tilt angle. Experiments are performed inside a scanning electron microscope and are supported by finite element method simulations.

Sub-5 nm nanostructures fabricated by atomic layer deposition using a carbon nanotube template

The fabrication of nanostructures having diameters of sub-5 nm is very a important issue for bottom-up nanofabrication of nanoscale devices. In this work, we report a highly controllable method to create sub-5 nm nano-trenches and nanowires by combining area-selective atomic layer deposition (ALD) with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) as templates. Alumina nano-trenches having a depth of 2.6 ∼ 3.0 nm and SiO2 nano-trenches having a depth of 1.9 ∼ 2.2 nm fully guided by the SWNTs have been formed on SiO2/Si substrate. Through infilling ZnO material by ALD in alumina nano-trenches, well-defined ZnO nanowires having a thickness of 3.1 ∼ 3.3 nm have been fabricated. In order to improve the electrical properties of ZnO nanowires, as-fabricated ZnO nanowires by ALD were annealed at 350 °C in air for 60 min. As a result, we successfully demonstrated that as-synthesized ZnO nanowire using a specific template can be made for various high-density resistive components in the nanoelectronics industry.

Highly Dense ZnO Nanowires Grown on Graphene Foam for Ultraviolet Photodetection

Growth of highly dense ZnO nanowires (ZnO NWs) is demonstrated on three-dimensional graphene foam (GF) using resistive thermal evaporation technique. Photoresponse of the as-grown hybrid structure of ZnO NWs on GF (ZnO NWs/GF) is evaluated for ultraviolet (UV) detection. Excellent photoresponse with fast response and recovery times of 9.5 and 38 s with external quantum efficiency of 2490.8% is demonstrated at low illumination power density of 1.3 mW/cm(2). In addition, due to excellent charge carrier transport, mobility of graphene reduces the recombination rate of photogenerated charge carriers, hence the lifetime of photogenerated free charge carriers enhances in the photodetectors.

Review on measurement techniques of transport properties of nanowires

Physical properties at the nanoscale are novel and different from those in bulk materials. Over the last few decades, there has been an ever growing interest in the fabrication of nanowire structures for a wide variety of applications including energy generation purposes. Nevertheless, the study of their transport properties, such as thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity or Seebeck coefficient, remains an experimental challenge. For instance, in the particular case of nanostructured thermoelectrics, theoretical calculations have shown that nanowires offer a promising way of enhancing the hitherto low efficiency of these materials in the conversion of temperature differences into electricity. Therefore, within the thermoelectrical community there has been a great experimental effort in the measurement of these quantities in actual nanowires. The measurements of these properties at the nanoscale are also of interest in fields other than energy, such as electrical components for microchips, field effect transistors, sensors, and other low scale devices. For all these applications, knowing the transport properties is mandatory. This review deals with the latest techniques developed to perform the measurement of these transport properties in nanowires. A thorough overview of the most important and modern techniques used for the characterization of different kinds of nanowires will be shown.

Characterizations of Ohmic and Schottky-behaving contacts of a single ZnO nanowire

Current-voltage and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) measurements were performed on single ZnO nanowires. Measurements are shown to be strongly correlated with the contact behavior, either Ohmic or diode-like. The ZnO nanowires were obtained by metallo-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) and contacted using electronic-beam lithography. Depending on the contact geometry, good quality Ohmic contacts (linear I-V behavior) or non-linear (diode-like) contacts were obtained. Current-voltage and KPFM measurements on both types of contacted ZnO nanowires were performed in order to investigate their behavior. A clear correlation could be established between the I-V curve, the electrical potential profile along the device and the nanowire geometry. Some arguments supporting this behavior are given based on technological issues and on depletion region extension. This work will help to better understand the electrical behavior of Ohmic contacts on single ZnO nanowires, for future applications in nanoscale field-effect transistors and nano-photodetectors.

PRESSURE INDUCED PHASE TRANSITION AND ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES OF 1D ZnO NANOCRYSTAL: AN AB INITIO STUDY

We have analyzed the one-dimensional (1D) ZnO nanocrystals in its wurtzite (B4); zinc-blende (B3) and rocksalt (B1) type phases, by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The energetic stability of nanocrystal has been analyzed using Revised Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof (revPBE) type parameterized GGA potential. The B3 type phase is most stable amongst other phases of nanocrystals. The computation of ground state properties for all the phases of ZnO nanocrystals finds that the bulk modulus are smaller than their bulk counterpart, in turn softening the material at reduced dimensions. The electronic band structure analysis confirms the semiconducting nature of B4 type phase whereas other two are metallic.

Controlling semiconducting and insulating states of SnO2 reversibly by stress and voltage

By applying mechanical stress (by bending a flexible substrate) and an appropriate voltage, the conductance of a single-crystal SnO(2) microrod on a flexible substrate can be tuned in a reversible and nonvolatile manner. The creation and elimination of lattice defects controlled by strain and electrical healing is the origin of this novel transition. A SnO(2) microrod changes continually from its normal semiconducting state to an insulating state by bending the flexible substrate. The insulating state is maintained even after straightening the substrate. Interestingly, by applying an appropriate voltage, the defects are electrically healed and the insulating state reverts to the original semiconducting state. The structural changes in the SnO(2) microrod observed in the Raman spectra are consistent with the nonvolatile property of the transport. This flexible SnO(2) device with the reversible and nonvolatile modification of electrical properties is expected to lead to a better understanding of the mechanism of defect creation and elimination and has potential application in novel flexible strain sensors and switches.

The Interaction of Radio-Frequency Fields With Dielectric Materials at Macroscopic to Mesoscopic Scales

The goal of this paper is to overview radio-frequency (RF) electromagnetic interactions with solid and liquid materials from the macroscale to the nanoscale. The overview is geared toward the general researcher. Because this area of research is vast, this paper concentrates on currently active research areas in the megahertz (MHz) through gigahertz (GHz) frequencies, and concentrates on dielectric response. The paper studies interaction mechanisms both from phenomenological and fundamental viewpoints. Relaxation, resonance, interface phenomena, plasmons, the concepts of permittivity and permeability, and relaxation times are summarized. Topics of current research interest, such as negative-index behavior, noise, plasmonic behavior, RF heating, nanoscale materials, wave cloaking, polaritonic surface waves, biomaterials, and other topics are overviewed. Relaxation, resonance, and related relaxation times are overviewed. The wavelength and material length scales required to define permittivity in materials is discussed.

Positive temperature coefficient of resistance of single ZnO nanorods

ZnO nanorods were synthesized by a simple aqueous solution method. Crystal structures and morphology studies show that the ZnO nanorods are single crystalline with the growth direction aligned with the c axis of ZnO. An Au-ZnO nanorod-Au (metal-semiconductor-metal, MSM) device using the synthesized nanorod was fabricated. An electronic model with two back-to-back Schottky diodes in series with a nanorod was used to describe the electrical transport of the MSM device. A positive temperature coefficient of resistance is observed on a single ZnO nanorod from 383 to 473 K. A simple model has been proposed to explain such an abnormal behavior including the effect of the interface states and the adsorption-desorption of the water/oxygen molecules on the surface of the nanorod.