WorldWideScience

Sample records for semiconductor oxide nanowires

  1. Additional compound semiconductor nanowires for photonics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishikawa, F.

    2016-02-01

    GaAs related compound semiconductor heterostructures are one of the most developed materials for photonics. Those have realized various photonic devices with high efficiency, e. g., lasers, electro-optical modulators, and solar cells. To extend the functions of the materials system, diluted nitride and bismide has been paid attention over the past decade. They can largely decrease the band gap of the alloys, providing the greater tunability of band gap and strain status, eventually suppressing the non-radiative Auger recombinations. On the other hand, selective oxidation for AlGaAs is a vital technique for vertical surface emitting lasers. That enables precisely controlled oxides in the system, enabling the optical and electrical confinement, heat transfer, and mechanical robustness. We introduce the above functions into GaAs nanowires. GaAs/GaAsN core-shell nanowires showed clear redshift of the emitting wavelength toward infrared regime. Further, the introduction of N elongated the carrier lifetime at room temperature indicating the passivation of non-radiative surface recombinations. GaAs/GaAsBi nanowire shows the redshift with metamorphic surface morphology. Selective and whole oxidations of GaAs/AlGaAs core-shell nanowires produce semiconductor/oxide composite GaAs/AlGaOx and oxide GaOx/AlGaOx core-shell nanowires, respectively. Possibly sourced from nano-particle species, the oxide shell shows white luminescence. Those property should extend the functions of the nanowires for their application to photonics.

  2. Dimensional optimization of nanowire--complementary metal oxide--semiconductor inverter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hashim, Yasir; Sidek, Othman

    2013-01-01

    This study is the first to demonstrate dimensional optimization of nanowire-complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor inverter. Noise margins and inflection voltage of transfer characteristics are used as limiting factors in this optimization. Results indicate that optimization depends on both dimensions ratio and digital voltage level (Vdd). Diameter optimization reveals that when Vdd increases, the optimized value of (Dp/Dn) decreases. Channel length optimization results show that when Vdd increases, the optimized value of Ln decreases and that of (Lp/Ln) increases. Dimension ratio optimization reveals that when Vdd increases, the optimized value of Kp/Kn decreases, and silicon nanowire transistor with suitable dimensions (higher Dp and Ln with lower Lp and Dn) can be fabricated.

  3. Transparent p-type SnO nanowires with unprecedented hole mobility among oxide semiconductors

    KAUST Repository

    Caraveo-Frescas, J. A.

    2013-11-25

    p-type tin monoxide (SnO) nanowire field-effect transistors with stable enhancement mode behavior and record performance are demonstrated at 160 °C. The nanowire transistors exhibit the highest field-effect hole mobility (10.83 cm2 V−1 s−1) of any p-type oxide semiconductor processed at similar temperature. Compared to thin film transistors, the SnO nanowire transistors exhibit five times higher mobility and one order of magnitude lower subthreshold swing. The SnO nanowire transistors show three times lower threshold voltages (−1 V) than the best reported SnO thin film transistors and fifteen times smaller than p-type Cu 2O nanowire transistors. Gate dielectric and process temperature are critical to achieving such performance.

  4. Quantum transport in semiconductor nanowires

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Dam, J.

    2006-01-01

    This thesis describes a series of experiments aimed at understanding the low-temperature electrical transport properties of semiconductor nanowires. The semiconductor nanowires (1-100 nm in diameter) are grown from nanoscale gold particles via a chemical process called vapor-liquid-solid (VLS)

  5. Diluted magnetic semiconductor nanowires exhibiting magnetoresistance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Peidong [El Cerrito, CA; Choi, Heonjin [Seoul, KR; Lee, Sangkwon [Daejeon, KR; He, Rongrui [Albany, CA; Zhang, Yanfeng [El Cerrito, CA; Kuykendal, Tevye [Berkeley, CA; Pauzauskie, Peter [Berkeley, CA

    2011-08-23

    A method for is disclosed for fabricating diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) nanowires by providing a catalyst-coated substrate and subjecting at least a portion of the substrate to a semiconductor, and dopant via chloride-based vapor transport to synthesize the nanowires. Using this novel chloride-based chemical vapor transport process, single crystalline diluted magnetic semiconductor nanowires Ga.sub.1-xMn.sub.xN (x=0.07) were synthesized. The nanowires, which have diameters of .about.10 nm to 100 nm and lengths of up to tens of micrometers, show ferromagnetism with Curie temperature above room temperature, and magnetoresistance up to 250 Kelvin.

  6. Ballistic superconductivity in semiconductor nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Hao; Gül, Önder; Conesa-Boj, Sonia; Nowak, Michał P.; Wimmer, Michael; Zuo, Kun; Mourik, Vincent; de Vries, Folkert K.; van Veen, Jasper; de Moor, Michiel W. A.; Bommer, Jouri D. S.; van Woerkom, David J.; Car, Diana; Plissard, Sébastien R; Bakkers, Erik P.A.M.; Quintero-Pérez, Marina; Cassidy, Maja C.; Koelling, Sebastian; Goswami, Srijit; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Kouwenhoven, Leo P.

    2017-01-01

    Semiconductor nanowires have opened new research avenues in quantum transport owing to their confined geometry and electrostatic tunability. They have offered an exceptional testbed for superconductivity, leading to the realization of hybrid systems combining the macroscopic quantum properties of superconductors with the possibility to control charges down to a single electron. These advances brought semiconductor nanowires to the forefront of efforts to realize topological superconductivity and Majorana modes. A prime challenge to benefit from the topological properties of Majoranas is to reduce the disorder in hybrid nanowire devices. Here we show ballistic superconductivity in InSb semiconductor nanowires. Our structural and chemical analyses demonstrate a high-quality interface between the nanowire and a NbTiN superconductor that enables ballistic transport. This is manifested by a quantized conductance for normal carriers, a strongly enhanced conductance for Andreev-reflecting carriers, and an induced hard gap with a significantly reduced density of states. These results pave the way for disorder-free Majorana devices. PMID:28681843

  7. Synthesis and electrical characterization of tungsten oxide nanowires

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Huang Rui; Zhu Jing; Yu Rong

    2009-01-01

    Tungsten oxide nanowires of diameters ranging from 7 to 200 nm are prepared on a tungsten rod substrate by using the chemical vapour deposition (CVD) method with vapour-solid (VS) mechanism. Tin powders are used to control oxygen concentration in the furnace, thereby assisting the growth of the tungsten oxide nanowires. The grown tungsten oxide nanowires are determined to be of crystalline W18O49. Ⅰ-Ⅴ curves are measured by an in situ transmission electron microscope (TEM) to investigate the electrical properties of the nanowires. All of the Ⅰ-Ⅴ curves observed are symmetric, which reveals that the tungsten oxide nanowires are semiconducting. Quantitative analyses of the experimental I V curves by using a metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) model give some intrinsic parameters of the tungsten oxide nanowires, such as the carrier concentration, the carrier mobility and the conductivity.

  8. Monolithic integration of a silicon nanowire field-effect transistors array on a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor chip for biochemical sensor applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Livi, Paolo; Kwiat, Moria; Shadmani, Amir; Pevzner, Alexander; Navarra, Giulio; Rothe, Jörg; Stettler, Alexander; Chen, Yihui; Patolsky, Fernando; Hierlemann, Andreas

    2015-10-06

    We present a monolithic complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-based sensor system comprising an array of silicon nanowire field-effect transistors (FETs) and the signal-conditioning circuitry on the same chip. The silicon nanowires were fabricated by chemical vapor deposition methods and then transferred to the CMOS chip, where Ti/Pd/Ti contacts had been patterned via e-beam lithography. The on-chip circuitry measures the current flowing through each nanowire FET upon applying a constant source-drain voltage. The analog signal is digitized on chip and then transmitted to a receiving unit. The system has been successfully fabricated and tested by acquiring I-V curves of the bare nanowire-based FETs. Furthermore, the sensing capabilities of the complete system have been demonstrated by recording current changes upon nanowire exposure to solutions of different pHs, as well as by detecting different concentrations of Troponin T biomarkers (cTnT) through antibody-functionalized nanowire FETs.

  9. Electrochemical fabrication of CdS/Co nanowire arrays in porous aluminum oxide templates

    CERN Document Server

    Yoon, C H

    2002-01-01

    A procedure for preparing semiconductor/metal nanowire arrays is described, based on a template method which entails electrochemical deposition into nanometer-wide parallel pores of anodic aluminum oxide films on aluminum. Aligned CdS/Co heterostructured nanowires have been prepared by ac electrodeposition in the anodic aluminum oxide templates. By varying the preparation conditions, a variety of CdS/Co nanowire arrays were fabricated, whose dimensional properties could be adjusted.

  10. Synthesis and characterization of single-crystalline zinc tin oxide nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Jen-Bin; Wu, Po-Feng; Lin, Hsien-Sheng; Lin, Ya-Ting; Lee, Hsuan-Wei; Kao, Chia-Tze; Liao, Wei-Hsiang; Young, San-Lin

    2014-05-01

    Crystalline zinc tin oxide (ZTO; zinc oxide with heavy tin doping of 33 at.%) nanowires were first synthesized using the electrodeposition and heat treatment method based on an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane, which has an average diameter of about 60 nm. According to the field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) results, the synthesized ZTO nanowires are highly ordered and have high wire packing densities. The length of ZTO nanowires is about 4 μm, and the aspect ratio is around 67. ZTO nanowires with a Zn/(Zn + Sn) atomic ratio of 0.67 (approximately 2/3) were observed from an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and corresponding selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns demonstrated that the ZTO nanowire is hexagonal single-crystalline. The study of ultraviolet/visible/near-infrared (UV/Vis/NIR) absorption showed that the ZTO nanowire is a wide-band semiconductor with a band gap energy of 3.7 eV.

  11. Near-thermal limit gating in heavily doped III-V semiconductor nanowires using polymer electrolytes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ullah, A. R.; Carrad, D. J.; Krogstrup, P.; Nygârd, J.; Micolich, A. P.

    2018-02-01

    Doping is a common route to reducing nanowire transistor on-resistance but it has limits. A high doping level gives significant loss in gate performance and ultimately complete gate failure. We show that electrolyte gating remains effective even when the Be doping in our GaAs nanowires is so high that traditional metal-oxide gates fail. In this regime we obtain a combination of subthreshold swing and contact resistance that surpasses the best existing p -type nanowire metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). Our subthreshold swing of 75 mV/dec is within 25 % of the room-temperature thermal limit and comparable with n -InP and n -GaAs nanowire MOSFETs. Our results open a new path to extending the performance and application of nanowire transistors, and motivate further work on improved solid electrolytes for nanoscale device applications.

  12. Excitonic terahertz photoconductivity in intrinsic semiconductor nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Jie-Yun

    2018-06-01

    Excitonic terahertz photoconductivity in intrinsic semiconductor nanowires is studied. Based on the excitonic theory, the numerical method to calculate the photoconductivity spectrum in the nanowires is developed, which can simulate optical pump terahertz-probe spectroscopy measurements on real nanowires and thereby calculate the typical photoconductivity spectrum. With the help of the energetic structure deduced from the calculated linear absorption spectrum, the numerically observed shift of the resonant peak in the photoconductivity spectrum is found to result from the dominant exciton transition between excited or continuum states to the ground state, and the quantitative analysis is in good agreement with the quantum plasmon model. Besides, the dependence of the photoconductivity on the polarization of the terahertz field is also discussed. The numerical method and supporting theoretical analysis provide a new tool for experimentalists to understand the terahertz photoconductivity in intrinsic semiconductor nanowires at low temperatures or for nanowires subjected to below bandgap photoexcitation, where excitonic effects dominate.

  13. Atomic-Resolution Spectrum Imaging of Semiconductor Nanowires.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zamani, Reza R; Hage, Fredrik S; Lehmann, Sebastian; Ramasse, Quentin M; Dick, Kimberly A

    2018-03-14

    Over the past decade, III-V heterostructure nanowires have attracted a surge of attention for their application in novel semiconductor devices such as tunneling field-effect transistors (TFETs). The functionality of such devices critically depends on the specific atomic arrangement at the semiconductor heterointerfaces. However, most of the currently available characterization techniques lack sufficient spatial resolution to provide local information on the atomic structure and composition of these interfaces. Atomic-resolution spectrum imaging by means of electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) in the scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) is a powerful technique with the potential to resolve structure and chemical composition with sub-angstrom spatial resolution and to provide localized information about the physical properties of the material at the atomic scale. Here, we demonstrate the use of atomic-resolution EELS to understand the interface atomic arrangement in three-dimensional heterostructures in semiconductor nanowires. We observed that the radial interfaces of GaSb-InAs heterostructure nanowires are atomically abrupt, while the axial interface in contrast consists of an interfacial region where intermixing of the two compounds occurs over an extended spatial region. The local atomic configuration affects the band alignment at the interface and, hence, the charge transport properties of devices such as GaSb-InAs nanowire TFETs. STEM-EELS thus represents a very promising technique for understanding nanowire physical properties, such as differing electrical behavior across the radial and axial heterointerfaces of GaSb-InAs nanowires for TFET applications.

  14. Electromagnetic field enhancement effects in group IV semiconductor nanowires. A Raman spectroscopy approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pura, J. L.; Anaya, J.; Souto, J.; Prieto, A. C.; Rodríguez, A.; Rodríguez, T.; Periwal, P.; Baron, T.; Jiménez, J.

    2018-03-01

    Semiconductor nanowires (NWs) are the building blocks of future nanoelectronic devices. Furthermore, their large refractive index and reduced dimension make them suitable for nanophotonics. The study of the interaction between nanowires and visible light reveals resonances that promise light absorption/scattering engineering for photonic applications. Micro-Raman spectroscopy has been used as a characterization tool for semiconductor nanowires. The light/nanowire interaction can be experimentally assessed through the micro-Raman spectra of individual nanowires. As compared to both metallic and dielectric nanowires, semiconductor nanowires add additional tools for photon engineering. In particular, one can grow heterostructured nanowires, both axial and radial, and also one could modulate the doping level and the surface condition among other factors than can affect the light/NW interaction. We present herein a study of the optical response of group IV semiconductor nanowires to visible photons. The study is experimentally carried out through micro-Raman spectroscopy of different group IV nanowires, both homogeneous and axially heterostructured (SiGe/Si). The results are analyzed in terms of the electromagnetic modelling of the light/nanowire interaction using finite element methods. The presence of axial heterostructures is shown to produce electromagnetic resonances promising new photon engineering capabilities of semiconductor nanowires.

  15. Interactions between semiconductor nanowires and living cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prinz, Christelle N

    2015-06-17

    Semiconductor nanowires are increasingly used for biological applications and their small dimensions make them a promising tool for sensing and manipulating cells with minimal perturbation. In order to interface cells with nanowires in a controlled fashion, it is essential to understand the interactions between nanowires and living cells. The present paper reviews current progress in the understanding of these interactions, with knowledge gathered from studies where living cells were interfaced with vertical nanowire arrays. The effect of nanowires on cells is reported in terms of viability, cell-nanowire interface morphology, cell behavior, changes in gene expression as well as cellular stress markers. Unexplored issues and unanswered questions are discussed.

  16. Dimensional effects in semiconductor nanowires; Dimensionseffekte in Halbleiternanodraehten

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stichtenoth, Daniel

    2008-06-23

    Nanomaterials show new physical properties, which are determined by their size and morphology. These new properties can be ascribed to the higher surface to volume ratio, to quantum size effects or to a form anisotropy. They may enable new technologies. The nanowires studied in this work have a diameter of 4 to 400 nm and a length up to 100 {mu}m. The semiconductor material used is mainly zinc oxide (ZnO), zinc sulfide (ZnS) and gallium arsenide (GaAs). All nanowires were synthesized according to the vapor liquid solid mechanism, which was originally postulated for the growth of silicon whiskers. Respective modifications for the growth of compound semiconductor nanowires are discussed. Detailed luminescence studies on ZnO nanowires with different diameters show pronounced size effects which can be attributed to the origins given above. Similar to bulk material, a tuning of the material properties is often essential for a further functionalization of the nanowires. This is typical realized by doping the source material. It becomes apparent, that a controlled doping of nanowires during the growth process is not successful. Here an alternative method is chosen: the doping after the growth by ion implantation. However, the doping by ion implantation goes always along with the creation of crystal defects. The defects have to be annihilated in order to reach an activation of th introduced dopants. At high ion fluences and ion masses the sputtering of surface atoms becomes more important. This results in a characteristic change in the morphology of the nanowires. In detail, the doping of ZnO and ZnS nanowires with color centers (manganese and rare earth elements) is demonstrated. Especially, the intra 3d luminescence of manganese implanted ZnS nanostructures shows a strong dependence of the nanowire diameter and morphology. This dependence can be described by expanding Foersters model (which describes an energy transfer to the color centers) by a dimensional parameter

  17. Hard gap in epitaxial semiconductor-superconductor nanowires

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chang, W.; Albrecht, S. M.; Jespersen, T. S.

    2015-01-01

    a continuum of subgap states---a situation that nullifies topological protection. Here, we report a hard superconducting gap induced by proximity effect in a semiconductor, using epitaxial Al-InAs superconductor-semiconductor nanowires. The hard gap, along with favorable material properties and gate...

  18. SPICE analysis of the charge division in resistive semiconductor nanowire diodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guardiola, C; Money, K; Carabe, A

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we present an analysis of the charge division method in semiconductor nanowire Schottky diodes using an electrical model based on the SPICE simulation code. A semiconductor nanowire prototype that is simulated as an RC network and two readout electronic systems are modelled in order to understand its behaviour and to assess its application as a possible ionizing particle detector in clinical high-LET particle beams. We study the use of resistive charge division along the semiconductor nanowire to calculate the position of deposited charge generated by an ionizing particle as it crosses the nanodevice and to determine the minimal viable spatial resolution. Our aim is to demonstrate the charge division concept in resistive semiconductor nanowire diodes, and to subsequently understand the performance of these nanodevices as radiation sensors and address the design limitations of such an application

  19. Design and Characterisation of III-V Semiconductor Nanowire Lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saxena, Dhruv

    The development of small, power-efficient lasers underpins many of the technologies that we utilise today. Semiconductor nanowires are promising for miniaturising lasers to even smaller dimensions. III-V semiconductors, such as Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) and Indium Phosphide (InP), are the most widely used materials for optoelectronic devices and so the development of nanowire lasers based on these materials is expected to have technologically significant outcomes. This PhD dissertation presents a comprehensive study of the design of III-V semiconductor nanowire lasers, with bulk and quantum confined active regions. Based on the design, various III-V semiconductor nanowire lasers are demonstrated, namely, GaAs nanowire lasers, GaAs/AlGaAs multi-quantum well (MQW) nanowire lasers and InP nanowire lasers. These nanowire lasers are shown to operate at room temperature, have low thresholds, and lase from different transverse modes. The structural and optoelectronic quality of nanowire lasers are characterised via electron microscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopic techniques. Lasing is characterised in all these devices by optical pumping. The lasing characteristics are analysed by rate equation modelling and the lasing mode(s) in these devices is characterised by threshold gain modelling, polarisation measurements and Fourier plane imaging. Firstly, GaAs nanowire lasers that operate at room temperature are demonstrated. This is achieved by determining the optimal nanowire diameter to reduce threshold gain and by passivating nanowires to improve their quantum efficiency (QE). High-quality surface passivated GaAs nanowires of suitable diameters are grown. The growth procedure is tailored to improve both QE and structural uniformity of nanowires. Room-temperature lasing is demonstrated from individual nanowires and lasing is characterised to be from TM01 mode by threshold gain modelling. To lower threshold even further, nanowire lasers with GaAs/AlGaAs coaxial multi

  20. Electron emission from individual indium arsenide semiconductor nanowires

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heeres, E.C.; Bakkers, E.P.A.M.; Roest, A.L.; Kaiser, M.A.; Oosterkamp, T.H.; Jonge, de N.

    2007-01-01

    A procedure was developed to mount individual semiconductor indium arsenide nanowires onto tungsten support tips to serve as electron field-emission sources. The electron emission properties of the single nanowires were precisely determined by measuring the emission pattern, current-voltage curve,

  1. Broadband absorption of semiconductor nanowire arrays for photovoltaic applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Ningfeng; Lin, Chenxi; Povinelli, Michelle L

    2012-01-01

    We use electromagnetic simulations to carry out a systematic study of broadband absorption in vertically-aligned semiconductor nanowire arrays for photovoltaic applications. We study six semiconductor materials that are commonly used for solar cells. We optimize the structural parameters of each nanowire array to maximize the ultimate efficiency. We plot the maximal ultimate efficiency as a function of height to determine how it approaches the perfect-absorption limit. We further show that the ultimate efficiencies of optimized nanowire arrays exceed those of equal-height thin films for all six materials and over a wide range of heights from 100 nm to 100 µm

  2. Photoluminescence blue shift of indium phosphide nanowire networks with aluminum oxide coating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fryauf, David M.; Zhang, Junce; Norris, Kate J.; Diaz Leon, Juan J.; Oye, Michael M.; Kobayashi, Nobuhiko P.; Wei, Min

    2014-01-01

    This paper describes our finding that optical properties of semiconductor nanowires were modified by depositing a thin layer of metal oxide. Indium phosphide nanowires were grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition on silicon substrates with gold catalyst resulting in three-dimensional nanowire networks, and optical properties were obtained from the collective nanowire networks. The networks were coated with an aluminum oxide thin film deposited by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition. We studied the dependence of the peak wavelength of photoluminescence spectra on the thickness of the oxide coatings. A continuous blue shift in photoluminescence spectra was observed when the thickness of the oxide coating was increased. The observed blue shift is attributed to the Burstein-Moss effect due to increased carrier concentration in the nanowire cores caused by repulsion from intrinsic negative fixed charges located at the inner oxide surface. Samples were further characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and selective area diffractometry to better understand the physical mechanisms for the blue shift. (copyright 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  3. Photoluminescence blue shift of indium phosphide nanowire networks with aluminum oxide coating

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fryauf, David M.; Zhang, Junce; Norris, Kate J.; Diaz Leon, Juan J.; Oye, Michael M.; Kobayashi, Nobuhiko P. [Nanostructured Energy Conversion Technology and Research (NECTAR), Advanced Studies Laboratories, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA (United States); Baskin School of Engineering, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA (United States); NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA (United States); Wei, Min [Baskin School of Engineering, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA (United States); School of Micro-Electronics and Solid-Electronics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu (China)

    2014-07-15

    This paper describes our finding that optical properties of semiconductor nanowires were modified by depositing a thin layer of metal oxide. Indium phosphide nanowires were grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition on silicon substrates with gold catalyst resulting in three-dimensional nanowire networks, and optical properties were obtained from the collective nanowire networks. The networks were coated with an aluminum oxide thin film deposited by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition. We studied the dependence of the peak wavelength of photoluminescence spectra on the thickness of the oxide coatings. A continuous blue shift in photoluminescence spectra was observed when the thickness of the oxide coating was increased. The observed blue shift is attributed to the Burstein-Moss effect due to increased carrier concentration in the nanowire cores caused by repulsion from intrinsic negative fixed charges located at the inner oxide surface. Samples were further characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and selective area diffractometry to better understand the physical mechanisms for the blue shift. (copyright 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  4. Vertically integrated, three-dimensional nanowire complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor circuits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nam, SungWoo; Jiang, Xiaocheng; Xiong, Qihua; Ham, Donhee; Lieber, Charles M

    2009-12-15

    Three-dimensional (3D), multi-transistor-layer, integrated circuits represent an important technological pursuit promising advantages in integration density, operation speed, and power consumption compared with 2D circuits. We report fully functional, 3D integrated complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) circuits based on separate interconnected layers of high-mobility n-type indium arsenide (n-InAs) and p-type germanium/silicon core/shell (p-Ge/Si) nanowire (NW) field-effect transistors (FETs). The DC voltage output (V(out)) versus input (V(in)) response of vertically interconnected CMOS inverters showed sharp switching at close to the ideal value of one-half the supply voltage and, moreover, exhibited substantial DC gain of approximately 45. The gain and the rail-to-rail output switching are consistent with the large noise margin and minimal static power consumption of CMOS. Vertically interconnected, three-stage CMOS ring oscillators were also fabricated by using layer-1 InAs NW n-FETs and layer-2 Ge/Si NW p-FETs. Significantly, measurements of these circuits demonstrated stable, self-sustained oscillations with a maximum frequency of 108 MHz, which represents the highest-frequency integrated circuit based on chemically synthesized nanoscale materials. These results highlight the flexibility of bottom-up assembly of distinct nanoscale materials and suggest substantial promise for 3D integrated circuits.

  5. Electrical characterization of Ω-gated uniaxial tensile strained Si nanowire-array metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors with - and channel orientations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Habicht, Stefan; Feste, Sebastian; Zhao, Qing-Tai; Buca, Dan; Mantl, Siegfried

    2012-01-01

    Nanowire-array metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) were fabricated along and crystal directions on (001) un-/strained silicon-on-insulator substrates. Lateral strain relaxation through patterning was employed to transform biaxial tensile strain into uniaxial tensile strain along the nanowire. Devices feature ideal subthreshold swings and maximum on-current/off-current ratios of 10 11 for n and p-type transistors on both substrates. Electron and hole mobilities were extracted by split C–V method. For p-MOSFETs an increased mobility is observed for channel direction devices compared to devices. The n-MOSFETs showed a 45% increased electron mobility compared to devices. The comparison of strained and unstrained n-MOSFETs along and clearly demonstrates improved electron mobilities for strained channels of both channel orientations.

  6. Transparently wrap-gated semiconductor nanowire arrays for studies of gate-controlled photoluminescence

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nylund, Gustav; Storm, Kristian; Torstensson, Henrik; Wallentin, Jesper; Borgström, Magnus T.; Hessman, Dan; Samuelson, Lars [Solid State Physics, Nanometer Structure Consortium, Lund University, Box 118, S-221 00 Lund (Sweden)

    2013-12-04

    We present a technique to measure gate-controlled photoluminescence (PL) on arrays of semiconductor nanowire (NW) capacitors using a transparent film of Indium-Tin-Oxide (ITO) wrapping around the nanowires as the gate electrode. By tuning the wrap-gate voltage, it is possible to increase the PL peak intensity of an array of undoped InP NWs by more than an order of magnitude. The fine structure of the PL spectrum reveals three subpeaks whose relative peak intensities change with gate voltage. We interpret this as gate-controlled state-filling of luminescing quantum dot segments formed by zincblende stacking faults in the mainly wurtzite NW crystal structure.

  7. Rapid Transition of the Hole Rashba Effect from Strong Field Dependence to Saturation in Semiconductor Nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Jun-Wei; Li, Shu-Shen; Zunger, Alex

    2017-09-01

    The electric field manipulation of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling effects provides a route to electrically control spins, constituting the foundation of the field of semiconductor spintronics. In general, the strength of the Rashba effects depends linearly on the applied electric field and is significant only for heavy-atom materials with large intrinsic spin-orbit interaction under high electric fields. Here, we illustrate in 1D semiconductor nanowires an anomalous field dependence of the hole (but not electron) Rashba effect (HRE). (i) At low fields, the strength of the HRE exhibits a steep increase with the field so that even low fields can be used for device switching. (ii) At higher fields, the HRE undergoes a rapid transition to saturation with a giant strength even for light-atom materials such as Si (exceeding 100 meV Å). (iii) The nanowire-size dependence of the saturation HRE is rather weak for light-atom Si, so size fluctuations would have a limited effect; this is a key requirement for scalability of Rashba-field-based spintronic devices. These three features offer Si nanowires as a promising platform for the realization of scalable complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor compatible spintronic devices.

  8. Byproduct-free mass production of compound semiconductor nanowires: zinc phosphide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yixi; Polinnaya, Rakesh; Vaddiraju, Sreeram

    2018-05-01

    A method for the mass production of compound semiconductor nanowires that involves the direct reaction of component elements in a chemical vapor deposition chamber (CVD) is presented. This method results in nanowires, without the associated production of any other byproducts such as nanoparticles or three-dimensional (3D) bulk crystals. Furthermore, no unreacted reactants remain mixed with the nanowire product in this method. This byproduct-free nanowire production thus circumvents the need to tediously purify and collect nanowires from a mixture of products/reactants after their synthesis. Demonstration made using zinc phosphide (Zn3P2) material system as an example indicated that the direct reaction of zinc microparticles with phosphorus supplied via the vapor phase results in the production of gram quantities of nanowires. To enhance thermal transport and achieve the complete reaction of zinc microparticles, while simultaneously ensuring that the microparticles do not agglomerate into macroscale zinc particles and partly remain unreacted (owing to diffusion limitations), pellets composed of mixtures of zinc and a sacrificial salt, NH4Cl, were employed as the starting material. The sublimation by decomposition of NH4Cl in the early stages of the reaction leaves a highly porous pellet of zinc composed of only zinc microparticles, which allows for inward diffusion of phosphorus/outward diffusion of zinc and the complete conversion of zinc into Zn3P2 nanowires. NH4Cl also aids in removal of any native oxide layer present on the zinc microparticles that may prevent their reaction with phosphorus. This method may be used to mass produce many other nanowires in a byproduct-free manner, besides Zn3P2.

  9. Formation of tungsten oxide nanowires by ion irradiation and vacuum annealing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Xu-Dong; Ren, Feng; Wu, Heng-Yi; Qin, Wen-Jing; Jiang, Chang-Zhong

    2018-04-01

    Here we reported the fabrication of tungsten oxide (WO3-x ) nanowires by Ar+ ion irradiation of WO3 thin films followed by annealing in vacuum. The nanowire length increases with increasing irradiation fluence and with decreasing ion energy. We propose that the stress-driven diffusion of the irradiation-induced W interstitial atoms is responsible for the formation of the nanowires. Comparing to the pristine film, the fabricated nanowire film shows a 106-fold enhancement in electrical conductivity, resulting from the high-density irradiation-induced vacancies on the oxygen sublattice. The nanostructure exhibits largely enhanced surface-enhanced Raman scattering effect due to the oxygen vacancy. Thus, ion irradiation provides a powerful approach for fabricating and tailoring the surface nanostructures of semiconductors.

  10. Methods for synthesizing metal oxide nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sunkara, Mahendra Kumar; Kumar, Vivekanand; Kim, Jeong H.; Clark, Ezra Lee

    2016-08-09

    A method of synthesizing a metal oxide nanowire includes the steps of: combining an amount of a transition metal or a transition metal oxide with an amount of an alkali metal compound to produce a mixture; activating a plasma discharge reactor to create a plasma discharge; exposing the mixture to the plasma discharge for a first predetermined time period such that transition metal oxide nanowires are formed; contacting the transition metal oxide nanowires with an acid solution such that an alkali metal ion is exchanged for a hydrogen ion on each of the transition metal oxide nanowires; and exposing the transition metal oxide nanowires to the plasma discharge for a second predetermined time period to thermally anneal the transition metal oxide nanowires. Transition metal oxide nanowires produced using the synthesis methods described herein are also provided.

  11. Electrical and Optical Characterization of Nanowire based Semiconductor Devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayvazian, Talin

    This research project is focused on a new strategy for the creation of nanowire based semiconductor devices. The main goal is to understand and optimize the electrical and optical properties of two types of nanoscale devices; in first type lithographically patterned nanowire electrodeposition (LPNE) method has been utilized to fabricate nanowire field effect transistors (NWFET) and second type involved the development of light emitting semiconductor nanowire arrays (NWLED). Field effect transistors (NWFETs) have been prepared from arrays of polycrystalline cadmium selenide (pc-CdSe) nanowires using a back gate configuration. pc-CdSe nanowires were fabricated using the lithographically patterned nanowire electrode- position (LPNE) process on SiO2 /Si substrates. After electrodeposition, pc-CdSe nanowires were thermally annealed at 300 °C x 4 h either with or without exposure to CdCl 2 in methanol a grain growth promoter. The influence of CdCl2 treatment was to increase the mean grain diameter as determined by X-ray diffraction pattern and to convert the crystal structure from cubic to wurtzite. Transfer characteristics showed an increase of the field effect mobility (mu eff) by an order of magnitude and increase of the Ion/I off ratio by a factor of 3-4. Light emitting devices (NW-LED) based on lithographically patterned pc-CdSe nanowire arrays have been investigated. Electroluminescence (EL) spectra of CdSe nanowires under various biases exhibited broad emission spectra centered at 750 nm close to the band gap of CdSe (1.7eV). To enhance the intensity of the emitted light and the external quantum efficiency (EQE), the distance between the contacts were reduced from 5 mum to less than 1 mum which increased the efficiency by an order of magnitude. Also, increasing the annealing temperature of nanowires from 300 °C x4 h to 450 This research project is focused on a new strategy for the creation of nanowire based semiconductor devices. The main goal is to understand

  12. Thermoelectric properties of semiconductor nanowire networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roslyak, Oleksiy; Piryatinski, Andrei

    2016-03-01

    To examine the thermoelectric (TE) properties of a semiconductor nanowire (NW) network, we propose a theoretical approach mapping the TE network on a two-port network. In contrast to a conventional single-port (i.e., resistor) network model, our model allows for large scale calculations showing convergence of TE figure of merit, ZT, with an increasing number of junctions. Using this model, numerical simulations are performed for the Bi2Te3 branched nanowire (BNW) and Cayley tree NW (CTNW) network. We find that the phonon scattering at the network junctions plays a dominant role in enhancing the network ZT. Specifically, disordered BNW and CTNW demonstrate an order of magnitude higher ZT enhancement compared to their ordered counterparts. Formation of preferential TE pathways in CTNW makes the network effectively behave as its BNW counterpart. We provide formalism for simulating large scale nanowire networks hinged upon experimentally measurable TE parameters of a single T-junction.

  13. Semiconductor Nanowires and Nanotubes for Energy Conversion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fardy, Melissa Anne

    In recent years semiconductor nanowires and nanotubes have garnered increased attention for their unique properties. With their nanoscale dimensions comes high surface area and quantum confinement, promising enhancements in a wide range of applications. 1-dimensional nanostructures are especially attractive for energy conversion applications where photons, phonons, and electrons come into play. Since the bohr exciton radius and phonon and electron mean free paths are on the same length scales as nanowire diameters, optical, thermal, and electrical properties can be tuned by simple nanowire size adjustments. In addition, the high surface area inherent to nanowires and nanotubes lends them towards efficient charge separation and superior catalytic performance. In thermoelectric power generation, the nanoscale wire diameter can effectively scatter phonons, promoting reductions in thermal conductivity and enhancements in the thermoelectric figure of merit. To that end, single-crystalline arrays of PbS, PbSe, and PbTe nanowires have been synthesized by a chemical vapor transport approach. The electrical and thermal transport properties of the nanowires were characterized to investigate their potential as thermoelectric materials. Compared to bulk, the lead chalcogenide nanowires exhibit reduced thermal conductivity below 100 K by up to 3 orders of magnitude, suggesting that they may be promising thermoelectric materials. Smaller diameters and increased surface roughness are expected to give additional enhancements. The solution-phase synthesis of PbSe nanowires via oriented attachment of nanoparticles enables facile surface engineering and diameter control. Branched PbSe nanowires synthesized by this approach showed near degenerately doped charge carrier concentrations. Compared to the bulk, the PbSe nanowires exhibited a similar Seebeck coefficient and a significant reduction in thermal conductivity in the temperature range 20 K to 300 K. Thermal annealing of the Pb

  14. Magnetoconductance correction in zinc-blende semiconductor nanowires with spin-orbit coupling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kammermeier, Michael; Wenk, Paul; Schliemann, John; Heedt, Sebastian; Gerster, Thomas; Schäpers, Thomas

    2017-12-01

    We study the effects of spin-orbit coupling on the magnetoconductivity in diffusive cylindrical semiconductor nanowires. Following up on our former study on tubular semiconductor nanowires, we focus in this paper on nanowire systems where no surface accumulation layer is formed but instead the electron wave function extends over the entire cross section. We take into account the Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling resulting from a zinc-blende lattice and the Rashba spin-orbit coupling, which is controlled by a lateral gate electrode. The spin relaxation rate due to Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling is found to depend neither on the spin density component nor on the wire growth direction and is unaffected by the radial boundary. In contrast, the Rashba spin relaxation rate is strongly reduced for a wire radius that is smaller than the spin precession length. The derived model is fitted to the data of magnetoconductance measurements of a heavily doped back-gated InAs nanowire and transport parameters are extracted. At last, we compare our results to previous theoretical and experimental studies and discuss the occurring discrepancies.

  15. Spectrally selective solar absorber with sharp and temperature dependent cut-off based on semiconductor nanowire arrays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yang; Zhou, Lin; Zheng, Qinghui; Lu, Hong; Gan, Qiaoqiang; Yu, Zongfu; Zhu, Jia

    2017-05-01

    Spectrally selective absorbers (SSA) with high selectivity of absorption and sharp cut-off between high absorptivity and low emissivity are critical for efficient solar energy conversion. Here, we report the semiconductor nanowire enabled SSA with not only high absorption selectivity but also temperature dependent sharp absorption cut-off. By taking advantage of the temperature dependent bandgap of semiconductors, we systematically demonstrate that the absorption cut-off profile of the semiconductor-nanowire-based SSA can be flexibly tuned, which is quite different from most of the other SSA reported so far. As an example, silicon nanowire based selective absorbers are fabricated, with the measured absorption efficiency above (below) bandgap ˜97% (15%) combined with an extremely sharp absorption cut-off (transition region ˜200 nm), the sharpest SSA demonstrated so far. The demonstrated semiconductor-nanowire-based SSA can enable a high solar thermal efficiency of ≳86% under a wide range of operating conditions, which would be competitive candidates for the concentrated solar energy utilizations.

  16. Generic technique to grow III-V semiconductor nanowires in a closed glass vessel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kan Li

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Crystalline III-V semiconductor nanowires have great potential in fabrication of nanodevices for applications in nanoelectronics and optoelectronics, and for studies of novel physical phenomena. Sophisticated epitaxy techniques with precisely controlled growth conditions are often used to prepare high quality III-V nanowires. The growth process and cost of these experiments are therefore dedicated and very high. Here, we report a simple but generic method to synthesize III-V nanowires with high crystal quality. The technique employs a closed evacuated tube vessel with a small tube carrier containing a solid source of materials and another small tube carrier containing a growth substrate inside. The growth of nanowires is achieved after heating the closed vessel in a furnace to a preset high temperature and then cooling it down naturally to room temperature. The technique has been employed to grow InAs, GaAs, and GaSb nanowires on Si/SiO2 substrates. The as-grown nanowires are analyzed by SEM, TEM and Raman spectroscopy and the results show that the nanowires are high quality zincblende single crystals. No particular condition needs to be adjusted and controlled in the experiments. This technique provides a convenient way of synthesis of III-V semiconductor nanowires with high material quality for a wide range of applications.

  17. On-chip growth of semiconductor metal oxide nanowires for gas sensors: A review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chu Manh Hung

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Semiconductor metal oxide nanowires (SMO-NWs show great potential for novel gas sensor applications because of their distinct properties, such as a high surface area to volume aspect ratio, high crystallinity and perfect pathway for electron transfer (length of NW. SMO-NW sensors can be configured as resistors or field-effect transistors for gas detection and different configurations, such as a single NW, multiple NWs, and networked NW films, have been established. Surface-functionalizing NWs with catalyst elements and self-heating NWs provide additional advantages for highly selective and low-power consumption gas sensors. However, an appropriate design of SMO-NWs is of practical importance in enhancing the gas-sensing performance of SMO-NW sensors. The on-chip growth of SMO-NWs possesses many advantages which can thus be effectively used for the large-scale fabrication of SMO-NW sensors with improved gas response and stability. This review aims to provide up-to-date information on the on-chip fabrication of SnO2, ZnO, WO3, CuO, and other SMO-NW sensors. It also discusses a variety of promising approaches that help advance the on-chip fabrication of SMO-NW-based gas sensors and other NW-based devices.

  18. Development of individual semiconductor nanowire for bioelectrochemical device at low overpotential conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Crespilho, Frank N.; Lanfredi, Alexandre J.C. [Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Santo Andre 09210-170 (Brazil); Leite, Edson R.; Chiquito, Adenilson J. [Universidade Federal do Sao Carlos (UFSCar), Sao Carlos, SP (Brazil)

    2009-09-15

    In this work we report the bioelectrochemical study using an individual indium tin oxide (ITO) nanowire (ITO-NW) electrode modified with glucose oxidase enzyme (GOx), in which the enzymatic activity and the biocatalytic activity was evaluated. The main objective is to show that at low overpotential condition, semiconductor NW can be used as an electron donor during biocatalytic process. We demonstrate the possibility of immobilizing an ITO-NW electrode on gold contacts deposited on top of a microchip (oxidized Si wafer). A protective polymer layer containing an aperture over the sample area was photolithographically deposited over the microchip to isolate the metallic contacts. For H{sub 2}O{sub 2} reduction during the biocatalysis at ITO-NWs surface, with {eta} << 50 mV, normal linear behavior is not observed and an exponential current is evident, similar to n-p semiconductor junction behavior. These results can open new tools for studying redox enzymes at the single-molecule level, and the device described here is very promising as a candidate for further exploration in bioelectrochemical devices, such as biofuel cells and biosensors. (author)

  19. Synthesis of Oxidation-Resistant Cupronickel Nanowires for Transparent Conducting Nanowire Networks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rathmall, Aaron [Duke University; Nguyen, Minh [Duke University; Wiley, Benjamin J [Duke University

    2012-01-01

    Nanowires of copper can be coated from liquids to create flexible, transparent conducting films that can potentially replace the dominant transparent conductor, indium tin oxide, in displays, solar cells, organic light-emitting diodes, and electrochromic windows. One issue with these nanowire films is that copper is prone to oxidation. It was hypothesized that the resistance to oxidation could be improved by coating copper nanowires with nickel. This work demonstrates a method for synthesizing copper nanowires with nickel shells as well as the properties of cupronickel nanowires in transparent conducting films. Time- and temperature-dependent sheet resistance measurements indicate that the sheet resistance of copper and silver nanowire films will double after 3 and 36 months at room temperature, respectively. In contrast, the sheet resistance of cupronickel nanowires containing 20 mol % nickel will double in about 400 years. Coating copper nanowires to a ratio of 2:1 Cu:Ni gave them a neutral gray color, making them more suitable for use in displays and electrochromic windows. These properties, and the fact that copper and nickel are 1000 times more abundant than indium or silver, make cupronickel nanowires a promising alternative for the sustainable, efficient production of transparent conductors.

  20. Efficient n-type doping of zinc-blende III-V semiconductor nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Besteiro, Lucas V.; Tortajada, Luis; Souto, J.; Gallego, L. J.; Chelikowsky, James R.; Alemany, M. M. G.

    2014-03-01

    We demonstrate that it is preferable to dope III-V semiconductor nanowires by n-type anion substitution as opposed to cation substitution. Specifically, we show the dopability of zinc-blende nanowires is more efficient when the dopants are placed at the anion site as quantified by formation energies and the stabilization of DX-like defect centers. The comparison with previous work on n - type III-V semiconductor nanocrystals also allows to determine the role of dimensionality and quantum confinement on doping characteristics of materials. Our results are based on first-principles calculations of InP nanowires by using the PARSEC code. Work supported by the Spanish MICINN (FIS2012-33126) and Xunta de Galicia (GPC2013-043) in conjunction with FEDER. JRC acknowledges support from DoE (DE-FG02-06ER46286 and DESC0008877). Computational support was provided in part by CESGA.

  1. Review on the dynamics of semiconductor nanowire lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Röder, Robert; Ronning, Carsten

    2018-03-01

    Semiconductor optoelectronic devices have contributed tremendously to the technological progress in the past 50-60 years. Today, they also play a key role in nanophotonics stimulated by the inherent limitations of electronic integrated circuits and the growing demand for faster communications on chip. In particular, the field of ‘nanowire photonics’ has emerged including the search for coherent light sources with a nano-scaled footprint. The past decade has been dedicated to find suitable semiconductor nanowire (NW) materials for such nanolasers. Nowadays, such NW lasers consistently work at room temperature covering a huge spectral range from the ultraviolet down to the mid-infrared depending on the band gap of the NW material. Furthermore, first approaches towards the modification and optimization of such NW laser devices have been demonstrated. The underlying dynamics of the electronic and photonic NW systems have also been studied very recently, as they need to be understood in order to push the technological relevance of nano-scaled coherent light sources. Therefore, this review will first present novel measurement approaches in order to study the ultrafast temporal and optical mode dynamics of individual NW laser devices. Furthermore, these fundamental new insights are reviewed and deeply discussed towards the efficient control and adjustment of the dynamics in semiconductor NW lasers.

  2. Nanoscale Metal Oxide Semiconductors for Gas Sensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, Gary W.; Evans, Laura; Xu, Jennifer C.; VanderWal, Randy L.; Berger, Gordon M.; Kulis, Michael J.

    2011-01-01

    A report describes the fabrication and testing of nanoscale metal oxide semiconductors (MOSs) for gas and chemical sensing. This document examines the relationship between processing approaches and resulting sensor behavior. This is a core question related to a range of applications of nanotechnology and a number of different synthesis methods are discussed: thermal evaporation- condensation (TEC), controlled oxidation, and electrospinning. Advantages and limitations of each technique are listed, providing a processing overview to developers of nanotechnology- based systems. The results of a significant amount of testing and comparison are also described. A comparison is made between SnO2, ZnO, and TiO2 single-crystal nanowires and SnO2 polycrystalline nanofibers for gas sensing. The TECsynthesized single-crystal nanowires offer uniform crystal surfaces, resistance to sintering, and their synthesis may be done apart from the substrate. The TECproduced nanowire response is very low, even at the operating temperature of 200 C. In contrast, the electrospun polycrystalline nanofiber response is high, suggesting that junction potentials are superior to a continuous surface depletion layer as a transduction mechanism for chemisorption. Using a catalyst deposited upon the surface in the form of nanoparticles yields dramatic gains in sensitivity for both nanostructured, one-dimensional forms. For the nanowire materials, the response magnitude and response rate uniformly increase with increasing operating temperature. Such changes are interpreted in terms of accelerated surface diffusional processes, yielding greater access to chemisorbed oxygen species and faster dissociative chemisorption, respectively. Regardless of operating temperature, sensitivity of the nanofibers is a factor of 10 to 100 greater than that of nanowires with the same catalyst for the same test condition. In summary, nanostructure appears critical to governing the reactivity, as measured by electrical

  3. Transparent Oxide Semiconductors for Emerging Electronics

    KAUST Repository

    Caraveo-Frescas, Jesus Alfonso

    2013-11-01

    Transparent oxide electronics have emerged as promising materials to shape the future of electronics. While several n-type oxides have been already studied and demonstrated feasibility to be used as active materials in thin film transistors, high performance p-type oxides have remained elusive. This dissertation is devoted to the study of transparent p-type oxide semiconductor tin monoxide and its use in the fabrication of field effect devices. A complete study on the deposition of tin monoxide thin films by direct current reactive magnetron sputtering is performed. Carrier density, carrier mobility and conductivity are studied over a set of deposition conditions where p-type conduction is observed. Density functional theory simulations are performed in order to elucidate the effect of native defects on carrier mobility. The findings on the electrical properties of SnO thin films are then translated to the fabrication of thin films transistors. The low processing temperature of tin monoxide thin films below 200 oC is shown advantageous for the fabrication of fully transparent and flexible thin film transistors. After careful device engineering, including post deposition annealing temperature, gate dielectric material, semiconductor thickness and source and drain electrodes material, thin film transistors with record device performance are demonstrated, achieving a field effect mobility >6.7 cm2V-1s-1. Device performance is further improved to reach a field effect mobility of 10.8 cm2V-1s-1 in SnO nanowire field effect transistors fabricated from the sputtered SnO thin films and patterned by electron beam lithography. Downscaling device dimension to nano scale is shown beneficial for SnO field effect devices not only by achieving a higher hole mobility but enhancing the overall device performance including better threshold voltage, subthreshold swing and lower number of interfacial defects. Use of p-type semiconductors in nonvolatile memory applications is then

  4. Review on Raman scattering in semiconductor nanowires: I. theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cantarero, Andrés

    2013-01-01

    Raman scattering is a nondestructive technique that is able to supply information on the crystal and electronic structures, strain, temperature, phonon-phonon, and electron-phonon interaction. In the particular case of semiconductor nanowires, Raman scattering provides additional information related to surfaces. Although correct, a theoretical approach to analyze the surface optical modes loses critical information when retardation is neglected. A comparison of the retarded and unretarded approaches clarifies the role of the electric and magnetic polarization in the Raman selection rules. Since most III-V compounds growing in the zincblende phase change their crystal structure to wurtzite when growing as nanowires, the polariton description will be particularized for these two important crystal phases. Confined phonons exist in cylindrical nanowires and couple with longitudinal and transverse modes due to the presence of the nanowire's surface. This coupling vanishes in the case of rotational symmetry. The boundary conditions of the electromagnetic fields on small-size nanowires (antenna effect) have a dramatic effect on the polarization properties of a Raman spectrum.

  5. Finite difference discretization of semiconductor drift-diffusion equations for nanowire solar cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deinega, Alexei; John, Sajeev

    2012-10-01

    We introduce a finite difference discretization of semiconductor drift-diffusion equations using cylindrical partial waves. It can be applied to describe the photo-generated current in radial pn-junction nanowire solar cells. We demonstrate that the cylindrically symmetric (l=0) partial wave accurately describes the electronic response of a square lattice of silicon nanowires at normal incidence. We investigate the accuracy of our discretization scheme by using different mesh resolution along the radial direction r and compare with 3D (x, y, z) discretization. We consider both straight nanowires and nanowires with radius modulation along the vertical axis. The charge carrier generation profile inside each nanowire is calculated using an independent finite-difference time-domain simulation.

  6. Asymmetric current-phase relation due to spin-orbit interaction in semiconductor nanowire Josephson junction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yokoyama, T.; Eto, M.; Nazarov, Y.V.

    2012-01-01

    We theoretically study the current-phase relation in semiconductor nanowire Josephson junction in the presence of spin-orbit interaction. In the nanowire, the impurity scattering with strong SO interaction is taken into account using the random matrix theory. In the absence of magnetic field, the

  7. Lasing and ion beam doping of semiconductor nanowires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Geburt, Sebastian

    2013-01-31

    Semiconductor nanowires exhibit extraordinary optical properties like highly localized light emission, efficient waveguiding and light amplification. Even the stimulation of laser oscillations can be achieved at optical pumping, making nanowires promising for optoelectronic applications. For successful integration into future devices, three major key challenges have to be faced: (1) the understanding of the fundamental properties, (2) the modification of the emission characteristics and (3) the investigation of the efficiency-limiting factors. All key challenges are addressed in this thesis: (1) The fundamental properties of CdS nanowire have been investigated to uncover the size limits for photonic nanowire lasers. Laser oscillations were observed at room temperature and the emission characteristics were correlated to the morphology, which allowed the determination of a minimum diameter and length necessary for lasing. (2) The emission characteristics of ZnO nanowires have been successfully modified by ion beam doping with Co. The structural investigations revealed a good recovery of the ion induced damage in the crystal lattice. Optical activation of the implanted Co ions was achieved and an intense intra-3d-emission confirmed successful modification. (3) The temporal decay of excited luminescence centers strongly depends on the interplay of luminescent ions and defects, thus offering an approach to investigate the efficiency-limiting processes. Mn implanted ZnS nanowires were investigated, as the temporal decay of the incorporated Mn ions can be described by a Foerster energy transfer model modified for nanostructures. The defect concentration was varied systematically by several approaches and the model could successfully fit the transients in all cases. The emission properties of Tb implanted ZnS nanowires were investigated and the temporal decay of the intra-4f-emission could also be fitted by the model, proving its accuracy for an additional element.

  8. Lasing and ion beam doping of semiconductor nanowires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geburt, Sebastian

    2013-01-01

    Semiconductor nanowires exhibit extraordinary optical properties like highly localized light emission, efficient waveguiding and light amplification. Even the stimulation of laser oscillations can be achieved at optical pumping, making nanowires promising for optoelectronic applications. For successful integration into future devices, three major key challenges have to be faced: (1) the understanding of the fundamental properties, (2) the modification of the emission characteristics and (3) the investigation of the efficiency-limiting factors. All key challenges are addressed in this thesis: (1) The fundamental properties of CdS nanowire have been investigated to uncover the size limits for photonic nanowire lasers. Laser oscillations were observed at room temperature and the emission characteristics were correlated to the morphology, which allowed the determination of a minimum diameter and length necessary for lasing. (2) The emission characteristics of ZnO nanowires have been successfully modified by ion beam doping with Co. The structural investigations revealed a good recovery of the ion induced damage in the crystal lattice. Optical activation of the implanted Co ions was achieved and an intense intra-3d-emission confirmed successful modification. (3) The temporal decay of excited luminescence centers strongly depends on the interplay of luminescent ions and defects, thus offering an approach to investigate the efficiency-limiting processes. Mn implanted ZnS nanowires were investigated, as the temporal decay of the incorporated Mn ions can be described by a Foerster energy transfer model modified for nanostructures. The defect concentration was varied systematically by several approaches and the model could successfully fit the transients in all cases. The emission properties of Tb implanted ZnS nanowires were investigated and the temporal decay of the intra-4f-emission could also be fitted by the model, proving its accuracy for an additional element.

  9. Resonant absorption in semiconductor nanowires and nanowire arrays: Relating leaky waveguide modes to Bloch photonic crystal modes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fountaine, Katherine T., E-mail: kfountai@caltech.edu [Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, California 91125 (United States); Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, California 91125 (United States); Whitney, William S. [Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, California 91125 (United States); Department of Physics, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, California 91125 (United States); Atwater, Harry A. [Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, California 91125 (United States); Department of Applied Physics and Materials Science, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, California 91125 (United States)

    2014-10-21

    We present a unified framework for resonant absorption in periodic arrays of high index semiconductor nanowires that combines a leaky waveguide theory perspective and that of photonic crystals supporting Bloch modes, as array density transitions from sparse to dense. Full dispersion relations are calculated for each mode at varying illumination angles using the eigenvalue equation for leaky waveguide modes of an infinite dielectric cylinder. The dispersion relations along with symmetry arguments explain the selectivity of mode excitation and spectral red-shifting of absorption for illumination parallel to the nanowire axis in comparison to perpendicular illumination. Analysis of photonic crystal band dispersion for varying array density illustrates that the modes responsible for resonant nanowire absorption emerge from the leaky waveguide modes.

  10. Carbon-layer-protected cuprous oxide nanowire arrays for efficient water reduction

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Zhonghai

    2013-02-26

    In this work, we propose a solution-based carbon precursor coating and subsequent carbonization strategy to form a thin protective carbon layer on unstable semiconductor nanostructures as a solution to the commonly occurring photocorrosion problem of many semiconductors. A proof-of-concept is provided by using glucose as the carbon precursor to form a protective carbon coating onto cuprous oxide (Cu2O) nanowire arrays which were synthesized from copper mesh. The carbon-layer-protected Cu2O nanowire arrays exhibited remarkably improved photostability as well as considerably enhanced photocurrent density. The Cu2O nanowire arrays coated with a carbon layer of 20 nm thickness were found to give an optimal water splitting performance, producing a photocurrent density of -3.95 mA cm-2 and an optimal photocathode efficiency of 0.56% under illumination of AM 1.5G (100 mW cm-2). This is the highest value ever reported for a Cu 2O-based electrode coated with a metal/co-catalyst-free protective layer. The photostability, measured as the percentage of the photocurrent density at the end of 20 min measurement period relative to that at the beginning of the measurement, improved from 12.6% on the bare, nonprotected Cu2O nanowire arrays to 80.7% on the continuous carbon coating protected ones, more than a 6-fold increase. We believe that the facile strategy presented in this work is a general approach that can address the stability issue of many nonstable photoelectrodes and thus has the potential to make a meaningful contribution in the general field of energy conversion. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

  11. Current-voltage characteristics of the semiconductor nanowires under the metal-semiconductor-metal structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Jing; Zhang, Xitian; Gao, Hong; Wang, Mingjiao

    2013-12-01

    We present a method to calculate the I-V characteristics of semiconductor nanowires under the metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) structure. The carrier concentration as an important parameter is introduced into the expression of the current. The subband structure of the nanowire has been considered for associating it with the position of the Fermi level and circumventing the uncertainties of the contact areas in the contacts. The tunneling and thermionic emission currents in the two Schottky barriers at the two metal-semiconductor contacts are discussed. We find that the two barriers have different influences on the I-V characteristics of the MSM structure, one of which under the forward bias plays the role of threshold voltage if its barrier height is large and the applied voltage is small, and the other under the reverse bias controls the shapes of I-V curves. Our calculations show that the shapes of the I-V curves for the MSM structure are mainly determined by the barrier heights of the contacts and the carrier concentration. The nearly identical I-V characteristics can be obtained by using different values of the barrier heights and carrier concentration, which means that the contact type conversion can be ascribed not only to the changes of the barrier heights but also that of the carrier concentration. We also discuss the mechanisms of the ohmic-Schottky conversions and clarify the ambiguity in the literature. The possibility about the variation of the carrier concentration under the applied fields has been confirmed by experimental results.

  12. Alloy formation during InAs nanowire growth on GaAs(111)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Davydok, Anton; Saqib, Muhammad; Biermanns, Andreas; Pietsch, Ullrich [Festkoerperphysik, Universitaet Siegen (Germany); Rieger, Torsten; Grap, Thomas; Lepsa, Mihail [Peter Gruenberg Institut 9, Forschungszentrum Juelich (Germany); JARA - Fundamentals of Future Information Technology (Germany)

    2012-07-01

    The growth of semiconductor nanowires has attracted significant interest in recent years due to the possible fabrication of novel semiconductor devices for future electronic and opto-electronic applications. A possible way to obtain nanowires is the growth in molecular beam epitaxy on the (111)B oriented surface of the desired substrate, covered by a thin oxide layer. A crucial parameter in this method is the initial thickness of the oxide layer, often determined by an etching procedure. In this contribution, we report on the structural investigation of InAs nanowires grown on GaAs substrates covered by different oxide-layers using X-ray diffraction. In this contribution, we report on the structural investigation of InAs nanowires grown via an In droplet on GaAs substrates covered by different oxide layers using X-ray diffraction. Using a combination of symmetric and asymmetric X-ray diffraction, we observe that for growth on a defective oxide layer, alloy formation takes place and a large amount of InGaAs is formed, whereas for growth on an initially smooth oxide layer, only pure InAs is formed.

  13. Tungsten oxide nanowires grown on graphene oxide sheets as high-performance electrochromic material

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Xueting; Sun, Shibin; Dong, Lihua; Hu, Xiong; Yin, Yansheng

    2014-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Electrochromic mechanism of tungsten oxide nanowires-reduced graphene oxide composite. - Highlights: • A novel inorganic-nano-carbon hybrid composite was prepared. • The hybrid composite has sandwich-like structure. • The hybrid composite exhibited high-quality electrohcromic performance. - Abstract: In this work, we report the synthesis of a novel hybrid electrochromic composite through nucleation and growth of ultrathin tungsten oxide nanowires on graphene oxide sheets using a facile solvothermal route. The competition between the growth of tungsten oxide nanowires and the reduction of graphene oxide sheets leads to the formation of sandwich-structured tungsten oxide-reduced graphene oxide composite. Due to the strongly coupled effect between the ultrathin tungsten oxide nanowires and the reduced graphene oxide nanosheets, the novel electrochromic composite exhibited high-quality electrochromic performance with fast color-switching speed, good cyclic stability, and high coloration efficiency. The present tungsten oxide-reduced graphene oxide composite represents a new approach to prepare other inorganic-reduced graphene oxide hybrid materials for electrochemical applications

  14. Semi-transparent all-oxide ultraviolet light-emitting diodes based on ZnO/NiO-core/shell nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Zhi-Feng; Xu, Ting-Ting; Wu, Di; Zhang, Yuan-Tao; Zhang, Bao-Lin; Tian, Yong-Tao; Li, Xin-Jian; Du, Guo-Tong

    2016-05-01

    Semi-transparent all-oxide light-emitting diodes based on ZnO/NiO-core/shell nanowire structures were prepared on double-polished c-Al2O3 substrates. The entire heterojunction diode showed an average transparency of ~65% in the ultraviolet and visible regions. Under forward bias, the diode displayed an intense ultraviolet emission at ~382 nm, and its electroluminescence performance was remarkable in terms of a low emission onset, acceptable operating stability, and the ability to optically excite emissive semiconductor nanoparticle chromophores.Semi-transparent all-oxide light-emitting diodes based on ZnO/NiO-core/shell nanowire structures were prepared on double-polished c-Al2O3 substrates. The entire heterojunction diode showed an average transparency of ~65% in the ultraviolet and visible regions. Under forward bias, the diode displayed an intense ultraviolet emission at ~382 nm, and its electroluminescence performance was remarkable in terms of a low emission onset, acceptable operating stability, and the ability to optically excite emissive semiconductor nanoparticle chromophores. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr07236k

  15. Tunable electronic transport properties of silicon-fullerene-linked nanowires: Semiconductor, conducting wire, and tunnel diode

    OpenAIRE

    Nishio, Kengo; Ozaki, Taisuke; Morishita, Tetsuya; Mikami, Masuhiro

    2010-01-01

    We explore the possibility of controllable tuning of the electronic transport properties of silicon-fullerene-linked nanowires by encapsulating guest atoms into their cages. Our first-principles calculations demonstrate that the guest-free nanowires are semiconductors, and do not conduct electricity. The iodine or sodium doping improves the transport properties, and makes the nanowires metallic. In the junctions of I-doped and Na-doped NWs, the current travels through the boundary by quantum ...

  16. Growth, structure and phase transitions of epitaxial nanowires of III-V semiconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glas, F; Patriarche, G; Harmand, J C

    2010-01-01

    We review and illustrate the impact of TEM on the study of nanowires of non-nitride III-V semiconductors, with particular emphasis on the understanding of the thermodynamics and kinetics of their formation assisted by nano-sized catalyst particles. Besides providing basic information about the morphology of the nanowires and their growth rate as a function of diameter, TEM offers insights into the peculiar crystalline structure that they adopt. We discuss the formation of the unusual wurtzite hexagonal crystalline phase and that of planar stacking defects in these nanowires and show that they are kinetically controlled. We also demonstrate the transformation of wurtzite into cubic sphalerite upon epitaxial burying of the nanowires. Nanowires are particularly interesting in that they allow the fabrication of precisely positioned quantum dots with well-defined geometries. In this respect, we discuss the formation of strained quantum-size inclusions in nanowires, their critical dimensions and the kinetic and thermodynamic factors governing the changes of the crystalline structure that sometimes occur around a hetero-interface.

  17. Transformation of bulk alloys to oxide nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, Danni; Benson, Jim; Magasinski, Alexandre; Berdichevsky, Gene; Yushin, Gleb

    2017-01-01

    One dimensional (1D) nanostructures offer prospects for enhancing the electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties of a broad range of functional materials and composites, but their synthesis methods are typically elaborate and expensive. We demonstrate a direct transformation of bulk materials into nanowires under ambient conditions without the use of catalysts or any external stimuli. The nanowires form via minimization of strain energy at the boundary of a chemical reaction front. We show the transformation of multimicrometer-sized particles of aluminum or magnesium alloys into alkoxide nanowires of tunable dimensions, which are converted into oxide nanowires upon heating in air. Fabricated separators based on aluminum oxide nanowires enhanced the safety and rate capabilities of lithium-ion batteries. The reported approach allows ultralow-cost scalable synthesis of 1D materials and membranes.

  18. Spin-orbit qubit in a semiconductor nanowire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nadj-Perge, S; Frolov, S M; Bakkers, E P A M; Kouwenhoven, L P

    2010-12-23

    Motion of electrons can influence their spins through a fundamental effect called spin-orbit interaction. This interaction provides a way to control spins electrically and thus lies at the foundation of spintronics. Even at the level of single electrons, the spin-orbit interaction has proven promising for coherent spin rotations. Here we implement a spin-orbit quantum bit (qubit) in an indium arsenide nanowire, where the spin-orbit interaction is so strong that spin and motion can no longer be separated. In this regime, we realize fast qubit rotations and universal single-qubit control using only electric fields; the qubits are hosted in single-electron quantum dots that are individually addressable. We enhance coherence by dynamically decoupling the qubits from the environment. Nanowires offer various advantages for quantum computing: they can serve as one-dimensional templates for scalable qubit registers, and it is possible to vary the material even during wire growth. Such flexibility can be used to design wires with suppressed decoherence and to push semiconductor qubit fidelities towards error correction levels. Furthermore, electrical dots can be integrated with optical dots in p-n junction nanowires. The coherence times achieved here are sufficient for the conversion of an electronic qubit into a photon, which can serve as a flying qubit for long-distance quantum communication.

  19. David Adler Lectureship Award Talk: III-V Semiconductor Nanowires on Silicon for Future Devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riel, Heike

    Bottom-up grown nanowires are very attractive materials for direct integration of III-V semiconductors on silicon thus opening up new possibilities for the design and fabrication of nanoscale devices for electronic, optoelectronic as well as quantum information applications. Template-Assisted Selective Epitaxy (TASE) allows the well-defined and monolithic integration of complex III-V nanostructures and devices on silicon. Achieving atomically abrupt heterointerfaces, high crystal quality and control of dimension down to 1D nanowires enabled the demonstration of FETs and tunnel devices based on In(Ga)As and GaSb. Furthermore, the strong influence of strain on nanowires as well as results on quantum transport studies of InAs nanowires with well-defined geometry will be presented.

  20. Electrodeposited highly-ordered manganese oxide nanowire arrays for supercapacitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Haifeng; Lu, Bingqiang; Wei, Shuiqiang; Bao, Mi; Wen, Yanxuan; Wang, Fan

    2012-07-01

    Large arrays of well-aligned Mn oxide nanowires were prepared by electrodeposition using anodic aluminum oxide templates. The sizes of nanowires were tuned by varying the electrotype solution involved and the MnO2 nanowires with 10 μm in length were obtained in a neutral KMnO4 bath for 1 h. MnO2 nanowire arrays grown on conductor substance save the tedious electrode-making process, and electrochemical characterization demonstrates that the MnO2 nanowire arrays electrode has good capacitive behavior. Due to the limited mass transportation in narrow spacing, the spacing effects between the neighbor nanowires have show great influence to the electrochemical performance.

  1. Insights into the Controllable Chemical Composition of Metal Oxide Nanowires and Graphene Aerogels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldstein, Anna Patrice

    The design and synthesis of materials that absorb visible light and create fuel to store solar energy is a pursuit that has captivated chemists for decades. In order to take part in solar water splitting, i.e. the production of hydrogen and oxygen gas from water and sunlight, electrode materials must fit specific requirements in terms of their electronic structure. Zinc oxide (ZnO) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) are both of interest for their ability to produce oxygen from photogenerated holes, but their band gaps are too large to capture a significant portion of the solar spectrum. We address this challenge by modifying the crystal structures of ZnO and TiO 2 to make lower band gap materials. Furthermore, we use nanowires as the synthetic template for these materials because they provide a large semiconductor-liquid interfacial area. ZnO nanowires can be alloyed with In3+, Fe3+ and other trivalent metal ions to form a unique structure with the formula M2O3(ZnO)n, also known as MZO. We synthesize indium zinc oxide (IZO) and indium iron zinc oxide (IFZO) nanowires and study their crystal structure using atomically-resolved transmission electron microscopy (TEM), among other methods. We elucidate a structural model for MZO that resolves inconsistencies in the existing literature, based on the identification of the zigzag layer as an inversion domain boundary. These nanowires are shown to have a lower band gap than ZnO and produce photocurrent under visible light illumination. The solid-state diffusion reaction to form ternary titanates is also studied by TEM. TiO2 nanowires are coated with metal oxides by a variety of deposition methods, and then converted to MTiO3 at high temperatures, where M is a divalent transition metal ion such as Mn 2+, CO2+, or Ni2+. When Co3O 4 particles attached to TiO2 nanowires are annealed for a short time, we observe the formation of a CoO(111)/TiO2 (010) interface. If the nanowires are instead coated with Co(NO3)2 salt and then annealed

  2. Plasmonic engineering of metal-oxide nanowire heterojunctions in integrated nanowire rectification units

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, Luchan; Zhou, Y. Norman, E-mail: liulei@tsinghua.edu.cn, E-mail: nzhou@uwaterloo.ca [Department of Mechanical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Centre for Advanced Materials Joining, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 (Canada); Zou, Guisheng; Liu, Lei, E-mail: liulei@tsinghua.edu.cn, E-mail: nzhou@uwaterloo.ca [Department of Mechanical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Duley, Walt W. [Centre for Advanced Materials Joining, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 (Canada); Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 (Canada)

    2016-05-16

    We show that irradiation with femtosecond laser pulses can produce robust nanowire heterojunctions in coupled non-wetting metal-oxide Ag-TiO{sub 2} structures. Simulations indicate that joining arises from the effect of strong plasmonic localization in the region of the junction. Strong electric field effects occur in both Ag and TiO{sub 2} resulting in the modification of both surfaces and an increase in wettability of TiO{sub 2}, facilitating the interconnection of Ag and TiO{sub 2} nanowires. Irradiation leads to the creation of a thin layer of highly defected TiO{sub 2} in the contact region between the Ag and TiO{sub 2} nanowires. The presence of this layer allows the formation of a heterojunction and offers the possibility of engineering the electronic characteristics of interfacial structures. Rectifying junctions with single and bipolar properties have been generated in Ag-TiO{sub 2} nanowire circuits incorporating asymmetrical and symmetrical interfacial structures, respectively. This fabrication technique should be applicable for the interconnection of other heterogeneous metal-oxide nanowire components and demonstrates that femtosecond laser irradiation enables interfacial engineering for electronic applications of integrated nanowire structures.

  3. Plasmonic engineering of metal-oxide nanowire heterojunctions in integrated nanowire rectification units

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Luchan; Zou, Guisheng; Liu, Lei; Duley, Walt W.; Zhou, Y. Norman

    2016-05-01

    We show that irradiation with femtosecond laser pulses can produce robust nanowire heterojunctions in coupled non-wetting metal-oxide Ag-TiO2 structures. Simulations indicate that joining arises from the effect of strong plasmonic localization in the region of the junction. Strong electric field effects occur in both Ag and TiO2 resulting in the modification of both surfaces and an increase in wettability of TiO2, facilitating the interconnection of Ag and TiO2 nanowires. Irradiation leads to the creation of a thin layer of highly defected TiO2 in the contact region between the Ag and TiO2 nanowires. The presence of this layer allows the formation of a heterojunction and offers the possibility of engineering the electronic characteristics of interfacial structures. Rectifying junctions with single and bipolar properties have been generated in Ag-TiO2 nanowire circuits incorporating asymmetrical and symmetrical interfacial structures, respectively. This fabrication technique should be applicable for the interconnection of other heterogeneous metal-oxide nanowire components and demonstrates that femtosecond laser irradiation enables interfacial engineering for electronic applications of integrated nanowire structures.

  4. Understanding and exploiting optical properties in semiconductor nanowires for solar energy conversion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frau, Eleonora; Tutuncuoglu, Gozde; Matteini, Federico

    2016-01-01

    Semiconductor nanowires are promising building blocks for next generation solar energy conversion at low cost, due to their large absorption cross-sections. Here, the understanding of their absorption power is explored via computational and experimental methods as well as its use in other fields...

  5. Oxidation of InP nanowires: a first principles molecular dynamics study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berwanger, Mailing; Schoenhalz, Aline L; Dos Santos, Cláudia L; Piquini, Paulo

    2016-11-16

    InP nanowires are candidates for optoelectronic applications, and as protective capping layers of III-V core-shell nanowires. Their surfaces are oxidized under ambient conditions which affects the nanowire physical properties. The majority of theoretical studies of InP nanowires, however, do not take into account the oxide layer at their surfaces. In this work we use first principles molecular dynamics electronic structure calculations to study the first steps in the oxidation process of a non-saturated InP nanowire surface as well as the properties of an already oxidized surface of an InP nanowire. Our calculations show that the O 2 molecules dissociate through several mechanisms, resulting in incorporation of O atoms into the surface layers. The results confirm the experimental observation that the oxidized layers become amorphous but the non-oxidized core layers remain crystalline. Oxygen related bonds at the oxidized layers introduce defective levels at the band gap region, with greater contributions from defects involving In-O and P-O bonds.

  6. Preparation and electrochemical characterization of MnOOH nanowire-graphene oxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Lin; Wang Dianlong

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → MnOOH nanowire-graphene oxide composites are prepared by hydrothermal reaction in distilled water or 5% ammonia aqueous solution at 130 deg. C, with MnO 2 -graphene oxide composites which are synthesized by a redox reaction between KMnO 4 and graphene oxide. → MnO 2 is deoxidized to MnOOH on graphene oxide through hydrothermal reaction without any extra reductants. → It is found that the electrochemical resistance of MnOOH nanowire-graphene oxide composites decreases and the capacitance increases to 76 F g -1 when hydrothermal reaction is conducted in ammonia aqueous solution. → MnOOH nanowire-graphene oxide composites prepared by hydrothermal reaction in 5% ammonia aqueous solution have excellent capacitance retention ratio at scan rate from 5 mV s -1 to 40 mV s -1 . - Abstract: MnOOH nanowire-graphene oxide composites are prepared by hydrothermal reaction in distilled water or 5% ammonia aqueous solution at 130 deg. C with MnO 2 -graphene oxide composites which are synthesized by a redox reaction between KMnO 4 and graphene oxide. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses and energy dispersive X-ray analyses (EDAX) show MnO 2 is deoxidized to MnOOH on graphene oxide through hydrothermal reaction without any extra reductants. The electrochemical capacitance of MnOOH nanowire-graphene oxide composites prepared in 5% ammonia aqueous solution is 76 F g -1 at current density of 0.1 A g -1 . Moreover, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) suggests the electrochemical resistance of MnOOH nanowire-graphene oxide composites is reduced when hydrothermal reaction is conducted in ammonia aqueous solution. The relationship between the electrochemical capacitance and the structure of MnOOH nanowire-graphene oxide composites is characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The results indicate the electrochemical performance of MnOOH nanowire-graphene oxide composites strongly depends on their

  7. Synthesis, characterization and photoluminescence of tin oxide nanoribbons and nanowires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Duraia, El-Shazly M.A., E-mail: duraia_physics@yahoo.co [Suez Canal University, Faculty of Science, Physics Department, Ismailia (Egypt); Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty (Kazakhstan); Institute of Physics and Technology, 11 Ibragimov Street, 050032 Almaty (Kazakhstan); Mansorov, Z.A. [Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty (Kazakhstan); Tokmolden, S. [Institute of Physics and Technology, 11 Ibragimov Street, 050032 Almaty (Kazakhstan)

    2009-11-15

    In this work we report the successful formation of tin oxide nanowires and tin oxide nanoribbons with high yield and by using simple cheap method. We also report the formation of curved nanoribbon, wedge-like tin oxide nanowires and star-like nanowires. The growth mechanism of these structures has been studied. Scanning electron microscope was used in the analysis and the EDX analysis showed that our samples is purely Sn and O with ratio 1:2. X-ray analysis was also used in the characterization of the tin oxide nanowire and showed the high crystallinity of our nanowires. The mechanism of the growth of our1D nanostructures is closely related to the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) process. The photoluminescence PL measurements for the tin oxide nanowires indicated that there are three stable emission peaks centered at wavelengths 630, 565 and 395 nm. The nature of the transition may be attributed to nanocrystals inside the nanobelts or to Sn or O vacancies occurring during the growth which can induce trapped states in the band gap.

  8. Tuning Rashba spin-orbit coupling in homogeneous semiconductor nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wójcik, Paweł; Bertoni, Andrea; Goldoni, Guido

    2018-04-01

    We use k .p theory to estimate the Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in large semiconductor nanowires. We specifically investigate GaAs- and InSb-based devices with different gate configurations to control symmetry and localization of the electron charge density. We explore gate-controlled SOC for wires of different size and doping, and we show that in high carrier density SOC has a nonlinear electric field susceptibility, due to large reshaping of the quantum states. We analyze recent experiments with InSb nanowires in light of our calculations. Good agreement is found with the SOC coefficients reported in Phys. Rev. B 91, 201413(R) (2015), 10.1103/PhysRevB.91.201413, but not with the much larger values reported in Nat. Commun. 8, 478 (2017), 10.1038/s41467-017-00315-y. We discuss possible origins of this discrepancy.

  9. Ultrathin Tungsten Oxide Nanowires/Reduced Graphene Oxide Composites for Toluene Sensing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Hassan

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Graphene-based composites have gained great attention in the field of gas sensor fabrication due to their higher surface area with additional functional groups. Decorating one-dimensional (1D semiconductor nanomaterials on graphene also show potential benefits in gas sensing applications. Here we demonstrate the one-pot and low cost synthesis of W18O49 NWs/rGO composites with different amount of reduced graphene oxide (rGO which show excellent gas-sensing properties towards toluene and strong dependence on their chemical composition. As compared to pure W18O49 NWs, an improved gas sensing response (2.8 times higher was achieved in case of W18O49 NWs composite with 0.5 wt. % rGO. Promisingly, this strategy can be extended to prepare other nanowire based composites with excellent gas-sensing performance.

  10. ZnTe Amorphous Semiconductor Nanowires Array Electrodeposited into Polycarbonate Membrane Thin Films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohgai, T; Ikeda, T; Ohta, J

    2013-01-01

    ZnTe amorphous semiconductor nanowires array was electrodeposited into the nanochannels of ion-track etched polycarbonate membrane thin films from acidic aqueous solution at 313 K. ZnTe electrodeposits with Zn-rich composition was obtained over the wide range of cathode potential from −0.8 V to −1.1 V and the growth rate of ZnTe amorphous nanowires was around 3 nm.sec −1 at the cathode potential of −0.8 V. Cylindrical shape of the nanowires was precisely transferred from the nanochannels and the aspect ratio reached up to ca. 40. ZnTe amorphous phase electrodeposited at 313 K was crystallized by annealing at 683 K and the band gap energy of ZnTe crystalline phase reached up to ca. 2.13 eV.

  11. Phase-coherent transport and spin-orbit-coupling in III/V-semiconductor nanowires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Estevez Hernandez, Sergio

    2009-01-01

    Semiconductor nanowires fabricated by a bottom-up approach are not only interesting for the realization of future nanoscaled devices but also appear to be very attractive model systems to tackle fundamental questions concerning the transport in strongly confined systems. In order to avoid the problem connected with carrier depletion, narrowband gap semiconductors, i.e., InAs or InN, or core-shell Nanowires, i.e., GaAs/AlGaAs, are preferred. The underlying reason is that in InAs or InN the Fermi-level pinning in the conduction band results in a carrier accumulation at the surface. In fact, the tubular topology of the surface electron gas opens up the possibility to observe unconventional quantum transport phenomena. When the phase-coherence length in the nanowire is comparable to its dimensions the conductance fluctuates if a magnetic field is applied or if the electron concentration is changed by means of a gate electrode. These so-called universal conductance fluctuations being in the order of e 2 /h originate from the fact that in small disordered samples, electron interference effects are not averaged out. In this work are analyzed universal conductance fluctuations to study the quantum transport properties in InN, InAs and GaAs/AlGaAs nanowires. With the use of a magnetic field and a back-gate electrode the universal conductance fluctuations and localizations effects were analyzed. Since InN and InAs are narrow band gap semiconductors, one naturally expects spin-orbit coupling effects. Because this phenomena is of importance for spin electronic applications. However, owing to the cylindrical symmetry of the InN and InAs nanowires, the latter effect was observable and actually be used to determine the strength of spin-orbit coupling. In order to clearly separate the weak antilocalization effect from the conductance fluctuations, the averaging of the magnetoconductance at different gate voltages was essential. The low-temperature quantum transport properties of

  12. Chemically synthesized metal-oxide-metal segmented nanowires with high ferroelectric response

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herderick, Edward D; Padture, Nitin P; Polomoff, Nicholas A; Huey, Bryan D

    2010-01-01

    A chemical synthesis method is presented for the fabrication of high-definition segmented metal-oxide-metal (MOM) nanowires in two different ferroelectric oxide systems: Au-BaTiO 3 -Au and Au-PbTiO 3 -Au. This method entails electrodeposition of segmented nanowires of Au-TiO 2 -Au inside anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates, followed by topotactic hydrothermal conversion of the TiO 2 segments into BaTiO 3 or PbTiO 3 segments. Two-terminal devices from individual MOM nanowires are fabricated, and their ferroelectric properties are measured directly, without the aid of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) methods. The MOM nanowire architecture provides high-quality end-on electrical contacts to the oxide segments, and allows direct measurement of properties of nanoscale volume, strain-free oxide segments. Unusually high ferroelectric responses, for chemically synthesized oxides, in these MOM nanowires are reported, and are attributed to the lack of residual strain in the oxides. The ability to measure directly the active properties of nanoscale volume, strain-free oxides afforded by the MOM nanowire architecture has important implications for fundamental studies of not only ferroelectric nanostructures but also nanostructures in the emerging field of multiferroics.

  13. SYNTHESIS AND PHOTOLUMINESCENCE STUDIES ON ZINC OXIDE NANOWIRES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nguyen Ngoc Long

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Semiconductor single crystal ZnO nanowires have been successfully synthesized by a simple method based on thermal evaporation of ZnO powders mixed with graphite. Metallic catalysts, carrying gases, and vacuum conditions are not necessary. The x-ray diffraction (XRD analysis shows that the ZnO nanowires are highly crystallized and have a typical wurtzite hexagonal structure with lattice constants a = 0.3246 nm and c = 0.5203 nm. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM images of nanowires indicate that diameters of the ZnO nanowires normally range from 100 to 300 nm and their lengths are several tens of micrometers. Photoluminescence (PL and photoluminescence excitation (PLE spectra of the nanowires were measured in the range of temperature from 15 K to the room temperature. Photoluminescence spectra at low temperatures exhibit a group of ultraviolet (UV narrow peaks in the region 368 nm ~ 390 nm, and a blue-green very broad peak at 500 nm. Origin of the emission lines in PL spectra and the lines in PLE spectra is discussed.

  14. Electronic transport behavior of diameter-graded Ag nanowires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xuewei; Yuan Zhihao

    2010-01-01

    Ag nanowires with a graded diameter in anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes were fabricated by the direct-current electrodeposition. The Ag nanowires have a graded-change in diameter from 8 to 32 nm, which is matched with the graded-change of the AAO pore diameter. Electronic transport measurements show that there is a transport behavior similar to that of a metal-semiconductor junction along the axial direction in the diameter-graded Ag nanowires. Such a novel homogeneous nanojunction will be of great fundamental and practical significance.

  15. Electronic transport behavior of diameter-graded Ag nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xue Wei; Yuan, Zhi Hao

    2010-05-01

    Ag nanowires with a graded diameter in anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes were fabricated by the direct-current electrodeposition. The Ag nanowires have a graded-change in diameter from 8 to 32 nm, which is matched with the graded-change of the AAO pore diameter. Electronic transport measurements show that there is a transport behavior similar to that of a metal-semiconductor junction along the axial direction in the diameter-graded Ag nanowires. Such a novel homogeneous nanojunction will be of great fundamental and practical significance.

  16. Oxidative fabrication of patterned, large, non-flaking CuO nanowire arrays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mumm, F; Sikorski, P

    2011-01-01

    We report a simple and fast approach to fabricate large, non-flaking arrays of CuO nanowires by oxidizing thin copper substrates in air. Oxidative CuO nanowire growth is commonly accompanied by oxide layer flaking due to stress at the copper-copper oxide interface. Using thin substrates is shown to prevent this flaking by introducing favourable material thickness ratios in the samples after oxidation. Additionally, thin foils allow larger scale topographic patterns to be transferred from an underlying mould to realize non-flat, nanowire-decorated surfaces. Further patterning is possible by electrodeposition of a nickel layer, which restricts nanowire growth to specific areas of the sample.

  17. Nanowire Lasers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Couteau C.

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available We review principles and trends in the use of semiconductor nanowires as gain media for stimulated emission and lasing. Semiconductor nanowires have recently been widely studied for use in integrated optoelectronic devices, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs, solar cells, and transistors. Intensive research has also been conducted in the use of nanowires for subwavelength laser systems that take advantage of their quasione- dimensional (1D nature, flexibility in material choice and combination, and intrinsic optoelectronic properties. First, we provide an overview on using quasi-1D nanowire systems to realize subwavelength lasers with efficient, directional, and low-threshold emission. We then describe the state of the art for nanowire lasers in terms of materials, geometry, andwavelength tunability.Next,we present the basics of lasing in semiconductor nanowires, define the key parameters for stimulated emission, and introduce the properties of nanowires. We then review advanced nanowire laser designs from the literature. Finally, we present interesting perspectives for low-threshold nanoscale light sources and optical interconnects. We intend to illustrate the potential of nanolasers inmany applications, such as nanophotonic devices that integrate electronics and photonics for next-generation optoelectronic devices. For instance, these building blocks for nanoscale photonics can be used for data storage and biomedical applications when coupled to on-chip characterization tools. These nanoscale monochromatic laser light sources promise breakthroughs in nanophotonics, as they can operate at room temperature, can potentially be electrically driven, and can yield a better understanding of intrinsic nanomaterial properties and surface-state effects in lowdimensional semiconductor systems.

  18. Strain at a semiconductor nanowire-substrate interface studied using geometric phase analysis, convergent beam electron diffraction and nanobeam diffraction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Persson, Johan Mikael; Wagner, Jakob Birkedal; Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal E.

    2011-01-01

    Semiconductor nanowires have been studied using electron microscopy since the early days of nanowire growth, e.g. [1]. A common approach for analysing nanowires using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) involves removing them from their substrate and subsequently transferring them onto carbon...... with CBED and NBED [4,5] have shown a high degree of consistency. Strain has previously only been measured in nanowires removed from their substrate [6], or only using GPA [7]. The sample used for the present investigation was an InP nanowire grown on a Si substrate using metal organic vapor phase...

  19. Chemically synthesized metal-oxide-metal segmented nanowires with high ferroelectric response

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Herderick, Edward D; Padture, Nitin P [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Center for Emergent Materials, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Polomoff, Nicholas A; Huey, Bryan D, E-mail: padture.1@osu.edu [Department of Chemical, Materials, and Biomolecular Engineering, Institute of Materials Science, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269 (United States)

    2010-08-20

    A chemical synthesis method is presented for the fabrication of high-definition segmented metal-oxide-metal (MOM) nanowires in two different ferroelectric oxide systems: Au-BaTiO{sub 3}-Au and Au-PbTiO{sub 3}-Au. This method entails electrodeposition of segmented nanowires of Au-TiO{sub 2}-Au inside anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates, followed by topotactic hydrothermal conversion of the TiO{sub 2} segments into BaTiO{sub 3} or PbTiO{sub 3} segments. Two-terminal devices from individual MOM nanowires are fabricated, and their ferroelectric properties are measured directly, without the aid of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) methods. The MOM nanowire architecture provides high-quality end-on electrical contacts to the oxide segments, and allows direct measurement of properties of nanoscale volume, strain-free oxide segments. Unusually high ferroelectric responses, for chemically synthesized oxides, in these MOM nanowires are reported, and are attributed to the lack of residual strain in the oxides. The ability to measure directly the active properties of nanoscale volume, strain-free oxides afforded by the MOM nanowire architecture has important implications for fundamental studies of not only ferroelectric nanostructures but also nanostructures in the emerging field of multiferroics.

  20. Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation by GaAs Nanowire Arrays Protected with Atomic Layer Deposited NiO x Electrocatalysts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeng, Joy; Xu, Xiaoqing; Parameshwaran, Vijay; Baker, Jon; Bent, Stacey; Wong, H.-S. Philip; Clemens, Bruce

    2018-02-01

    Photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen production makes possible the direct conversion of solar energy into chemical fuel. In this work, PEC photoanodes consisting of GaAs nanowire (NW) arrays were fabricated, characterized, and then demonstrated for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Uniform and periodic GaAs nanowire arrays were grown on a heavily n-doped GaAs substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition selective area growth. The nanowire arrays were characterized using cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy in a non-aqueous electrochemical system using ferrocene/ferrocenium (Fc/Fc+) as a redox couple, and a maximum oxidation photocurrent of 11.1 mA/cm2 was measured. GaAs NW arrays with a 36 nm layer of nickel oxide (NiO x ) synthesized by atomic layer deposition were then used as photoanodes to drive the OER. In addition to acting as an electrocatalyst, the NiO x layer served to protect the GaAs NWs from oxidative corrosion. Using this strategy, GaAs NW photoanodes were successfully used for the oxygen evolution reaction. This is the first demonstration of GaAs NW arrays for effective OER, and the fabrication and protection strategy developed in this work can be extended to study any other nanostructured semiconductor materials systems for electrochemical solar energy conversion.

  1. Asymmetric current-phase relation due to spin-orbit interaction in semiconductor nanowire Josephson junction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yokoyama, Tomohiro; Eto, Mikio [Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, 3-14-1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama 223-8522 (Japan); Nazarov, Yuli V. [Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg 1, 2628 CJ Delft, The Netherlands (Netherlands)

    2013-12-04

    We theoretically study the current-phase relation in semiconductor nanowire Josephson junction in the presence of spin-orbit interaction. In the nanowire, the impurity scattering with strong SO interaction is taken into account using the random matrix theory. In the absence of magnetic field, the Josephson current I and phase difference φ between the superconductors satisfy the relation of I(φ) = –I(–φ). In the presence of magnetic field along the nanowire, the interplay between the SO interaction and Zeeman effect breaks the current-phase relation of I(φ) = –I(–φ). In this case, we show that the critical current depends on the current direction, which qualitatively agrees with recent experimental findings.

  2. A general melt-injection-decomposition route to oriented metal oxide nanowire arrays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Dongqiang; Zhang, Xinwei; Hua, Zhenghe; Yang, Shaoguang

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A general melt-injection-decomposition (MID) route is proposed for the fabrication of oriented metal oxide nanowire arrays. • Four kinds of metal oxide (CuO, Mn_2O_3, Co_3O_4 and Cr_2O_3) nanowire arrays have been realized as examples through the developed MID route. • The mechanism of the developed MID route is discussed using Thermogravimetry and Differential Thermal Analysis technique. • The MID route is a versatile, simple, facile and effective way to prepare different kinds of oriented metal oxide nanowire arrays in the future. - Abstract: In this manuscript, a general melt-injection-decomposition (MID) route has been proposed and realized for the fabrication of oriented metal oxide nanowire arrays. Nitrate was used as the starting materials, which was injected into the nanopores of the anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane through the capillarity action in its liquid state. At higher temperature, the nitrate decomposed into corresponding metal oxide within the nanopores of the AAO membrane. Oriented metal oxide nanowire arrays were formed within the AAO membrane as a result of the confinement of the nanopores. Four kinds of metal oxide (CuO, Mn_2O_3, Co_3O_4 and Cr_2O_3) nanowire arrays are presented here as examples fabricated by this newly developed process. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy studies showed clear evidence of the formations of the oriented metal oxide nanowire arrays. Formation mechanism of the metal oxide nanowire arrays is discussed based on the Thermogravimetry and Differential Thermal Analysis measurement results.

  3. Synthesis of hexagonal ultrathin tungsten oxide nanowires with diameters below 5 nm for enhanced photocatalytic performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Huidan; Zhu, Qin; Zhang, Mengying; Yan, Yi; Liu, Yongping; Li, Ming; Yang, Zhishu; Geng, Peng

    2018-04-01

    Semiconductor with one dimension (1D) ultrathin nanostructure has been proved to be a promising nanomaterial in photocatalytic field. Great efforts were made on preparation of monoclinic ultrathin tungsten oxide nanowires. However, non-monoclinic phase tungsten oxides with 1D ultrathin structure, especially less than 5 nm width, have not been reported. Herein, we report the synthesis of hexagonal ultrathin tungsten oxide nanowires (U-WOx NW) by modified hydrothermal method. Microstructure characterization showed that U-WOx NW have the diameters of 1-3 nm below 5 nm and are hexagonal phase sub-stoichiometric WOx. U-WOx NW show absorption tail in the visible and near infrared region due to oxygen vacancies. For improving further photocatalytic performance, Ag co-catalyst was grown directly onto U-WOx NW surface by in situ redox reaction. Photocatalytic measurements revealed hexagonal U-WOx NW have better photodegradation activity, compared with commercial WO3(C-WO3) and oxidized U-WOx NW, ascribe to larger surface area, short diffusion length of photo-generated charge carriers and visible absorption of oxygen-vacancy-rich hexagonal ultrathin nanostructures. Moreover, the photocatalytic activity and stability of U-WOx NW using Ag co-catalyst were further improved.

  4. Long-Term Stability of Oxide Nanowire Sensors via Heavily Doped Oxide Contact.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeng, Hao; Takahashi, Tsunaki; Kanai, Masaki; Zhang, Guozhu; He, Yong; Nagashima, Kazuki; Yanagida, Takeshi

    2017-12-22

    Long-term stability of a chemical sensor is an essential quality for long-term collection of data related to exhaled breath, environmental air, and other sources in the Internet of things (IoT) era. Although an oxide nanowire sensor has shown great potential as a chemical sensor, the long-term stability of sensitivity has not been realized yet due to electrical degradation under harsh sensing conditions. Here, we report a rational concept to accomplish long-term electrical stability of metal oxide nanowire sensors via introduction of a heavily doped metal oxide contact layer. Antimony-doped SnO 2 (ATO) contacts on SnO 2 nanowires show much more stable and lower electrical contact resistance than conventional Ti contacts for high temperature (200 °C) conditions, which are required to operate chemical sensors. The stable and low contact resistance of ATO was confirmed for at least 1960 h under 200 °C in open air. This heavily doped oxide contact enables us to realize the long-term stability of SnO 2 nanowire sensors while maintaining the sensitivity for both NO 2 gas and light (photo) detections. The applicability of our method is confirmed for sensors on a flexible polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) substrate. Since the proposed fundamental concept can be applied to various oxide nanostructures, it will give a foundation for designing long-term stable oxide nanomaterial-based IoT sensors.

  5. Tungsten oxide nanowires grown on amorphous-like tungsten films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dellasega, D; Pezzoli, A; Russo, V; Passoni, M; Pietralunga, S M; Nasi, L; Conti, C; Vahid, M J; Tagliaferri, A

    2015-01-01

    Tungsten oxide nanowires have been synthesized by vacuum annealing in the range 500–710 °C from amorphous-like tungsten films, deposited on a Si(100) substrate by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) in the presence of a He background pressure. The oxygen required for the nanowires formation is already adsorbed in the W matrix before annealing, its amount depending on deposition parameters. Nanowire crystalline phase and stoichiometry depend on annealing temperature, ranging from W_1_8O_4_9-Magneli phase to monoclinic WO_3. Sufficiently long annealing induces the formation of micrometer-long nanowires, up to 3.6 μm with an aspect ratio up to 90. Oxide nanowire growth appears to be triggered by the crystallization of the underlying amorphous W film, promoting their synthesis at low temperatures. (paper)

  6. Parity lifetime of bound states in a proximitized semiconductor nanowire

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Higginbotham, Andrew Patrick; Albrecht, Sven Marian; Kirsanskas, Gediminas

    2015-01-01

    Quasiparticle excitations can compromise the performance of superconducting devices, causing high frequency dissipation, decoherence in Josephson qubits, and braiding errors in proposed Majorana-based topological quantum computers. Quasiparticle dynamics have been studied in detail in metallic...... superconductor layer, yielding an isolated, proximitized nanowire segment. We identify Andreev-like bound states in the semiconductor via bias spectroscopy, determine the characteristic temperatures and magnetic fields for quasiparticle excitations, and extract a parity lifetime (poisoning time) of the bound...

  7. A general melt-injection-decomposition route to oriented metal oxide nanowire arrays

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Dongqiang; Zhang, Xinwei; Hua, Zhenghe; Yang, Shaoguang, E-mail: sgyang@nju.edu.cn

    2016-12-30

    Highlights: • A general melt-injection-decomposition (MID) route is proposed for the fabrication of oriented metal oxide nanowire arrays. • Four kinds of metal oxide (CuO, Mn{sub 2}O{sub 3}, Co{sub 3}O{sub 4} and Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3}) nanowire arrays have been realized as examples through the developed MID route. • The mechanism of the developed MID route is discussed using Thermogravimetry and Differential Thermal Analysis technique. • The MID route is a versatile, simple, facile and effective way to prepare different kinds of oriented metal oxide nanowire arrays in the future. - Abstract: In this manuscript, a general melt-injection-decomposition (MID) route has been proposed and realized for the fabrication of oriented metal oxide nanowire arrays. Nitrate was used as the starting materials, which was injected into the nanopores of the anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane through the capillarity action in its liquid state. At higher temperature, the nitrate decomposed into corresponding metal oxide within the nanopores of the AAO membrane. Oriented metal oxide nanowire arrays were formed within the AAO membrane as a result of the confinement of the nanopores. Four kinds of metal oxide (CuO, Mn{sub 2}O{sub 3}, Co{sub 3}O{sub 4} and Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3}) nanowire arrays are presented here as examples fabricated by this newly developed process. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy studies showed clear evidence of the formations of the oriented metal oxide nanowire arrays. Formation mechanism of the metal oxide nanowire arrays is discussed based on the Thermogravimetry and Differential Thermal Analysis measurement results.

  8. A general melt-injection-decomposition route to oriented metal oxide nanowire arrays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Dongqiang; Zhang, Xinwei; Hua, Zhenghe; Yang, Shaoguang

    2016-12-01

    In this manuscript, a general melt-injection-decomposition (MID) route has been proposed and realized for the fabrication of oriented metal oxide nanowire arrays. Nitrate was used as the starting materials, which was injected into the nanopores of the anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane through the capillarity action in its liquid state. At higher temperature, the nitrate decomposed into corresponding metal oxide within the nanopores of the AAO membrane. Oriented metal oxide nanowire arrays were formed within the AAO membrane as a result of the confinement of the nanopores. Four kinds of metal oxide (CuO, Mn2O3, Co3O4 and Cr2O3) nanowire arrays are presented here as examples fabricated by this newly developed process. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy studies showed clear evidence of the formations of the oriented metal oxide nanowire arrays. Formation mechanism of the metal oxide nanowire arrays is discussed based on the Thermogravimetry and Differential Thermal Analysis measurement results.

  9. Photoexcited Individual Nanowires: Key Elements in Room Temperature Detection of Oxidizing Gases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prades, J. D.; Jimenez-Diaz, R.; Manzanares, M.; Andreu, T.; Cirera, A.; Romano-Rodriguez, A.; Hernandez-Ramirez, F.; Morante, J. R.

    2009-01-01

    Illuminating metal oxide semiconductors with ultra-violet light is a feasible alternative to activate chemical reactions at their surface and thus, using them as gas sensors without the necessity of heating them. Here, the response at room temperature of individual single-crystalline SnO 2 nanowires towards NO 2 is studied in detail. The results reveal that similar responses to those obtained with thermally activated sensors can be achieved by choosing the optimal illumination conditions. This finding paves the way to the development of conductometric gas sensors operated at room temperature. The power consumption in these devices is in range with conventional micromachined sensors.

  10. Semiconductor nanostructures for artificial photosynthesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Peidong

    2012-02-01

    Nanowires, with their unique capability to bridge the nanoscopic and macroscopic worlds, have already been demonstrated as important materials for different energy conversion. One emerging and exciting direction is their application for solar to fuel conversion. The generation of fuels by the direct conversion of solar energy in a fully integrated system is an attractive goal, but no such system has been demonstrated that shows the required efficiency, is sufficiently durable, or can be manufactured at reasonable cost. One of the most critical issues in solar water splitting is the development of a suitable photoanode with high efficiency and long-term durability in an aqueous environment. Semiconductor nanowires represent an important class of nanostructure building block for direct solar-to-fuel application because of their high surface area, tunable bandgap and efficient charge transport and collection. Nanowires can be readily designed and synthesized to deterministically incorporate heterojunctions with improved light absorption, charge separation and vectorial transport. Meanwhile, it is also possible to selectively decorate different oxidation or reduction catalysts onto specific segments of the nanowires to mimic the compartmentalized reactions in natural photosynthesis. In this talk, I will highlight several recent examples in this lab using semiconductor nanowires and their heterostructures for the purpose of direct solar water splitting.

  11. One-dimensional quantum matter: gold-induced nanowires on semiconductor surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dudy, L.; Aulbach, J.; Wagner, T.; Schäfer, J.; Claessen, R.

    2017-11-01

    Interacting electrons confined to only one spatial dimension display a wide range of unusual many-body quantum phenomena, ranging from Peierls instabilities to the breakdown of the canonical Fermi liquid paradigm to even unusual spin phenomena. The underlying physics is not only of tremendous fundamental interest, but may also have bearing on device functionality in future micro- and nanoelectronics with lateral extensions reaching the atomic limit. Metallic adatoms deposited on semiconductor surfaces may form self-assembled atomic nanowires, thus representing highly interesting and well-controlled solid-state realizations of such 1D quantum systems. Here we review experimental and theoretical investigations on a few selected prototypical nanowire surface systems, specifically Ge(0 0 1)-Au and Si(hhk)-Au, and the search for 1D quantum states in them. We summarize the current state of research and identify open questions and issues.

  12. Manganese oxide nanowires, films, and membranes and methods of making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suib, Steven Lawrence [Storrs, CT; Yuan, Jikang [Storrs, CT

    2008-10-21

    Nanowires, films, and membranes comprising ordered porous manganese oxide-based octahedral molecular sieves, and methods of making, are disclosed. A single crystal ultra-long nanowire includes an ordered porous manganese oxide-based octahedral molecular sieve, and has an average length greater than about 10 micrometers and an average diameter of about 5 nanometers to about 100 nanometers. A film comprises a microporous network comprising a plurality of single crystal nanowires in the form of a layer, wherein a plurality of layers is stacked on a surface of a substrate, wherein the nanowires of each layer are substantially axially aligned. A free standing membrane comprises a microporous network comprising a plurality of single crystal nanowires in the form of a layer, wherein a plurality of layers is aggregately stacked, and wherein the nanowires of each layer are substantially axially aligned.

  13. Organophosphonate functionalized silicon nanowires for DNA hybridization studies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pedone, Daniel; Cattani Scholz, Anna; Birner, Stefan; Abstreiter, Gerhard [WSI, TU Muenchen (Germany); Dubey, Manish; Schwartz, Jeffrey [Princeton University, NJ (United States); Tornow, Marc [IHT, TU Braunschweig (Germany)

    2007-07-01

    Semiconductor nanowire field effect devices have great appeal for label-free sensing applications due to their sensitivity to surface potential changes that may originate from charged adsorbates. In addition to requiring high sensitivity, suitable passivation and functionalization of the semiconductor surface is obligatory. We have fabricated both freely suspended and oxide-supported silicon nanowires from Silicon-on-Insulator substrates using standard nanopatterning methods (EBL, RIE) and sacrificial oxide layer etching. Subsequent to nanofabrication, the devices were first coated with an hydroxyalkylphosphonate monolayer and then bound via bifunctional linker groups to single stranded DNA or PNA oligonucleotides, respectively. We investigated DNA hybridization on such functionalized nanowires using a difference resistance setup, where subtracting the reference signal from a second wire could be used to exclude most non-specific effects. A net change in surface potential on the order of a few mV could be detected upon addition of the complementary DNA strand. This surface potential change corresponds to the hybridization of about 10{sup 10}cm{sup -2} probe strands according to our model calculations that takes into account the entire hybrid system in electrolyte solution.

  14. Fabrication of a P3HT-ZnO Nanowires Gas Sensor Detecting Ammonia Gas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chin-Guo Kuo

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In this study, an organic-inorganic semiconductor gas sensor was fabricated to detect ammonia gas. An inorganic semiconductor was a zinc oxide (ZnO nanowire array produced by atomic layer deposition (ALD while an organic material was a p-type semiconductor, poly(3-hexylthiophene (P3HT. P3HT was suitable for the gas sensing application due to its high hole mobility, good stability, and good electrical conductivity. In this work, P3HT was coated on the zinc oxide nanowires by the spin coating to form an organic-inorganic heterogeneous interface of the gas sensor for detecting ammonia gas. The thicknesses of the P3HT were around 462 nm, 397 nm, and 277 nm when the speeds of the spin coating were 4000 rpm, 5000 rpm, and 6000 rpm, respectively. The electrical properties and sensing characteristics of the gas sensing device at room temperature were evaluated by Hall effect measurement and the sensitivity of detecting ammonia gas. The results of Hall effect measurement for the P3HT-ZnO nanowires semiconductor with 462 nm P3HT film showed that the carrier concentration and the mobility were 2.7 × 1019 cm−3 and 24.7 cm2∙V−1∙s−1 respectively. The gas sensing device prepared by the P3HT-ZnO nanowires semiconductor had better sensitivity than the device composed of the ZnO film and P3HT film. Additionally, this gas sensing device could reach a maximum sensitivity around 11.58 per ppm.

  15. Thermal-treatment effect on the photoluminescence and gas-sensing properties of tungsten oxide nanowires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun, Shibin; Chang, Xueting; Li, Zhenjiang

    2010-01-01

    Single-crystalline non-stoichiometric tungsten oxide nanowires were initially prepared using a simple solvothermal method. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) investigations indicate that the tungsten oxide nanowires exhibit various crystal defects, including stacking faults, dislocations, and vacancies. A possible defect-induced mechanism was proposed to account for the temperature-dependent morphological evolution of the tungsten oxide nanowires under thermal processing. Due to the high specific surface areas and non-stoichiometric crystal structure, the original tungsten oxide nanowires were highly sensitive to ppm level ethanol at room temperature. Thermal treatment under dry air condition was found to deteriorate the selectivity of room-temperature tungsten oxide sensors, and 400 o C may be considered as the top temperature limit in sensor applications for the solvothermally-prepared nanowires. The photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of tungsten oxide nanowires were also strongly influenced by thermal treatment.

  16. Thermal-treatment effect on the photoluminescence and gas-sensing properties of tungsten oxide nanowires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sun, Shibin [College of Electromechanical Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266061, Shandong (China); Chang, Xueting [Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, Shandong (China); Li, Zhenjiang, E-mail: zjli126@126.com [College of Electromechanical Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266061, Shandong (China)

    2010-09-15

    Single-crystalline non-stoichiometric tungsten oxide nanowires were initially prepared using a simple solvothermal method. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) investigations indicate that the tungsten oxide nanowires exhibit various crystal defects, including stacking faults, dislocations, and vacancies. A possible defect-induced mechanism was proposed to account for the temperature-dependent morphological evolution of the tungsten oxide nanowires under thermal processing. Due to the high specific surface areas and non-stoichiometric crystal structure, the original tungsten oxide nanowires were highly sensitive to ppm level ethanol at room temperature. Thermal treatment under dry air condition was found to deteriorate the selectivity of room-temperature tungsten oxide sensors, and 400 {sup o}C may be considered as the top temperature limit in sensor applications for the solvothermally-prepared nanowires. The photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of tungsten oxide nanowires were also strongly influenced by thermal treatment.

  17. Functionalised zinc oxide nanowire gas sensors: Enhanced NO(2) gas sensor response by chemical modification of nanowire surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waclawik, Eric R; Chang, Jin; Ponzoni, Andrea; Concina, Isabella; Zappa, Dario; Comini, Elisabetta; Motta, Nunzio; Faglia, Guido; Sberveglieri, Giorgio

    2012-01-01

    Surface coating with an organic self-assembled monolayer (SAM) can enhance surface reactions or the absorption of specific gases and hence improve the response of a metal oxide (MOx) sensor toward particular target gases in the environment. In this study the effect of an adsorbed organic layer on the dynamic response of zinc oxide nanowire gas sensors was investigated. The effect of ZnO surface functionalisation by two different organic molecules, tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (THMA) and dodecanethiol (DT), was studied. The response towards ammonia, nitrous oxide and nitrogen dioxide was investigated for three sensor configurations, namely pure ZnO nanowires, organic-coated ZnO nanowires and ZnO nanowires covered with a sparse layer of organic-coated ZnO nanoparticles. Exposure of the nanowire sensors to the oxidising gas NO(2) produced a significant and reproducible response. ZnO and THMA-coated ZnO nanowire sensors both readily detected NO(2) down to a concentration in the very low ppm range. Notably, the THMA-coated nanowires consistently displayed a small, enhanced response to NO(2) compared to uncoated ZnO nanowire sensors. At the lower concentration levels tested, ZnO nanowire sensors that were coated with THMA-capped ZnO nanoparticles were found to exhibit the greatest enhanced response. ΔR/R was two times greater than that for the as-prepared ZnO nanowire sensors. It is proposed that the ΔR/R enhancement in this case originates from the changes induced in the depletion-layer width of the ZnO nanoparticles that bridge ZnO nanowires resulting from THMA ligand binding to the surface of the particle coating. The heightened response and selectivity to the NO(2) target are positive results arising from the coating of these ZnO nanowire sensors with organic-SAM-functionalised ZnO nanoparticles.

  18. Semiconductor nanowires for photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical energy conversion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dasgupta, Neil; Yang, Peidong

    2013-01-23

    Semiconductor nanowires (NW) possess several beneficial properties for efficient conversion of solar energy into electricity and chemical energy. Due to their efficient absorption of light, short distances for minority carriers to travel, high surface-to-volume ratios, and the availability of scalable synthesis methods, they provide a pathway to address the low cost-to-power requirements for wide-scale adaptation of solar energy conversion technologies. Here we highlight recent progress in our group towards implementation of NW components as photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical energy conversion devices. An emphasis is placed on the unique properties of these one-dimensional (1D) structures, which enable the use of abundant, low-cost materials and improved energy conversion efficiency compared to bulk devices.

  19. Biofunctionalization of zinc oxide nanowires for DNA sensory applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rudolph Bettina

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract We report on the biofunctionalization of zinc oxide nanowires for the attachment of DNA target molecules on the nanowire surface. With the organosilane glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane acting as a bifunctional linker, amino-modified capture molecule oligonucleotides have been immobilized on the nanowire surface. The dye-marked DNA molecules were detected via fluorescence microscopy, and our results reveal a successful attachment of DNA capture molecules onto the nanowire surface. The electrical field effect induced by the negatively charged attached DNA molecules should be able to control the electrical properties of the nanowires and gives way to a ZnO nanowire-based biosensing device.

  20. High performance Si nanowire field-effect-transistors based on a CMOS inverter with tunable threshold voltage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van, Ngoc Huynh; Lee, Jae-Hyun; Sohn, Jung Inn; Cha, Seung Nam; Whang, Dongmok; Kim, Jong Min; Kang, Dae Joon

    2014-05-21

    We successfully fabricated nanowire-based complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (NWCMOS) inverter devices by utilizing n- and p-type Si nanowire field-effect-transistors (NWFETs) via a low-temperature fabrication processing technique. We demonstrate that NWCMOS inverter devices can be operated at less than 1 V, a significantly lower voltage than that of typical thin-film based complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) inverter devices. This low-voltage operation was accomplished by controlling the threshold voltage of the n-type Si NWFETs through effective management of the nanowire (NW) doping concentration, while realizing high voltage gain (>10) and ultra-low static power dissipation (≤3 pW) for high-performance digital inverter devices. This result offers a viable means of fabricating high-performance, low-operation voltage, and high-density digital logic circuits using a low-temperature fabrication processing technique suitable for next-generation flexible electronics.

  1. Semiconductor device comprising a pn-heterojunction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    2007-01-01

    An electric device is disclosed comprising a pn-heterojunction ( 4 ) formed by a nanowire ( 3 ) of 111 -V semiconductor material and a semiconductor body ( 1 ) comprising a group IV semiconductor material. The nanowire ( 3 ) is positioned in direct contact with the surface ( 2 ) of the semiconductor

  2. Temperature effects in contacts between a metal and a semiconductor nanowire near the degenerate doping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Zhuting; Burgess, Tim; Tan, H. H.; Jagadish, Chennupati; Kogan, Andrei

    2018-04-01

    We have investigated the nonlinear conductance in diffusion-doped Si:GaAs nanowires contacted by patterned metal films in a wide range of temperatures T. The wire resistance R W and the zero bias resistance R C, dominated by the contacts, exhibit very different responses to temperature changes. While R W shows almost no dependence on T, R C varies by several orders of magnitude as the devices are cooled from room temperature to T = 5 K. We develop a model that employs a sharp donor level very low in the GaAs conduction band and show that our observations are consistent with the model predictions. We then demonstrate that such measurements can be used to estimate carrier properties in nanostructured semiconductors and obtain an estimate for N D, the doping density in our samples. We also discuss the effects of surface states and dielectric confinement on carrier density in semiconductor nanowires.

  3. Transparent p-type SnO nanowires with unprecedented hole mobility among oxide semiconductors

    KAUST Repository

    Caraveo-Frescas, J. A.; Alshareef, Husam N.

    2013-01-01

    p-type tin monoxide (SnO) nanowire field-effect transistors with stable enhancement mode behavior and record performance are demonstrated at 160 °C. The nanowire transistors exhibit the highest field-effect hole mobility (10.83 cm2 V−1 s−1) of any p

  4. Design of Highly Selective Gas Sensors via Physicochemical Modification of Oxide Nanowires: Overview

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyung-Sik Woo

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Strategies for the enhancement of gas sensing properties, and specifically the improvement of gas selectivity of metal oxide semiconductor nanowire (NW networks grown by chemical vapor deposition and thermal evaporation, are reviewed. Highly crystalline NWs grown by vapor-phase routes have various advantages, and thus have been applied in the field of gas sensors over the years. In particular, n-type NWs such as SnO2, ZnO, and In2O3 are widely studied because of their simple synthetic preparation and high gas response. However, due to their usually high responses to C2H5OH and NO2, the selective detection of other harmful and toxic gases using oxide NWs remains a challenging issue. Various strategies—such as doping/loading of noble metals, decorating/doping of catalytic metal oxides, and the formation of core–shell structures—have been explored to enhance gas selectivity and sensitivity, and are discussed herein. Additional methods such as the transformation of n-type into p-type NWs and the formation of catalyst-doped hierarchical structures by branch growth have also proven to be promising for the enhancement of gas selectivity. Accordingly, the physicochemical modification of oxide NWs via various methods provides new strategies to achieve the selective detection of a specific gas, and after further investigations, this approach could pave a new way in the field of NW-based semiconductor-type gas sensors.

  5. Hierarchical oxide-based composite nanostructures for energy, environmental, and sensing applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Pu-Xian; Shimpi, Paresh; Cai, Wenjie; Gao, Haiyong; Jian, Dunliang; Wrobel, Gregory

    2011-02-01

    Self-assembled composite nanostructures integrate various basic nano-elements such as nanoparticles, nanofilms and nanowires toward realizing multifunctional characteristics, which promises an important route with potentially high reward for the fast evolving nanoscience and nanotechnology. A broad array of hierarchical metal oxide based nanostructures have been designed and fabricated in our research group, involving semiconductor metal oxides, ternary functional oxides such as perovskites and spinels and quaternary dielectric hydroxyl metal oxides with diverse applications in efficient energy harvesting/saving/utilization, environmental protection/control, chemical sensing and thus impacting major grand challenges in the area of materials and nanotechnology. Two of our latest research activities have been highlighted specifically in semiconductor oxide alloy nanowires and metal oxide/perovskite composite nanowires, which could impact the application sectors in ultraviolet/blue lighting, visible solar absorption, vehicle and industry emission control, chemical sensing and control for vehicle combustors and power plants.

  6. Epitaxy of advanced nanowire quantum devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gazibegovic, Sasa; Car, Diana; Zhang, Hao; Balk, Stijn C.; Logan, John A.; de Moor, Michiel W. A.; Cassidy, Maja C.; Schmits, Rudi; Xu, Di; Wang, Guanzhong; Krogstrup, Peter; Op Het Veld, Roy L. M.; Zuo, Kun; Vos, Yoram; Shen, Jie; Bouman, Daniël; Shojaei, Borzoyeh; Pennachio, Daniel; Lee, Joon Sue; van Veldhoven, Petrus J.; Koelling, Sebastian; Verheijen, Marcel A.; Kouwenhoven, Leo P.; Palmstrøm, Chris J.; Bakkers, Erik P. A. M.

    2017-08-01

    Semiconductor nanowires are ideal for realizing various low-dimensional quantum devices. In particular, topological phases of matter hosting non-Abelian quasiparticles (such as anyons) can emerge when a semiconductor nanowire with strong spin-orbit coupling is brought into contact with a superconductor. To exploit the potential of non-Abelian anyons—which are key elements of topological quantum computing—fully, they need to be exchanged in a well-controlled braiding operation. Essential hardware for braiding is a network of crystalline nanowires coupled to superconducting islands. Here we demonstrate a technique for generic bottom-up synthesis of complex quantum devices with a special focus on nanowire networks with a predefined number of superconducting islands. Structural analysis confirms the high crystalline quality of the nanowire junctions, as well as an epitaxial superconductor-semiconductor interface. Quantum transport measurements of nanowire ‘hashtags’ reveal Aharonov-Bohm and weak-antilocalization effects, indicating a phase-coherent system with strong spin-orbit coupling. In addition, a proximity-induced hard superconducting gap (with vanishing sub-gap conductance) is demonstrated in these hybrid superconductor-semiconductor nanowires, highlighting the successful materials development necessary for a first braiding experiment. Our approach opens up new avenues for the realization of epitaxial three-dimensional quantum architectures which have the potential to become key components of various quantum devices.

  7. Template synthesis of indium nanowires using anodic aluminum oxide membranes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Feng; Kitai, Adrian H

    2008-09-01

    Indium nanowires with diameters approximately 300 nm have been synthesized by a hydraulic pressure technique using anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates. The indium melt is injected into the AAO template and solidified to form nanostructures. The nanowires are dense, continuous and uniformly run through the entire approximately 60 microm thickness of the AAO template. X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals that the nanowires are polycrystalline with a preferred orientation. SEM is performed to characterize the morphology of the nanowires.

  8. Nature of magnetization and lateral spin–orbit interaction in gated semiconductor nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karlsson, H.; Yakimenko, I. I.; Berggren, K.-F.

    2018-05-01

    Semiconductor nanowires are interesting candidates for realization of spintronics devices. In this paper we study electronic states and effects of lateral spin–orbit coupling (LSOC) in a one-dimensional asymmetrically biased nanowire using the Hartree–Fock method with Dirac interaction. We have shown that spin polarization can be triggered by LSOC at finite source-drain bias,as a result of numerical noise representing a random magnetic field due to wiring or a random background magnetic field by Earth magnetic field, for instance. The electrons spontaneously arrange into spin rows in the wire due to electron interactions leading to a finite spin polarization. The direction of polarization is, however, random at zero source-drain bias. We have found that LSOC has an effect on orientation of spin rows only in the case when source-drain bias is applied.

  9. Performance of ethanol electro-oxidation on Ni-Cu alloy nanowires through composition modulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Xi-Ke; Zhao, Xiao-Yu; Zhang, Li-de; Yang, Chao; Pi, Zhen-Bang; Zhang, Su-Xin

    2008-05-28

    To reduce the cost of the catalyst for direct ethanol fuel cells and improve its catalytic activity, highly ordered Ni-Cu alloy nanowire arrays have been fabricated successfully by differential pulse current electro-deposition into the pores of a porous anodic alumina membrane (AAMs). The energy dispersion spectrum, scanning and transmission electron microscopy were utilized to characterize the composition and morphology of the Ni-Cu alloy nanowire arrays. The results reveal that the nanowires in the array are uniform, well isolated and parallel to each other. The catalytic activity of the nanowire electrode arrays for ethanol oxidation was tested and the binary alloy nanowire array possesses good catalytic activity for the electro-oxidation of ethanol. The performance of ethanol electro-oxidation was controlled by varying the Cu content in the Ni-Cu alloy and the Ni-Cu alloy nanowire electrode shows much better stability than the pure Ni one.

  10. Performance of ethanol electro-oxidation on Ni-Cu alloy nanowires through composition modulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tian Xike; Zhao Xiaoyu; Yang Chao; Pi Zhenbang; Zhang Lide; Zhang Suxin

    2008-01-01

    To reduce the cost of the catalyst for direct ethanol fuel cells and improve its catalytic activity, highly ordered Ni-Cu alloy nanowire arrays have been fabricated successfully by differential pulse current electro-deposition into the pores of a porous anodic alumina membrane (AAMs). The energy dispersion spectrum, scanning and transmission electron microscopy were utilized to characterize the composition and morphology of the Ni-Cu alloy nanowire arrays. The results reveal that the nanowires in the array are uniform, well isolated and parallel to each other. The catalytic activity of the nanowire electrode arrays for ethanol oxidation was tested and the binary alloy nanowire array possesses good catalytic activity for the electro-oxidation of ethanol. The performance of ethanol electro-oxidation was controlled by varying the Cu content in the Ni-Cu alloy and the Ni-Cu alloy nanowire electrode shows much better stability than the pure Ni one

  11. Epitaxy of advanced nanowire quantum devices

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gazibegovic, S.; Car, D.; Zhang, H.; Balk, S.C.; Logan, J.A.; De Moor, M.W.A.; Cassidy, M.C.; Schmits, R.; Xu, D.; Wang, G.; Krogstrup, P.; Op Het Veld, R.L.M.; Zuo, K.; Vos, Y.; Shen, J.; Bouman, D.; Shojaei, B.; Pennachio, D.; Lee, J.S.; van Veldhoven, P.J.; Koelling, S.; Verheijen, M.A.; Kouwenhoven, L.P.; Palmstrøm, C.J.; Bakkers, E.P.A.M.

    2017-01-01

    Semiconductor nanowires are ideal for realizing various low-dimensional quantum devices. In particular, topological phases of matter hosting non-Abelian quasiparticles (such as anyons) can emerge when a semiconductor nanowire with strong spin-orbit coupling is brought into contact with a

  12. Semiconductor nanowires and templates for electronic applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ying, Xiang

    2009-07-15

    This thesis starts by developing a platform for the organized growth of nanowires directly on a planar substrate. For this, a method to fabricate horizontal porous alumina membranes is studied. The second part of the thesis focuses on the study of nanowires. It starts by the understanding of the growth mechanisms of germanium nanowires and follows by the structural and electrical properties at the single nanowire level. Horizontally aligned porous anodic alumina (PAA) was used as a template for the nanowire synthesis. Three PAA arrangements were studied: - high density membranes - micron-sized fingers - multi-contacts Membranes formed by a high density of nanopores were obtained by anodizing aluminum thin films. Metallic and semiconducting nanowires were synthesized into the PAA structures via DC deposition, pulsed electro-depostion and CVD growth. The presence of gold, copper, indium, nickel, tellurium, and silicon nanowires inside PAA templates was verified by SEM and EDX analysis. Further, room-temperature transport measurements showed that the pores are completely filled till the bottom of the pores. In this dissertation, single crystalline and core-shell germanium nanowires are synthesized using indium and bismuth as catalyst in a chemical vapor deposition procedure with germane (GeH{sub 4}) as growth precursor. A systematic growth study has been performed to obtain high aspect-ratio germanium nanowires. The influence of the growth conditions on the final morphology and the crystalline structure has been determined via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). In the case of indium catalyzed germanium nanowires, two different structures were identified: single crystalline and crystalline core-amorphous shell. The preferential growth axis of both kinds of nanowires is along the [110] direction. The occurrence of the two morphologies was found to only depend on the nanowire dimension. In the case of bismuth

  13. Semimetal-semiconductor transitions in bismuth-antimony films and nanowires induced by size quantization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nikolaeva, A.A.; Konopko, L.A.; Grabov, V.M.; Komarov, V.A.; Kablukova, N.; Popov, I.A.

    2013-01-01

    Full text:Single-crystal bismuth films and nanowires undergo a transformation from semimetal to semiconductor (SMSC) thanks to the manifestation of quantum size effects, which modify phonon transport, which may be of practical interest. This effect must be most pronounced in single Bi 1-x Sb x nanostructures in the semimetal phase(x < 0.04) with a minimal overlapping of L and T bands. In this paper we present the experimental results an investigation of the low- temperature electrical transport, thermoelectrical properties, SdH oscillations of BiSb films, grown by vacuum thermal evaporation and nanowires prepared by a modified Ulitovsky - Teilor technique. We confirmed with X-ray diffraction that the trigonal axis were perpendicular to the film plane. The single Bi-2at% Sb nanowires with diameter 100-1000nm were represented single crystals in glass capillary with (1011) orientation along the wire axis. The investigations the Shubnikov de Haas oscillations shows, that overlapping L and-T- bands was in two time smaller, than in pure Bi. The quantum dimensional effect induced SMSC transition is observed in Bi-Sb films and nanowires at the wires diameters up to five times greater, than in pure Bi. That experimental fact on the one site will be allow to go at higher temperatures with the same diameters nanowires, and on the other hand allows to separate effects connected with surface state and QSE. We also discuss the thermoelectric properties for optimizing their performance for certain, such as thermoelectrics.

  14. A supercritical carbon dioxide plasma process for preparing tungsten oxide nanowires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawashima, Ayato; Nomura, Shinfuku; Toyota, Hiromichi; Takemori, Toshihiko; Mukasa, Shinobu; Maehara, Tsunehiro

    2007-01-01

    A supercritical carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) plasma process for fabricating one-dimensional tungsten oxide nanowires coated with amorphous carbon is presented. High-frequency plasma was generated in supercritical carbon dioxide at 20 MPa by using tungsten electrodes mounted in a supercritical cell, and subsequently an organic solvent was introduced with supercritical carbon dioxide into the plasma. Electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy investigations of the deposited materials showed the production of tungsten oxide nanowires with or without an outer layer. The nanowires with an outer layer exhibited a coaxial structure with an outer concentric layer of amorphous carbon and an inner layer of tungsten oxide with a thickness and diameter of 20-30 and 10-20 nm, respectively

  15. Heterogeneous metal-oxide nanowire micro-sensor array for gas sensing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DeMeo, Dante; E Vandervelde, Thomas; MacNaughton, Sam; Sonkusale, Sameer; Wang, Zhilong; Zhang, Xinjie

    2014-01-01

    Vanadium oxide, manganese oxide, tungsten oxide, and nickel oxide nanowires were investigated for their applicability as chemiresistive gas sensors. Nanowires have excellent surface-to-volume ratios which yield higher sensitivities than bulk materials. Sensing elements consisting of these materials were assembled in an array to create an electronic nose platform. Dielectrophoresis was used to position the nanomaterials onto a microfabricated array of electrodes, which was subsequently mounted onto a leadless chip carrier and printed circuit board for rapid testing. Samples were tested in an enclosed chamber with vapors of acetone, isopropanol, methanol, and aqueous ammonia. The change in resistance of each assembly was measured. Responses varied between nanowire compositions, each demonstrating unique and repeatable responses to different gases; this enabled direct detection of the gases from the ensemble response. Sensitivities were calculated based on the fractional resistance change in a saturated environment and ranged from 6 × 10 −4 to 2 × 10 −5 %change ppm −1 . (papers)

  16. Oriented Mn-doped CuO nanowire arrays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Dongqiang; Wu, Zhaofeng; Wang, Zhihe; Yang, Shaoguang

    2016-01-01

    Using anodic aluminum oxide membranes as the nanoreactors and controller, oriented nanowire arrays of the diluted magnetic semiconductor Mn-doped CuO have been successfully fabricated using Mn(NO_3)_2 · 4H_2O and Cu(NO_3)_2 · 3H_2O as the starting materials. X-ray diffraction measurements showed that the as-prepared oriented nanowire arrays are of high purity. Scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope studies showed the nanowires are oriented, continuous and uniform with a diameter and length of about 170 nm and several tens of micrometers, respectively, and thus of a high aspect ratio. Low-temperature magnetic measurements showed the ferromagnetic property of the oriented Mn-doped CuO nanowire arrays with the critical temperature at around 80 K, which will endow them with great potential applications in spintronics in the future. (paper)

  17. Determination of Insulator-to-Semiconductor Transition in Sol-Gel Oxide Semiconductors Using Derivative Spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Woobin; Choi, Seungbeom; Kim, Kyung Tae; Kang, Jingu; Park, Sung Kyu; Kim, Yong-Hoon

    2015-12-23

    We report a derivative spectroscopic method for determining insulator-to-semiconductor transition during sol-gel metal-oxide semiconductor formation. When an as-spun sol-gel precursor film is photochemically activated and changes to semiconducting state, the light absorption characteristics of the metal-oxide film is considerable changed particularly in the ultraviolet region. As a result, a peak is generated in the first-order derivatives of light absorption ( A' ) vs. wavelength (λ) plots, and by tracing the peak center shift and peak intensity, transition from insulating-to-semiconducting state of the film can be monitored. The peak generation and peak center shift are described based on photon-energy-dependent absorption coefficient of metal-oxide films. We discuss detailed analysis method for metal-oxide semiconductor films and its application in thin-film transistor fabrication. We believe this derivative spectroscopy based determination can be beneficial for a non-destructive and a rapid monitoring of the insulator-to-semiconductor transition in sol-gel oxide semiconductor formation.

  18. ZnO Nanowires Synthesized by Vapor Phase Transport Deposition on Transparent Oxide Substrates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taylor Curtis

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Zinc oxide nanowires have been synthesized without using metal catalyst seed layers on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO substrates by a modified vapor phase transport deposition process using a double-tube reactor. The unique reactor configuration creates a Zn-rich vapor environment that facilitates formation and growth of zinc oxide nanoparticles and wires (20–80 nm in diameter, up to 6 μm in length, density <40 nm apart at substrate temperatures down to 300°C. Electron microscopy and other characterization techniques show nanowires with distinct morphologies when grown under different conditions. The effect of reaction parameters including reaction time, temperature, and carrier gas flow rate on the size, morphology, crystalline structure, and density of ZnO nanowires has been investigated. The nanowires grown by this method have a diameter, length, and density appropriate for use in fabricating hybrid polymer/metal oxide nanostructure solar cells. For example, it is preferable to have nanowires no more than 40 nm apart to minimize exciton recombination in polymer solar cells.

  19. Attraction of semiconductor nanowires: An in situ observation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Bin; Gao, Qiang; Chang, Li; Wang, Yanbo; Chen, Zibin; Liao, Xiaozhou; Tan, Hark Hoe; Zou, Jin; Ringer, Simon P.; Jagadish, Chennupati

    2013-01-01

    Graphical abstract: -- Abstract: In situ deformation transmission electron microscopy was used to study the attraction behavior of GaAs semiconductor nanowires (NWs). The NWs demonstrated an interesting phenomenon of either head-to-head or body-to-body attraction at distances that depend on the NW diameters. The NWs with a diameter of ∼25 nm attracted at a distance of ∼25 nm, while large-diameter NWs of ∼55 nm showed no obvious attraction. The underlying mechanism governing the attraction of the NWs is proposed and discussed with a mechanistic model. The diameter dependence on the NW attraction behavior is discussed. The finding provides an understanding of the Ampère force in nanostructured materials caused by an electron-beam-induced current while technologically it provides useful hints for designing NW-based devices according to the diameter-dependent attraction behavior of NWs

  20. Anisotropy-based crystalline oxide-on-semiconductor material

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKee, Rodney Allen; Walker, Frederick Joseph

    2000-01-01

    A semiconductor structure and device for use in a semiconductor application utilizes a substrate of semiconductor-based material, such as silicon, and a thin film of a crystalline oxide whose unit cells are capable of exhibiting anisotropic behavior overlying the substrate surface. Within the structure, the unit cells of the crystalline oxide are exposed to an in-plane stain which influences the geometric shape of the unit cells and thereby arranges a directional-dependent quality of the unit cells in a predisposed orientation relative to the substrate. This predisposition of the directional-dependent quality of the unit cells enables the device to take beneficial advantage of characteristics of the structure during operation. For example, in the instance in which the crystalline oxide of the structure is a perovskite, a spinel or an oxide of similarly-related cubic structure, the structure can, within an appropriate semiconductor device, exhibit ferroelectric, piezoelectric, pyroelectric, electro-optic, ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, magneto-optic or large dielectric properties that synergistically couple to the underlying semiconductor substrate.

  1. Solution-Processed Donor-Acceptor Polymer Nanowire Network Semiconductors For High-Performance Field-Effect Transistors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, Yanlian; Deng, Ping; Li, Jun; Lin, Ming; Zhu, Furong; Ng, Tsz-Wai; Lee, Chun-Sing; Ong, Beng S.

    2016-01-01

    Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) represent a low-cost transistor technology for creating next-generation large-area, flexible and ultra-low-cost electronics. Conjugated electron donor-acceptor (D-A) polymers have surfaced as ideal channel semiconductor candidates for OFETs. However, high-molecular weight (MW) D-A polymer semiconductors, which offer high field-effect mobility, generally suffer from processing complications due to limited solubility. Conversely, the readily soluble, low-MW D-A polymers give low mobility. We report herein a facile solution process which transformed a lower-MW, low-mobility diketopyrrolopyrrole-dithienylthieno[3,2-b]thiophene (I) into a high crystalline order and high-mobility semiconductor for OFETs applications. The process involved solution fabrication of a channel semiconductor film from a lower-MW (I) and polystyrene blends. With the help of cooperative shifting motion of polystyrene chain segments, (I) readily self-assembled and crystallized out in the polystyrene matrix as an interpenetrating, nanowire semiconductor network, providing significantly enhanced mobility (over 8 cm2V−1s−1), on/off ratio (107), and other desirable field-effect properties that meet impactful OFET application requirements. PMID:27091315

  2. On-chip microplasma reactors using carbon nanofibres and tungsten oxide nanowires as electrodes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Agiral, A.; Groenland, A.W.; Chinthaginjala, J.K.; Kumar Chinthaginjala, J.; Seshan, Kulathuiyer; Lefferts, Leonardus; Gardeniers, Johannes G.E.

    2008-01-01

    Carbon nanofibres (CNFs) and tungsten oxide (W18O49) nanowires have been incorporated into a continuous flow type microplasma reactor to increase the reactivity and efficiency of the barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure. CNFs and tungsten oxide nanowires were characterized by high-resolution

  3. Photoconductivity of Germanium Nanowire Arrays Incorporated in Anodic Aluminum Oxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Polyakov, B; Prikulis, J; Grigorjeva, L; Millers, D; Daly, B; Holmes, J D; Erts, D

    2007-01-01

    Photoconductivity of germanium nanowire arrays of 50 and 100 nm diameter incorporated into Anodic Aluminum Oxide (AAO) membranes illuminated with visible light is investigated. Photocurrent response to excitation radiation with time constants faster than 10 -4 s were governed by absorption of incident light by nanowires, while photokinetics with time constants of the order of 10 -3 s originates from the photoluminescence of the AAO matrix. Possible applications of nanowire arrays inside AAO as photoresistors are discussed

  4. Hierarchical Assembly of Multifunctional Oxide-based Composite Nanostructures for Energy and Environmental Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui-Jan Lin

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Composite nanoarchitectures represent a class of nanostructured entities that integrates various dissimilar nanoscale building blocks including nanoparticles, nanowires, and nanofilms toward realizing multifunctional characteristics. A broad array of composite nanoarchitectures can be designed and fabricated, involving generic materials such as metal, ceramics, and polymers in nanoscale form. In this review, we will highlight the latest progress on composite nanostructures in our research group, particularly on various metal oxides including binary semiconductors, ABO3-type perovskites, A2BO4 spinels and quaternary dielectric hydroxyl metal oxides (AB(OH6 with diverse application potential. Through a generic template strategy in conjunction with various synthetic approaches—such as hydrothermal decomposition, colloidal deposition, physical sputtering, thermal decomposition and thermal oxidation, semiconductor oxide alloy nanowires, metal oxide/perovskite (spinel composite nanowires, stannate based nanocompostes, as well as semiconductor heterojunction—arrays and networks have been self-assembled in large scale and are being developed as promising classes of composite nanoarchitectures, which may open a new array of advanced nanotechnologies in solid state lighting, solar absorption, photocatalysis and battery, auto-emission control, and chemical sensing.

  5. Growth and luminescence characterization of large-scale zinc oxide nanowires

    CERN Document Server

    Dai, L; Wang, W J; Zhou, T; Hu, B Q

    2003-01-01

    Large-scale zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires were grown via a simple chemical reaction involving water vapour. Electron microscopy observations reveal that the ZnO nanowires are single crystalline and grow along the c-axis ([001]) direction. Room temperature photoluminescence measurements show a striking blue emission at 466 nm along with two other emissions in the ultraviolet and yellow regions. Annealing treatment of the as-grown ZnO nanowires results in an apparent reduction of the intensity of the blue emission, which indicates that the blue emission might be originating from the oxygen or zinc defects generated in the process of growth of the ZnO nanowires.

  6. Semiconductor Nanowires: What's Next?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Peidong; Yan, Ruoxue; Fardy, Melissa

    2010-04-28

    In this perspective, we take a critical look at the research progress within the nanowire community for the past decade. We discuss issues on the discovery of fundamentally new phenomena versus performance benchmarking for many of the nanowire applications. We also notice that both the bottom-up and top-down approaches have played important roles in advancing our fundamental understanding of this new class of nanostructures. Finally we attempt to look into the future and offer our personal opinions on what the future trends will be in nanowire research.

  7. Preparation of highly aligned silicon oxide nanowires with stable intensive photoluminescence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duraia, El-Shazly M.; Mansurov, Z.A.; Tokmolden, S.; Beall, Gary W.

    2010-01-01

    In this work we report the successful formation of highly aligned vertical silicon oxide nanowires. The source of silicon was from the substrate itself without any additional source of silicon. X-ray measurement demonstrated that our nanowires are amorphous. Photoluminescence measurements were conducted through 18 months and indicated that there is a very good intensive emission peaks near the violet regions. The FTIR measurements indicated the existence of peaks at 463, 604, 795 and a wide peak at 1111 cm -1 and this can be attributed to Si-O-Si and Si-O stretching vibrations. We also report the formation of the octopus-like silicon oxide nanowires and the growth mechanism of these structures was discussed.

  8. Preparation of highly aligned silicon oxide nanowires with stable intensive photoluminescence

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Duraia, El-Shazly M., E-mail: duraia_physics@yahoo.co [Suez Canal University, Faculty of Science, Physics Department, Ismailia (Egypt); Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty (Kazakhstan); Institute of Physics and Technology, 11 Ibragimov Street, 050032 Almaty (Kazakhstan); Mansurov, Z.A. [Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty (Kazakhstan); Tokmolden, S. [Institute of Physics and Technology, 11 Ibragimov Street, 050032 Almaty (Kazakhstan); Beall, Gary W. [Texas State University-San Marcos, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 601 University Dr., San Marcos, TX 78666 (United States)

    2010-02-15

    In this work we report the successful formation of highly aligned vertical silicon oxide nanowires. The source of silicon was from the substrate itself without any additional source of silicon. X-ray measurement demonstrated that our nanowires are amorphous. Photoluminescence measurements were conducted through 18 months and indicated that there is a very good intensive emission peaks near the violet regions. The FTIR measurements indicated the existence of peaks at 463, 604, 795 and a wide peak at 1111 cm{sup -1} and this can be attributed to Si-O-Si and Si-O stretching vibrations. We also report the formation of the octopus-like silicon oxide nanowires and the growth mechanism of these structures was discussed.

  9. Improved Long-Term Stability of Transparent Conducting Electrodes Based on Double-Laminated Electrosprayed Antimony Tin Oxides and Ag Nanowires

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koo B.-R.

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available We fabricated double-laminated antimony tin oxide/Ag nanowire electrodes by spin-coating and electrospraying. Compared to pure Ag nanowire electrodes and single-laminated antimony tin oxide/Ag nanowire electrodes, the double-laminated antimony tin oxide/Ag nanowire electrodes had superior transparent conducting electrode performances with sheet resistance ~19.8 Ω/□ and optical transmittance ~81.9%; this was due to uniform distribution of the connected Ag nanowires because of double lamination of the metallic Ag nanowires without Ag aggregation despite subsequent microwave heating at 250°C. They also exhibited excellent and superior long-term chemical and thermal stabilities and adhesion to substrate because double-laminated antimony tin oxide thin films act as the protective layers between Ag nanowires, blocking Ag atoms penetration.

  10. Nanowire NMOS Logic Inverter Characterization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hashim, Yasir

    2016-06-01

    This study is the first to demonstrate characteristics optimization of nanowire N-Channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor (NW-MOS) logic inverter. Noise margins and inflection voltage of transfer characteristics are used as limiting factors in this optimization. A computer-based model used to produce static characteristics of NW-NMOS logic inverter. In this research two circuit configuration of NW-NMOS inverter was studied, in first NW-NMOS circuit, the noise margin for (low input-high output) condition was very low. For second NMOS circuit gives excellent noise margins, and results indicate that optimization depends on applied voltage to the inverter. Increasing gate to source voltage with (2/1) nanowires ratio results better noise margins. Increasing of applied DC load transistor voltage tends to increasing in decreasing noise margins; decreasing this voltage will improve noise margins significantly.

  11. Production of zinc oxide nanowires power with precisely defined morphology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mičová, Júlia; Remeš, Zdeněk; Chan, Yu-Ying

    2017-12-01

    The interest about zinc oxide is increasing thanks to its unique chemical and physical properties. Our attention has focused on preparation powder of 1D nanostructures of ZnO nanowires with precisely defined morphology include characterization size (length and diameter) and shape controlled in the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We have compared results of SEM with dynamic light scattering (DLS) technique. We have found out that SEM method gives more accurate results. We have proposed transformation process from ZnO nanowires on substrates to ZnO nanowires powder by ultrasound peeling to colloid followed by lyophilization. This method of the mass production of the ZnO nanowires powder has some advantages: simplicity, cost effective, large-scale and environment friendly.

  12. Native oxide formation on pentagonal copper nanowires: A TEM study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hajimammadov, Rashad; Mohl, Melinda; Kordas, Krisztian

    2018-06-01

    Hydrothermally synthesized copper nanowires were allowed to oxidize in air at room temperature and 30% constant humidity for the period of 22 days. The growth of native oxide layer was followed up by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and diffraction to reveal and understand the kinetics of the oxidation process. Copper oxides appear in the form of differently oriented crystalline phases around the metallic core as a shell-like layer (Cu2O) and as nanoscopic islands (CuO) on the top of that. Time dependent oxide thickness data suggests that oxidation follows the field-assisted growth model at the beginning of the process, as practically immediately an oxide layer of ∼2.8 nm thickness develops on the surface. However, after this initial rapid growth, the local field attenuates and the classical parabolic diffusion limited growth plays the main role in the oxidation. Because of the single crystal facets on the side surface of penta-twinned Cu nanowires, the oxidation rate in the diffusion limited regime is lower than in polycrystalline films.

  13. Nanowires-based light emitters on thermally and electrically conductive substrates and of making same

    KAUST Repository

    Ooi, Boon S.; Zhao, Chao; Ng, Tien Khee

    2017-01-01

    Elemental or compound semiconductors on metal substrates and methods of growing them are provided. The methods can include the steps of: (i) providing a metal substrate; (ii) adding an interlayer on a surface of the metal substrate, and (iii) growing semiconductor nanowires on the interlayer using a semiconductor epitaxy growth system to form the elemental or compound semiconductor. The method can include direct growth of high quality group III-V and group III-N based materials in the form of nanowires and nanowires-based devices on metal substrates. The nanowires on all- metal scheme greatly simplifies the fabrication process of nanowires based high power light emitters.

  14. Nanowires-based light emitters on thermally and electrically conductive substrates and of making same

    KAUST Repository

    Ooi, Boon S.

    2017-04-27

    Elemental or compound semiconductors on metal substrates and methods of growing them are provided. The methods can include the steps of: (i) providing a metal substrate; (ii) adding an interlayer on a surface of the metal substrate, and (iii) growing semiconductor nanowires on the interlayer using a semiconductor epitaxy growth system to form the elemental or compound semiconductor. The method can include direct growth of high quality group III-V and group III-N based materials in the form of nanowires and nanowires-based devices on metal substrates. The nanowires on all- metal scheme greatly simplifies the fabrication process of nanowires based high power light emitters.

  15. Band bending at the heterointerface of GaAs/InAs core/shell nanowires monitored by synchrotron X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khanbabaee, B.; Bussone, G.; Knutsson, J. V.; Geijselaers, I.; Pryor, C. E.; Rieger, T.; Demarina, N.; Grützmacher, D.; Lepsa, M. I.; Timm, R.; Pietsch, U.

    2016-10-01

    Unique electronic properties of semiconductor heterostructured nanowires make them useful for future nano-electronic devices. Here, we present a study of the band bending effect at the heterointerface of GaAs/InAs core/shell nanowires by means of synchrotron based X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Different Ga, In, and As core-levels of the nanowire constituents have been monitored prior to and after cleaning from native oxides. The cleaning process mainly affected the As-oxides and was accompanied by an energy shift of the core-level spectra towards lower binding energy, suggesting that the As-oxides turn the nanowire surfaces to n-type. After cleaning, both As and Ga core-levels revealed an energy shift of about -0.3 eV for core/shell compared to core reference nanowires. With respect to depth dependence and in agreement with calculated strain distribution and electron quantum confinement, the observed energy shift is interpreted by band bending of core-levels at the heterointerface between the GaAs nanowire core and the InAs shell.

  16. Photocatalytic segmented nanowires and single-step iron oxide nanotube synthesis: Templated electrodeposition as all-round tool

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Maas, M.G.; Rodijk, E.J.B.; Maijenburg, A.W.; ten Elshof, Johan E.; Blank, David H.A.; Nielsch, K.; Fontcuberta i Morral, A.; Holt, J.K.; Thomson, C.V.

    2010-01-01

    Templated electrodeposition was used to synthesize silver-zinc oxide nanowires and iron oxide (Fe2O3) nanotubes in polycarbonate track etched (PCTE) membranes. Metal/oxide segmented nanowires were made to produce hydrogen gas from a water/methanol mixture under ultraviolet irradiation. It was

  17. Fabrication and evaluation of series-triple quantum dots by thermal oxidation of silicon nanowire

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uchida, Takafumi; Jo, Mingyu; Tsurumaki-Fukuchi, Atsushi; Arita, Masashi; Takahashi, Yasuo; Fujiwara, Akira

    2015-01-01

    Series-connected triple quantum dots were fabricated by a simple two-step oxidation technique using the pattern-dependent oxidation of a silicon nanowire and an additional oxidation of the nanowire through the gap of the fine gates attached to the nanowire. The characteristics of multi-dot single-electron devices are obtained. The formation of each quantum dot beneath an attached gate is confirmed by analyzing the electrical characteristics and by evaluating the gate capacitances between all pairings of gates and quantum dots. Because the gate electrode is automatically attached to each dot, the device structure benefits from scalability. This technique promises integrability of multiple quantum dots with individual control gates

  18. Electronic transport in narrow-gap semiconductor nanowires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bloemers, Christian

    2012-01-01

    Throughout this work the electronic transport properties of InAs, InN, and GaAs/InAs core/shell nanowires have been analyzed. This includes the analysis of specific resistivity at room temperature and low temperatures as well as the breakdown of resistivity by a contribution of mobility and carrier concentration using gate measurements. While the InN nanowires showed homogeneous transport properties, there was a large statistical spread in the properties of InAs nanowires. Differing crystal structures and the surface conditions are identified to be the main reasons for the statistical spread. Both quantities of influence have been pointed out by comparing the transport parameters before and after a surface treatment (electron irradiation and long time ambient air exposure), and by comparing the transport parameters of wires grown by different growth methods which exhibit different kinds of crystal structure. In particular, the temperature dependence of the conductivity revealed different activation energies in nanowires with differing crystal structures. An explanation has been suggested in terms of stacking fault induced potential barriers. A field-effect measurement setup has been utilized to determine the nanowire mobility and carrier concentration. Even though this method is widely used for nanowires, it is subject to a serious disadvantage concerning the influence of surface and interface states on the measurements. As an alternative method which does not suffer from this drawback, Hall measurements have been successfully performed on InAs nanowires for the first time. These measurements became possible because of the utilization of a new electron beam lithographic procedure with an alignment accuracy in the 5 nm range. Carrier concentration values could be determined and compared to the ones obtained from conventional field-effect measurements. The results of the Hall measurements revealed a methodical overestimation of the carrier concentrations obtained

  19. Electronic transport in narrow-gap semiconductor nanowires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bloemers, Christian

    2012-10-19

    Throughout this work the electronic transport properties of InAs, InN, and GaAs/InAs core/shell nanowires have been analyzed. This includes the analysis of specific resistivity at room temperature and low temperatures as well as the breakdown of resistivity by a contribution of mobility and carrier concentration using gate measurements. While the InN nanowires showed homogeneous transport properties, there was a large statistical spread in the properties of InAs nanowires. Differing crystal structures and the surface conditions are identified to be the main reasons for the statistical spread. Both quantities of influence have been pointed out by comparing the transport parameters before and after a surface treatment (electron irradiation and long time ambient air exposure), and by comparing the transport parameters of wires grown by different growth methods which exhibit different kinds of crystal structure. In particular, the temperature dependence of the conductivity revealed different activation energies in nanowires with differing crystal structures. An explanation has been suggested in terms of stacking fault induced potential barriers. A field-effect measurement setup has been utilized to determine the nanowire mobility and carrier concentration. Even though this method is widely used for nanowires, it is subject to a serious disadvantage concerning the influence of surface and interface states on the measurements. As an alternative method which does not suffer from this drawback, Hall measurements have been successfully performed on InAs nanowires for the first time. These measurements became possible because of the utilization of a new electron beam lithographic procedure with an alignment accuracy in the 5 nm range. Carrier concentration values could be determined and compared to the ones obtained from conventional field-effect measurements. The results of the Hall measurements revealed a methodical overestimation of the carrier concentrations obtained

  20. Geometrical optics, electrostatics, and nanophotonic resonances in absorbing nanowire arrays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anttu, Nicklas

    2013-03-01

    Semiconductor nanowire arrays have shown promise for next-generation photovoltaics and photodetection, but enhanced understanding of the light-nanowire interaction is still needed. Here, we study theoretically the absorption of light in an array of vertical InP nanowires by moving continuously, first from the electrostatic limit to the nanophotonic regime and then to the geometrical optics limit. We show how the absorption per volume of semiconductor material in the array can be varied by a factor of 200, ranging from 10 times weaker to 20 times stronger than in a bulk semiconductor sample.

  1. Plasmonic Waveguide-Integrated Nanowire Laser

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bermudez-Urena, Esteban; Tutuncuoglu, Gozde; Cuerda, Javier

    2017-01-01

    Next-generation optoelectronic devices and photonic circuitry will have to incorporate on-chip compatible nanolaser sources. Semiconductor nanowire lasers have emerged as strong candidates for integrated systems with applications ranging from ultrasensitive sensing to data communication technolog......Next-generation optoelectronic devices and photonic circuitry will have to incorporate on-chip compatible nanolaser sources. Semiconductor nanowire lasers have emerged as strong candidates for integrated systems with applications ranging from ultrasensitive sensing to data communication...... technologies. Despite significant advances in their fundamental aspects, the integration within scalable photonic circuitry remains challenging. Here we report on the realization of hybrid photonic devices consisting of nanowire lasers integrated with wafer-scale lithographically designed V-groove plasmonic...

  2. Demonstrating nonlocality-induced teleportation through Majorana bound states in a semiconductor nanowire

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Peiyue [Department of Physics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Cao, Yunshan [School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Kavli Institute of NanoScience, Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg 1, 2628 CJ Delft (Netherlands); Gong, Ming [Department of Physics and Centre for Quantum Coherence, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong (China); Li, Shu-Shen [State Key Laboratory for Superlattices and Microstructures, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 912, Beijing 100083 (China); Li, Xin-Qi, E-mail: lixinqi@bnu.edu.cn [Department of Physics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China)

    2014-02-01

    It was predicted by Tewari et al. (2008) [15] that a teleportation-like electron transfer phenomenon is one of the novel consequences of the existence of Majorana fermion, because of the inherently nonlocal nature. In this work we consider a concrete realization and measurement scheme for this interesting behavior, based on a setup consisting of a pair of quantum dots which are tunnel-coupled to a semiconductor nanowire and are jointly measured by two point-contact detectors. We analyze the teleportation dynamics in the presence of measurement back-action and discuss how the teleportation events can be identified from the current trajectories of strong response detectors.

  3. Experimental Methods for Implementing Graphene Contacts to Finite Bandgap Semiconductors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Meyer-Holdt, Jakob

    Present Ph.D. thesis describes my work on implanting graphene as electrical contact to finite bandgap semiconductors. Different transistor architectures, types of graphene and finite bandgap semiconductors have been employed. The device planned from the beginning of my Ph.D. fellowship...... contacts to semiconductor nanowires, more specifically, epitaxially grown InAs nanowires. First, we tried a top down method where CVD graphene was deposited on substrate supported InAs nanowires followed by selective graphene ashing to define graphene electrodes. While electrical contact between...

  4. Self-Assembled PbSe Nanowire:Perovskite Hybrids

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Zhenyu

    2015-12-02

    © 2015 American Chemical Society. Inorganic semiconductor nanowires are of interest in nano- and microscale photonic and electronic applications. Here we report the formation of PbSe nanowires based on directional quantum dot alignment and fusion regulated by hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite surface ligands. All material synthesis is carried out at mild temperatures. Passivation of PbSe quantum dots was achieved via a new perovskite ligand exchange. Subsequent in situ ammonium/amine substitution by butylamine enables quantum dots to be capped by butylammonium lead iodide, and this further drives the formation of a PbSe nanowire superlattice in a two-dimensional (2D) perovskite matrix. The average spacing between two adjacent nanowires agrees well with the thickness of single atomic layer of 2D perovskite, consistent with the formation of a new self-assembled semiconductor nanowire:perovskite heterocrystal hybrid.

  5. Self-Assembled PbSe Nanowire:Perovskite Hybrids

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Zhenyu; Yassitepe, Emre; Voznyy, Oleksandr; Janmohamed, Alyf; Lan, Xinzheng; Levina, Larissa; Comin, Riccardo; Sargent, Edward H.

    2015-01-01

    © 2015 American Chemical Society. Inorganic semiconductor nanowires are of interest in nano- and microscale photonic and electronic applications. Here we report the formation of PbSe nanowires based on directional quantum dot alignment and fusion regulated by hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite surface ligands. All material synthesis is carried out at mild temperatures. Passivation of PbSe quantum dots was achieved via a new perovskite ligand exchange. Subsequent in situ ammonium/amine substitution by butylamine enables quantum dots to be capped by butylammonium lead iodide, and this further drives the formation of a PbSe nanowire superlattice in a two-dimensional (2D) perovskite matrix. The average spacing between two adjacent nanowires agrees well with the thickness of single atomic layer of 2D perovskite, consistent with the formation of a new self-assembled semiconductor nanowire:perovskite heterocrystal hybrid.

  6. Novel Size and Surface Oxide Effects in Silicon Nanowires as Lithium Battery Anodes

    KAUST Repository

    McDowell, Matthew T.

    2011-09-14

    With its high specific capacity, silicon is a promising anode material for high-energy lithium-ion batteries, but volume expansion and fracture during lithium reaction have prevented implementation. Si nanostructures have shown resistance to fracture during cycling, but the critical effects of nanostructure size and native surface oxide on volume expansion and cycling performance are not understood. Here, we use an ex situ transmission electron microscopy technique to observe the same Si nanowires before and after lithiation and have discovered the impacts of size and surface oxide on volume expansion. For nanowires with native SiO2, the surface oxide can suppress the volume expansion during lithiation for nanowires with diameters <∼50 nm. Finite element modeling shows that the oxide layer can induce compressive hydrostatic stress that could act to limit the extent of lithiation. The understanding developed herein of how volume expansion and extent of lithiation can depend on nanomaterial structure is important for the improvement of Si-based anodes. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

  7. Lattice-polarity-driven epitaxy of hexagonal semiconductor nanowires

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Ping

    2015-12-22

    Lattice-polarity-driven epitaxy of hexagonal semiconductor nanowires (NWs) is demonstrated on InN NWs. In-polarity InN NWs form typical hexagonal structure with pyramidal growth front, whereas N-polarity InN NWs slowly turn to the shape of hexagonal pyramid and then convert to an inverted pyramid growth, forming diagonal pyramids with flat surfaces and finally coalescence with each other. This contrary growth behavior driven by lattice-polarity is most likely due to the relatively lower growth rate of the (0001 ̅) plane, which results from the fact that the diffusion barriers of In and N adatoms on the (0001) plane (0.18 and 1.0 eV, respectively) are about two-fold larger in magnitude than those on the (0001 ̅) plane (0.07 and 0.52 eV), as calculated by first-principles density functional theory (DFT). The formation of diagonal pyramids for the N-polarity hexagonal NWs affords a novel way to locate quantum dot in the kink position, suggesting a new recipe for the fabrication of dot-based devices.

  8. Switching behavior of resistive change memory using oxide nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aono, Takashige; Sugawa, Kosuke; Shimizu, Tomohiro; Shingubara, Shoso; Takase, Kouichi

    2018-06-01

    Resistive change random access memory (ReRAM), which is expected to be the next-generation nonvolatile memory, often has wide switching voltage distributions due to many kinds of conductive filaments. In this study, we have tried to suppress the distribution through the structural restriction of the filament-forming area using NiO nanowires. The capacitor with Ni metal nanowires whose surface is oxidized showed good switching behaviors with narrow distributions. The knowledge gained from our study will be very helpful in producing practical ReRAM devices.

  9. Prediction of reduced thermal conductivity in nano-engineered rough semiconductor nanowires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martin, Pierre N; Aksamija, Zlatan; Ravaioli, Umberto [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Beckman Institute for Advanced Technology and Science, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Pop, Eric, E-mail: pmartin7@illinois.ed, E-mail: epop@illinois.ed [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Beckman Institute for Advanced Technology and Science, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Micro- and Nano-Technology Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States)

    2009-11-15

    We explore phonon decay processes necessary to the design of efficient rough semiconductor nanowire (NW) thermoelectric devices. A novel approach to surface roughness-limited thermal conductivity of Si, Ge, and GaAs NW with diameter D < 500 nm is presented. In particular, a frequency-dependent phonon scattering rate is computed from perturbation theory and related to a description of the surface through the root-mean-square roughness height {Delta} and autocovariance length L. Using a full phonon dispersion relation, the thermal conductivity varies quadratically with diameter and roughness as (D/{Delta}){sup 2}. Computed results are in agreement with experimental data, and predict remarkably low thermal conductivity below 1 W/m/K in rough-etched 56 nm Ge and GaAs NW at room temperature.

  10. Observation of intact desorption ionization of peptide molecules from arrays of tungsten oxide nanowires by laser irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Sang Yun [Dept. of Nanochemistry, Gachon University, Seongnam (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-08-15

    Length-controlled WO{sub 3} surface nanowires with a 50 nm diameter were prepared by utilizing anodic Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} templates. Careful control of the fabrication process yielded a set of length-controlled nanowire arrays (Figure 1). The lengths of the nanowires covered a range of 60–250 nm. Typically, a 0.5-μL drop of a sample solution in 10% MeOH that contained 2 pmol of sample was pipetted directly onto the nanowire chips, which were dried under ambient conditions. We report the observation of intact LDI of thermally labile peptides from WO{sub 3} nanowire arrays, which have never been reported for any other metal oxide nanowire arrays. As metal oxides are thermally stable and useful in many applications, and fabrication of various nanostructures are well established, we suggest that the nanostructured surfaces of metal oxides are promising for LDI and thus worthy of further investigations.

  11. Engineering Nanowire n-MOSFETs at L_{g}<8 nm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehrotra, Saumitra R.; Kim, SungGeun; Kubis, Tillmann; Povolotskyi, Michael; Lundstrom, Mark S.; Klimeck, Gerhard

    2013-07-01

    As metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFET) channel lengths (Lg) are scaled to lengths shorter than Lg<8 nm source-drain tunneling starts to become a major performance limiting factor. In this scenario a heavier transport mass can be used to limit source-drain (S-D) tunneling. Taking InAs and Si as examples, it is shown that different heavier transport masses can be engineered using strain and crystal orientation engineering. Full-band extended device atomistic quantum transport simulations are performed for nanowire MOSFETs at Lg<8 nm in both ballistic and incoherent scattering regimes. In conclusion, a heavier transport mass can indeed be advantageous in improving ON state currents in ultra scaled nanowire MOSFETs.

  12. Directional Charge Separation in Isolated Organic Semiconductor Crystalline Nanowires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barnes, Michael; Labastide, Joelle; Bond-Thompson, Hilary; Briseno, Alejandro; Collela, Nicolas

    2017-03-01

    In the conventional view of organic photovoltaics (OPV), localized electronic excitations (excitons) formed in the active layer are transported by random 3D diffusion to an interface where charge separation and extraction take place. Because radiative de-excitation is usually strongly allowed in organic semiconductors, efficient charge separation requires high exciton mobility, with much of the diffusive motion ‘wasted’ in directions that don’t result in an interface encounter. Our research efforts are focused on ways to enforce a preferred directionality in energy and/or charge transport using ordered crystalline nanowires in which the intermolecular interactions that facilitate transport along, for example, the pi-stacking axis, can be made several orders of magnitude stronger than those in a transverse direction. The results presented in our recent work (Nature Communications) is a first step towards realizing the goal of directional control of both energy transport and charge separation, where excitons shared between adjacent molecules dissociate exclusively along the pi-stacking direction.

  13. Preparation and properties of novel magnetic composite nanostructures: Arrays of nanowires in porous membranes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vazquez, M.; Hernandez-Velez, M.; Asenjo, A.; Navas, D.; Pirota, K.; Prida, V.; Sanchez, O.; Baldonedo, J.L.

    2006-01-01

    In the present work, we introduce our latest achievements in the development of novel highly ordered composite magnetic nanostructures employing anodized nanoporous membranes as precursor templates where long-range hexagonal symmetry is induced by self-assembling during anodization process. Subsequent processing as electroplating, sputtering or pressing are employed to prepare arrays of metallic, semiconductor or polymeric nanowires embedded in oxide or metallic membranes. Particular attention is paid to recent results on controlling the magnetic anisotropy in arrays of metallic nanowires, particularly Co, and nanohole arrays in Ni membranes

  14. In Situ Study of Thermal Stability of Copper Oxide Nanowires at Anaerobic Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lihui Zhang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Many metal oxides with promising electrochemical properties were developed recently. Before those metal oxides realize the use as an anode in lithium ion batteries, their thermal stability at anaerobic environment inside batteries should be clearly understood for safety. In this study, copper oxide nanowires were investigated as an example. Several kinds of in situ experiment methods including in situ optical microscopy, in situ Raman spectrum, and in situ transmission electron microscopy were adopted to fully investigate their thermal stability at anaerobic environment. Copper oxide nanowires begin to transform as copper(I oxide at about 250°C and finish at about 400°C. The phase transformation proceeds with a homogeneous nucleation.

  15. Radiation Effects in III-V Nanowire Devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-09-01

    fabrication of an in-plane nanowire (NW) GaAs metal-oxide-semiconductor field- effect transistor (MOSFET) by focused -ion beam (FIB) etching and chemical...8725 John J. Kingman Road, MS 6201 Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6201 T E C H N IC A L R E P O R T DTRA-TR-16-94 Radiation Effects in III-V...5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER 9. SPONSORING / MONITORING AGENCY

  16. Ensembles of indium phosphide nanowires: physical properties and functional devices integrated on non-single crystal platforms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kobayashi, Nobuhiko P.; Lohn, Andrew; Onishi, Takehiro; Mathai, Sagi; Li, Xuema; Straznicky, Joseph; Wang, Shih-Yuan; Williams, R.S.; Logeeswaran, V.J.; Islam, M.S.

    2009-01-01

    A new route to grow an ensemble of indium phosphide single-crystal semiconductor nanowires is described. Unlike conventional epitaxial growth of single-crystal semiconductor films, the proposed route for growing semiconductor nanowires does not require a single-crystal semiconductor substrate. In the proposed route, instead of using single-crystal semiconductor substrates that are characterized by their long-range atomic ordering, a template layer that possesses short-range atomic ordering prepared on a non-single-crystal substrate is employed. On the template layer, epitaxial information associated with its short-range atomic ordering is available within an area that is comparable to that of a nanowire root. Thus the template layer locally provides epitaxial information required for the growth of semiconductor nanowires. In the particular demonstration described in this paper, hydrogenated silicon was used as a template layer for epitaxial growth of indium phosphide nanowires. The indium phosphide nanowires grown on the hydrogenerated silicon template layer were found to be single crystal and optically active. Simple photoconductors and pin-diodes were fabricated and tested with the view towards various optoelectronic device applications where group III-V compound semiconductors are functionally integrated onto non-single-crystal platforms. (orig.)

  17. Ensembles of indium phosphide nanowires: physical properties and functional devices integrated on non-single crystal platforms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kobayashi, Nobuhiko P.; Lohn, Andrew; Onishi, Takehiro [University of California, Santa Cruz (United States). Baskin School of Engineering; NASA Ames Research Center, Nanostructured Energy Conversion Technology and Research (NECTAR), Advanced Studies Laboratories, Univ. of California Santa Cruz, Moffett Field, CA (United States); Mathai, Sagi; Li, Xuema; Straznicky, Joseph; Wang, Shih-Yuan; Williams, R.S. [Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Information and Quantum Systems Laboratory, Palo Alto, CA (United States); Logeeswaran, V.J.; Islam, M.S. [University of California Davis, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Davis, CA (United States)

    2009-06-15

    A new route to grow an ensemble of indium phosphide single-crystal semiconductor nanowires is described. Unlike conventional epitaxial growth of single-crystal semiconductor films, the proposed route for growing semiconductor nanowires does not require a single-crystal semiconductor substrate. In the proposed route, instead of using single-crystal semiconductor substrates that are characterized by their long-range atomic ordering, a template layer that possesses short-range atomic ordering prepared on a non-single-crystal substrate is employed. On the template layer, epitaxial information associated with its short-range atomic ordering is available within an area that is comparable to that of a nanowire root. Thus the template layer locally provides epitaxial information required for the growth of semiconductor nanowires. In the particular demonstration described in this paper, hydrogenated silicon was used as a template layer for epitaxial growth of indium phosphide nanowires. The indium phosphide nanowires grown on the hydrogenerated silicon template layer were found to be single crystal and optically active. Simple photoconductors and pin-diodes were fabricated and tested with the view towards various optoelectronic device applications where group III-V compound semiconductors are functionally integrated onto non-single-crystal platforms. (orig.)

  18. Pyrolytically grown indium sulfide sensitized zinc oxide nanowires for solar water splitting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Komurcu, Pelin; Can, Emre Kaan; Aydin, Erkan; Semiz, Levent [Micro and Nanotechnology Graduate Program, TOBB University of Economics and Technology, 06560 Ankara (Turkey); Gurol, Alp Eren; Alkan, Fatma Merve [Department of Materials Science and Nanotechnology Engineering, TOBB University of Economics and Technology, 06560 Ankara (Turkey); Sankir, Mehmet; Sankir, Nurdan Demirci [Micro and Nanotechnology Graduate Program, TOBB University of Economics and Technology, 06560 Ankara (Turkey); Department of Materials Science and Nanotechnology Engineering, TOBB University of Economics and Technology, 06560 Ankara (Turkey)

    2015-11-15

    Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires, sensitized with spray pyrolyzed indium sulfide, were obtained by chemical bath deposition. The XRD analysis indicated dominant evolution of hexagonal ZnO phase. Significant gain in photoelectrochemical current using ZnO nanowires is largely accountable to enhancement of the visible light absorption and the formation of heterostructure. The maximum photoconversion efficiency of 2.77% was calculated for the indium sulfide sensitized ZnO nanowire photoelectrodes. (copyright 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  19. Silicon nanowire hot carrier electroluminescence

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Plessis, M. du, E-mail: monuko@up.ac.za; Joubert, T.-H.

    2016-08-31

    Avalanche electroluminescence from silicon pn junctions has been known for many years. However, the internal quantum efficiencies of these devices are quite low due to the indirect band gap nature of the semiconductor material. In this study we have used reach-through biasing and SOI (silicon-on-insulator) thin film structures to improve the internal power efficiency and the external light extraction efficiency. Both continuous silicon thin film pn junctions and parallel nanowire pn junctions were manufactured using a custom SOI technology. The pn junctions are operated in the reach-through mode of operation, thus increasing the average electric field within the fully depleted region. Experimental results of the emission spectrum indicate that the most dominant photon generating mechanism is due to intraband hot carrier relaxation processes. It was found that the SOI nanowire light source external power efficiency is at least an order of magnitude better than the comparable bulk CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) light source. - Highlights: • We investigate effect of electric field on silicon avalanche electroluminescence. • With reach-through pn junctions the current and carrier densities are kept constant. • Higher electric fields increase short wavelength radiation. • Higher electric fields decrease long wavelength radiation. • The effect of the electric field indicates intraband transitions as main mechanism.

  20. Amphoteric oxide semiconductors for energy conversion devices: a tutorial review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Kalpana; Nowotny, Janusz; Thangadurai, Venkataraman

    2013-03-07

    In this tutorial review, we discuss the defect chemistry of selected amphoteric oxide semiconductors in conjunction with their significant impact on the development of renewable and sustainable solid state energy conversion devices. The effect of electronic defect disorders in semiconductors appears to control the overall performance of several solid-state ionic devices that include oxide ion conducting solid oxide fuel cells (O-SOFCs), proton conducting solid oxide fuel cells (H-SOFCs), batteries, solar cells, and chemical (gas) sensors. Thus, the present study aims to assess the advances made in typical n- and p-type metal oxide semiconductors with respect to their use in ionic devices. The present paper briefly outlines the key challenges in the development of n- and p-type materials for various applications and also tries to present the state-of-the-art of defect disorders in technologically related semiconductors such as TiO(2), and perovskite-like and fluorite-type structure metal oxides.

  1. Surface-Passivated AlGaN Nanowires for Enhanced Luminescence of Ultraviolet Light Emitting Diodes

    KAUST Repository

    Sun, Haiding

    2017-12-19

    Spontaneously-grown, self-aligned AlGaN nanowire ultraviolet light emitting diodes still suffer from low efficiency partially because of the strong surface recombination caused by surface states, i.e., oxidized surface and high density surface states. Several surface passivation methods have been introduced to reduce surface non-radiative recombination by using complex and toxic chemicals. Here, we present an effective method to suppress such undesirable surface recombination of the AlGaN nanowires via diluted potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution; a commonly used chemical process in semiconductor fabrication which is barely used as surface passivation solution in self-assembled nitride-based nanowires. The transmission electron microscopy investigation on the samples reveals almost intact nanowire structures after the passivation process. We demonstrated an approximately 49.7% enhancement in the ultraviolet light output power after 30-s KOH treatment on AlGaN nanowires grown on titanium-coated silicon substrates. We attribute such a remarkable enhancement to the removal of the surface dangling bonds and oxidized nitrides (Ga-O or Al-O bonds) at the surface as we observe the change of the carrier lifetime before and after the passivation. Thus, our results highlight the possibility of employing this process for the realization of high performance nanowire UV emitters.

  2. Lasing in ZnO and CdS nanowires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thielmann, Andreas; Geburt, Sebastian; Kozlik, Michael; Kuehnel, Julian; Borschel, Christian; Ronning, Carsten [Institut fuer Festkoerperphysik, Friedrich-Schiller-Universitaet Jena, Max-Wien-Platz 1, 07743 Jena (Germany)

    2011-07-01

    The development of nanoscaled semiconductor lasers could be the key resolution to the still persistent size mismatch between integrated microelectronic devices and semiconductor optoelectronic devices. Semiconductor nanowires offer an elegant path to the development of nanoscaled lasers as their geometry with two planar end facets naturally combines a fiber-like waveguide with an optical resonator. The possible stimulation of the material's emission processes enables lasing of resonant optical modes. ZnO and CdS nanowires of different aspect ratios have been synthesized via the VLS mechanism and were characterized by SEM, EDX and ensemble PL measurements. Power dependent PL measurements on single nanowires excited with pulsed laser light at 355 nm have been performed between 10 K and room temperature and were set in correlation to the nanowires' respective morphology. Sharp emission lines which show characteristics of Fabry-Perot modes could be observed above a power threshold. The measured power dependencies reveal amplified stimulated emission and lasing at high excitation densities.

  3. Optical properties of nanowire metamaterials with gain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Isidio de Lima, Joaquim Junior; Adam, Jost; Rego, Davi

    2016-01-01

    The transmittance, reflectance and absorption of a nanowire metamaterial with optical gain are numerically simulated and investigated. It is assumed that the metamaterial is represented by aligned silver nanowires embedded into a semiconductor matrix, made of either silicon or gallium phosphide....... The gain in the matrix is modeled by adding a negative imaginary part to the dielectric function of the semiconductor. It is found that the optical coefficients of the metamaterial depend on the gain magnitude in a non-trivial way: they can both increase and decrease with gain depending on the lattice...... constant of the metamaterial. This peculiar behavior is explained by the field redistribution between the lossy metal nanowires and the amplifying matrix material. These findings are significant for a proper design of nanowire metamaterials with low optical losses for diverse applications....

  4. The physics of semiconductors an introduction including nanophysics and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Grundmann, Marius

    2016-01-01

    The 3rd edition of this successful textbook contains ample material for a comprehensive upper-level undergraduate or beginning graduate course, guiding readers to the point where they can choose a special topic and begin supervised research. The textbook provides a balance between essential aspects of solid-state and semiconductor physics, on the one hand, and the principles of various semiconductor devices and their applications in electronic and photonic devices, on the other. It highlights many practical aspects of semiconductors such as alloys, strain, heterostructures, nanostructures, that are necessary in modern semiconductor research but typically omitted in textbooks. Coverage also includes additional advanced topics, such as Bragg mirrors, resonators, polarized and magnetic semiconductors, nanowires, quantum dots, multi-junction solar cells, thin film transistors, carbon-based nanostructures and transparent conductive oxides. The text derives explicit formulas for many results to support better under...

  5. Controlled Synthesis of Pt Nanowires with Ordered Large Mesopores for Methanol Oxidation Reaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Chengwei; Xu, Lianbin; Yan, Yushan; Chen, Jianfeng

    2016-08-01

    Catalysts for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) are at the heart of key green-energy fuel cell technology. Nanostructured Pt materials are the most popular and effective catalysts for MOR. Controlling the morphology and structure of Pt nanomaterials can provide opportunities to greatly increase their activity and stability. Ordered nanoporous Pt nanowires with controlled large mesopores (15, 30 and 45 nm) are facilely fabricated by chemical reduction deposition from dual templates using porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes with silica nanospheres self-assembled in the channels. The prepared mesoporous Pt nanowires are highly active and stable electrocatalysts for MOR. The mesoporous Pt nanowires with 15 nm mesopores exhibit a large electrochemically active surface area (ECSA, 40.5 m2 g-1), a high mass activity (398 mA mg-1) and specific activity (0.98 mA cm-2), and a good If/Ib ratio (1.15), better than the other mesoporous Pt nanowires and the commercial Pt black catalyst.

  6. Recent Developments in p-Type Oxide Semiconductor Materials and Devices

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Zhenwei

    2016-02-16

    The development of transparent p-type oxide semiconductors with good performance may be a true enabler for a variety of applications where transparency, power efficiency, and greater circuit complexity are needed. Such applications include transparent electronics, displays, sensors, photovoltaics, memristors, and electrochromics. Hence, here, recent developments in materials and devices based on p-type oxide semiconductors are reviewed, including ternary Cu-bearing oxides, binary copper oxides, tin monoxide, spinel oxides, and nickel oxides. The crystal and electronic structures of these materials are discussed, along with approaches to enhance valence-band dispersion to reduce effective mass and increase mobility. Strategies to reduce interfacial defects, off-state current, and material instability are suggested. Furthermore, it is shown that promising progress has been made in the performance of various types of devices based on p-type oxides. Several innovative approaches exist to fabricate transparent complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices, including novel device fabrication schemes and utilization of surface chemistry effects, resulting in good inverter gains. However, despite recent developments, p-type oxides still lag in performance behind their n-type counterparts, which have entered volume production in the display market. Recent successes along with the hurdles that stand in the way of commercial success of p-type oxide semiconductors are presented.

  7. Recent Developments in p-Type Oxide Semiconductor Materials and Devices

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Zhenwei; Nayak, Pradipta K.; Caraveo-Frescas, Jesus Alfonso; Alshareef, Husam N.

    2016-01-01

    The development of transparent p-type oxide semiconductors with good performance may be a true enabler for a variety of applications where transparency, power efficiency, and greater circuit complexity are needed. Such applications include transparent electronics, displays, sensors, photovoltaics, memristors, and electrochromics. Hence, here, recent developments in materials and devices based on p-type oxide semiconductors are reviewed, including ternary Cu-bearing oxides, binary copper oxides, tin monoxide, spinel oxides, and nickel oxides. The crystal and electronic structures of these materials are discussed, along with approaches to enhance valence-band dispersion to reduce effective mass and increase mobility. Strategies to reduce interfacial defects, off-state current, and material instability are suggested. Furthermore, it is shown that promising progress has been made in the performance of various types of devices based on p-type oxides. Several innovative approaches exist to fabricate transparent complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices, including novel device fabrication schemes and utilization of surface chemistry effects, resulting in good inverter gains. However, despite recent developments, p-type oxides still lag in performance behind their n-type counterparts, which have entered volume production in the display market. Recent successes along with the hurdles that stand in the way of commercial success of p-type oxide semiconductors are presented.

  8. Nanoscale semiconductor-insulator-metal core/shell heterostructures: facile synthesis and light emission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Gong Ping; Chen, Rui; Guo, Dong Lai; Wong, Lai Mun; Wang, Shi Jie; Sun, Han Dong; Wu, Tom

    2011-08-01

    Controllably constructing hierarchical nanostructures with distinct components and designed architectures is an important theme of research in nanoscience, entailing novel but reliable approaches of bottom-up synthesis. Here, we report a facile method to reproducibly create semiconductor-insulator-metal core/shell nanostructures, which involves first coating uniform MgO shells onto metal oxide nanostructures in solution and then decorating them with Au nanoparticles. The semiconductor nanowire core can be almost any material and, herein, ZnO, SnO2 and In2O3 are used as examples. We also show that linear chains of short ZnO nanorods embedded in MgO nanotubes and porous MgO nanotubes can be obtained by taking advantage of the reduced thermal stability of the ZnO core. Furthermore, after MgO shell-coating and the appropriate annealing treatment, the intensity of the ZnO near-band-edge UV emission becomes much stronger, showing a 25-fold enhancement. The intensity ratio of the UV/visible emission can be increased further by decorating the surface of the ZnO/MgO nanowires with high-density plasmonic Au nanoparticles. These heterostructured semiconductor-insulator-metal nanowires with tailored morphologies and enhanced functionalities have great potential for use as nanoscale building blocks in photonic and electronic applications.Controllably constructing hierarchical nanostructures with distinct components and designed architectures is an important theme of research in nanoscience, entailing novel but reliable approaches of bottom-up synthesis. Here, we report a facile method to reproducibly create semiconductor-insulator-metal core/shell nanostructures, which involves first coating uniform MgO shells onto metal oxide nanostructures in solution and then decorating them with Au nanoparticles. The semiconductor nanowire core can be almost any material and, herein, ZnO, SnO2 and In2O3 are used as examples. We also show that linear chains of short ZnO nanorods embedded in

  9. The influence of thermal annealing on structure and oxidation of iron nanowires

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krajewski Marcin

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Raman spectroscopy as well as Mössbauer spectroscopy were applied in order to study the phase composition of iron nanowires and its changes, caused by annealing in a neutral atmosphere at several temperatures ranging from 200°C to 800°C. As-prepared nanowires were manufactured via a simple chemical reduction in an external magnetic field. Both experimental techniques proved formation of the surface layer covered by crystalline iron oxides, with phase composition dependent on the annealing temperature (Ta. At higher Ta, hematite was the dominant phase in the nanowires.

  10. Electrochemical synthesis and characterization of hierarchically branched ZnO nanostructures on ensembles of gold nanowires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ongaro, Michael; Gambirasi, Arianna; Favaro, Monica; Ugo, Paolo

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► ZnO branched nanofibres for photoelectrochemical applications. ► Branched nanostructures are obtained by electrochemical deposition of ZnO on gold template nanowires. ► Branched nanowires crystallographic phase determined by electron back scatter diffraction. ► Branched structures display improved performances for the photoelectrochemical oxidation of water. - Abstract: This study presents an electrosynthetic methodology to obtain hierarchically structured ZnO electrodes with improved surface area, by exploiting gold nanowires ensembles (3D-NEEs) as the growing substrate. By this way, semiconductor electrodes organized in the shape of fir-like branches are obtained. Branched nanofibres are characterized by electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), the latter technique allowing the determination of the crystalline habit of individual nanostructures. The hierarchical branched nanowires show enhanced performances with respect to water photooxidation in comparison with already known nanostructured materials such as 1D-ZnO nanowires.

  11. Morphology-dependent activity of Pt nanocatalysts for ethanol oxidation in acidic media: Nanowires versus nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Weiping; Li Meng; Koenigsmann, Christopher; Ma Chao; Wong, Stanislaus S.; Adzic, Radoslav R.

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → We demonstrate the morphology effect of Pt catalysts in electrooxidation of ethanol and CO in an acidic solution. → Pt nanowires and nanoparticles were used as catalysts. → Pt nanowires display a higher catalytic activity by a factor of at least two relative to those nanoparticles for ethanol oxidation. → The rate for CO monolayer oxidation exhibits similar morphology-dependent behavior with a markedly enhanced rate on the Pt nanowires. - Abstract: The morphology of nanostructured Pt catalysts is known to affect significantly the kinetics of various reactions. Herein, we report on a pronounced morphology effect in the electrooxidation of ethanol and carbon monoxide (CO) on Pt nanowires and nanoparticles in an acidic solution. The high resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis showed the inherent morphology difference between these two nanostructured catalysts. Voltammetric and chronoamperometric studies of the ethanol electrooxidation revealed that these nanowires had a higher catalytic activity by a factor of two relative to these nanoparticles. The rate for CO monolayer oxidation exhibits similar morphology-dependent behavior with a markedly enhanced rate on the Pt nanowires. In situ infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy measurements revealed a different trend for chemisorbed CO formation and CO 2 -to-acetic acid reaction product ratios on these two nanostructures. The morphology-induced change in catalytic activity and selectivity in ethanol electrocatalysis is discussed in detail.

  12. Morphology-dependent activity of Pt nanocatalysts for ethanol oxidation in acidic media: Nanowires versus nanoparticles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhou Weiping, E-mail: wpzhou@bnl.gov [Chemistry Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973 (United States); Li Meng [Chemistry Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973 (United States); Koenigsmann, Christopher [Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794 (United States); Ma Chao [Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Sciences Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Building 480, Upton, NY 11973 (United States); Wong, Stanislaus S. [Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794 (United States); Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Sciences Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Building 480, Upton, NY 11973 (United States); Adzic, Radoslav R. [Chemistry Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973 (United States)

    2011-11-30

    Highlights: > We demonstrate the morphology effect of Pt catalysts in electrooxidation of ethanol and CO in an acidic solution. > Pt nanowires and nanoparticles were used as catalysts. > Pt nanowires display a higher catalytic activity by a factor of at least two relative to those nanoparticles for ethanol oxidation. > The rate for CO monolayer oxidation exhibits similar morphology-dependent behavior with a markedly enhanced rate on the Pt nanowires. - Abstract: The morphology of nanostructured Pt catalysts is known to affect significantly the kinetics of various reactions. Herein, we report on a pronounced morphology effect in the electrooxidation of ethanol and carbon monoxide (CO) on Pt nanowires and nanoparticles in an acidic solution. The high resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis showed the inherent morphology difference between these two nanostructured catalysts. Voltammetric and chronoamperometric studies of the ethanol electrooxidation revealed that these nanowires had a higher catalytic activity by a factor of two relative to these nanoparticles. The rate for CO monolayer oxidation exhibits similar morphology-dependent behavior with a markedly enhanced rate on the Pt nanowires. In situ infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy measurements revealed a different trend for chemisorbed CO formation and CO{sub 2}-to-acetic acid reaction product ratios on these two nanostructures. The morphology-induced change in catalytic activity and selectivity in ethanol electrocatalysis is discussed in detail.

  13. Room temperature, ppb-level NO2 gas sensing of multiple-networked ZnSe nanowire sensors under UV illumination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sunghoon Park

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Reports of the gas sensing properties of ZnSe are few, presumably because of the decomposition and oxidation of ZnSe at high temperatures. In this study, ZnSe nanowires were synthesized by the thermal evaporation of ZnSe powders and the sensing performance of multiple-networked ZnSe nanowire sensors toward NO2 gas was examined. The results showed that ZnSe might be a promising gas sensor material if it is used at room temperature. The response of the ZnSe nanowires to 50 ppb–5 ppm NO2 at room temperature under dark and UV illumination conditions were 101–102% and 113–234%, respectively. The responses of the ZnSe nanowires to 5 ppm NO2 increased from 102 to 234% with increasing UV illumination intensity from 0 to 1.2 mW/cm2. The response of the ZnSe nanowires was stronger than or comparable to that of typical metal oxide semiconductors reported in the literature, which require higher NO2 concentrations and operate at higher temperatures. The origin of the enhanced response of the ZnSe nanowires towards NO2 under UV illumination is also discussed.

  14. Room-temperature solution synthesis of Ag nanoparticle functionalized molybdenum oxide nanowires and their catalytic applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Wenjun; Huang, Huandi; Zhu, Yanjun; Li, Xiaoyun; Wang, Xuebin; Li, Chaorong; Chen, Benyong; Wang, Ge; Shi, Zhan

    2012-10-26

    A simple chemical solution route for the synthesis of large-scale high-quality Ag nanoparticle functionalized molybdenum oxide nanowire at room temperature has been developed. In the synthesis, the protonated amine was intercalated into the molybdenum bronze layers to reduce the electrostatic force of the lamellar structures, and then the Ag nanoparticle functionalized long nanowires could be easily induced by a redox reaction between a molybdenum oxide-amine intermediate and Ag(+) at room temperature. The intercalation lamellar structures improved the nucleation and growth of the Ag nanoparticles, with the result that uniform Ag nanoparticles occurred on the surface of the MoO(3) nanowire. In this way Ag nanoparticles with average sizes of around 6 nm, and high-purity nanowires with mean diameter of around 50 nm and with typical lengths of several tens to hundreds of micrometers were produced. The heteronanostructured nanowires were intricately and inseparably connected to each other with hydrogen bonds and/or bridge oxygen atoms and packed together, forming a paper-like porous network film. The Ag-MoO(3) nanowire film performs a promoted catalytic property for the epoxidation of cis-cyclooctene, and the heteronanostructured nanowire film sensor shows excellent sensing performance to hydrogen and oxygen at room temperature.

  15. A nanowire magnetic memory cell based on a periodic magnetic superlattice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, J-F; Bird, J P; Ochiai, Y

    2005-01-01

    We analyse the operation of a semiconductor nanowire-based memory cell. Large changes in the nanowire conductance result when the magnetization of a periodic array of nanoscale magnetic gates, which comprise the other key component of the memory cell, is switched between distinct configurations by an external magnetic field. The resulting conductance change provides the basis for a robust memory effect, which can be implemented in a semiconductor structure compatible with conventional semiconductor integrated circuits

  16. Vertical group III-V nanowires on si, heterostructures, flexible arrays and fabrication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Deli; Soci, Cesare; Bao, Xinyu; Wei, Wei; Jing, Yi; Sun, Ke

    2015-01-13

    Embodiments of the invention provide a method for direct heteroepitaxial growth of vertical III-V semiconductor nanowires on a silicon substrate. The silicon substrate is etched to substantially completely remove native oxide. It is promptly placed in a reaction chamber. The substrate is heated and maintained at a growth temperature. Group III-V precursors are flowed for a growth time. Preferred embodiment vertical Group III-V nanowires on silicon have a core-shell structure, which provides a radial homojunction or heterojunction. A doped nanowire core is surrounded by a shell with complementary doping. Such can provide high optical absorption due to the long optical path in the axial direction of the vertical nanowires, while reducing considerably the distance over which carriers must diffuse before being collected in the radial direction. Alloy composition can also be varied. Radial and axial homojunctions and heterojunctions can be realized. Embodiments provide for flexible Group III-V nanowire structures. An array of Group III-V nanowire structures is embedded in polymer. A fabrication method forms the vertical nanowires on a substrate, e.g., a silicon substrate. Preferably, the nanowires are formed by the preferred methods for fabrication of Group III-V nanowires on silicon. Devices can be formed with core/shell and core/multi-shell nanowires and the devices are released from the substrate upon which the nanowires were formed to create a flexible structure that includes an array of vertical nanowires embedded in polymer.

  17. Epitaxy-enabled vapor-liquid-solid growth of tin-doped indium oxide nanowires with controlled orientations

    KAUST Repository

    Shen, Youde; Turner, Stuart G.; Yang, Ping; Van Tendeloo, Gustaaf; Lebedev, Oleg I.; Wu, Tao

    2014-01-01

    challenges in reliably achieving these goals of orientation-controlled nanowire synthesis and assembly. Here we report that growth of planar, vertical and randomly oriented tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) nanowires can be realized on yttria-stabilized zirconia

  18. Transport through semiconductor nanowire quantum dots in the Kondo regime

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schmaus, Stefan; Koerting, Verena; Woelfle, Peter [Institut fuer Theorie der Kondensierten Materie, Universitaet Karlsruhe, Wolfgang-Gaede-Strasse 1, 76131 Karlsruhe (Germany)

    2008-07-01

    Recent experiments on quantum dots made of semiconductor nanowires in the Coulomb blockade regime have shown the influence of several approximately equidistant levels on the conductance. We study a model with three levels occupied by three electrons. At finite bias voltage charge energy conserving excitations into several higher lying states occur leading to features in the differential conductance. We restrict our study to the six lowest lying states by performing a Schrieffer-Wolff type projection onto this subspace. The emerging effective Kondo Hamiltonian is treated in non-equilibrium perturbation theory in the coupling to the leads. For convenience we use a pseudoparticle representation and an exact projection method. The voltage-dependence of the occupation numbers is discussed. The density matrix on the dot turns out to be off-diagonal in the dot eigenstate Hilbert space in certain parameter regimes. The dependence of the differential conductance on magnetic field and temperature is calculated in lowest order in the dot-lead coupling and the results are compared with experiment.

  19. Phase-coherent transport and spin-orbit-coupling in III/V-semiconductor nanowires; Phasenkohaerenter Transport und Spin-Bahn-Wechselwirkung in III/V-Halbleiternanodraehten

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Estevez Hernandez, Sergio

    2009-10-16

    Semiconductor nanowires fabricated by a bottom-up approach are not only interesting for the realization of future nanoscaled devices but also appear to be very attractive model systems to tackle fundamental questions concerning the transport in strongly confined systems. In order to avoid the problem connected with carrier depletion, narrowband gap semiconductors, i.e., InAs or InN, or core-shell Nanowires, i.e., GaAs/AlGaAs, are preferred. The underlying reason is that in InAs or InN the Fermi-level pinning in the conduction band results in a carrier accumulation at the surface. In fact, the tubular topology of the surface electron gas opens up the possibility to observe unconventional quantum transport phenomena. When the phase-coherence length in the nanowire is comparable to its dimensions the conductance fluctuates if a magnetic field is applied or if the electron concentration is changed by means of a gate electrode. These so-called universal conductance fluctuations being in the order of e{sup 2}/h originate from the fact that in small disordered samples, electron interference effects are not averaged out. In this work are analyzed universal conductance fluctuations to study the quantum transport properties in InN, InAs and GaAs/AlGaAs nanowires. With the use of a magnetic field and a back-gate electrode the universal conductance fluctuations and localizations effects were analyzed. Since InN and InAs are narrow band gap semiconductors, one naturally expects spin-orbit coupling effects. Because this phenomena is of importance for spin electronic applications. However, owing to the cylindrical symmetry of the InN and InAs nanowires, the latter effect was observable and actually be used to determine the strength of spin-orbit coupling. In order to clearly separate the weak antilocalization effect from the conductance fluctuations, the averaging of the magnetoconductance at different gate voltages was essential. The low-temperature quantum transport properties

  20. Generic process for preparing a crystalline oxide upon a group IV semiconductor substrate

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKee, Rodney A.; Walker, Frederick J.; Chisholm, Matthew F.

    2000-01-01

    A process for growing a crystalline oxide epitaxially upon the surface of a Group IV semiconductor, as well as a structure constructed by the process, is described. The semiconductor can be germanium or silicon, and the crystalline oxide can generally be represented by the formula (AO).sub.n (A'BO.sub.3).sub.m in which "n" and "m" are non-negative integer repeats of planes of the alkaline earth oxides or the alkaline earth-containing perovskite oxides. With atomic level control of interfacial thermodynamics in a multicomponent semiconductor/oxide system, a highly perfect interface between a semiconductor and a crystalline oxide can be obtained.

  1. Microbially-mediated method for synthesis of non-oxide semiconductor nanoparticles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Phelps, Tommy J.; Lauf, Robert J.; Moon, Ji-Won; Rondinone, Adam Justin; Love, Lonnie J.; Duty, Chad Edward; Madden, Andrew Stephen; Li, Yiliang; Ivanov, Ilia N.; Rawn, Claudia Jeanette

    2017-09-19

    The invention is directed to a method for producing non-oxide semiconductor nanoparticles, the method comprising: (a) subjecting a combination of reaction components to conditions conducive to microbially-mediated formation of non-oxide semiconductor nanoparticles, wherein said combination of reaction components comprises i) anaerobic microbes, ii) a culture medium suitable for sustaining said anaerobic microbes, iii) a metal component comprising at least one type of metal ion, iv) a non-metal component comprising at least one non-metal selected from the group consisting of S, Se, Te, and As, and v) one or more electron donors that provide donatable electrons to said anaerobic microbes during consumption of the electron donor by said anaerobic microbes; and (b) isolating said non-oxide semiconductor nanoparticles, which contain at least one of said metal ions and at least one of said non-metals. The invention is also directed to non-oxide semiconductor nanoparticle compositions produced as above and having distinctive properties.

  2. Microbially-mediated method for synthesis of non-oxide semiconductor nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phelps, Tommy J.; Lauf, Robert J.; Moon, Ji Won; Rondinone, Adam J.; Love, Lonnie J.; Duty, Chad Edward; Madden, Andrew Stephen; Li, Yiliang; Ivanov, Ilia N.; Rawn, Claudia Jeanette

    2014-06-24

    The invention is directed to a method for producing non-oxide semiconductor nanoparticles, the method comprising: (a) subjecting a combination of reaction components to conditions conducive to microbially-mediated formation of non-oxide semiconductor nanoparticles, wherein said combination of reaction components comprises i) anaerobic microbes, ii) a culture medium suitable for sustaining said anaerobic microbes, iii) a metal component comprising at least one type of metal ion, iv) a non-metal component containing at least one non-metal selected from the group consisting of S, Se, Te, and As, and v) one or more electron donors that provide donatable electrons to said anaerobic microbes during consumption of the electron donor by said anaerobic microbes; and (b) isolating said non-oxide semiconductor nanoparticles, which contain at least one of said metal ions and at least one of said non-metals. The invention is also directed to non-oxide semiconductor nanoparticle compositions produced as above and having distinctive properties.

  3. Dual passivation of intrinsic defects at the compound semiconductor/oxide interface using an oxidant and a reductant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kent, Tyler; Chagarov, Evgeniy; Edmonds, Mary; Droopad, Ravi; Kummel, Andrew C

    2015-05-26

    Studies have shown that metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors fabricated utilizing compound semiconductors as the channel are limited in their electrical performance. This is attributed to imperfections at the semiconductor/oxide interface which cause electronic trap states, resulting in inefficient modulation of the Fermi level. The physical origin of these states is still debated mainly because of the difficulty in assigning a particular electronic state to a specific physical defect. To gain insight into the exact source of the electronic trap states, density functional theory was employed to model the intrinsic physical defects on the InGaAs (2 × 4) surface and to model the effective passivation of these defects by utilizing both an oxidant and a reductant to eliminate metallic bonds and dangling-bond-induced strain at the interface. Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy were employed to experimentally determine the physical and electronic defects and to verify the effectiveness of dual passivation with an oxidant and a reductant. While subsurface chemisorption of oxidants on compound semiconductor substrates can be detrimental, it has been shown theoretically and experimentally that oxidants are critical to removing metallic defects at oxide/compound semiconductor interfaces present in nanoscale channels, oxides, and other nanostructures.

  4. From nanodiamond to nanowires.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barnard, A.; Materials Science Division

    2005-01-01

    Recent advances in the fabrication and characterization of semiconductor and metallic nanowires are proving very successful in meeting the high expectations of nanotechnologists. Although the nanoscience surrounding sp{sup 3} bonded carbon nanotubes has continued to flourish over recent years the successful synthesis of the sp{sup 3} analogue, diamond nanowires, has been limited. This prompts questions as to whether diamond nanowires are fundamentally unstable. By applying knowledge obtained from examining the structural transformations in nanodiamond, a framework for analyzing the structure and stability of diamond nanowires may be established. One possible framework will be discussed here, supported by results of ab initio density functional theory calculations used to study the structural relaxation of nanodiamond and diamond nanowires. The results show that the structural stability and electronic properties of diamond nanowires are dependent on the surface morphology, crystallographic direction of the principal axis, and the degree of surface hydrogenation.

  5. Electrochemical Synthesis of Mesoporous CoPt Nanowires for Methanol Oxidation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Albert Serrà

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available A new electrochemical method to synthesize mesoporous nanowires of alloys has been developed. Electrochemical deposition in ionic liquid-in-water (IL/W microemulsion has been successful to grow mesoporous CoPt nanowires in the interior of polycarbonate membranes. The viscosity of the medium was high, but it did not avoid the entrance of the microemulsion in the interior of the membrane’s channels. The structure of the IL/W microemulsions, with droplets of ionic liquid (4 nm average diameter dispersed in CoPt aqueous solution, defined the structure of the nanowires, with pores of a few nanometers, because CoPt alloy deposited only from the aqueous component of the microemulsion. The electrodeposition in IL/W microemulsion allows obtaining mesoporous structures in which the small pores must correspond to the size of the droplets of the electrolytic aqueous component of the microemulsion. The IL main phase is like a template for the confined electrodeposition. The comparison of the electrocatalytic behaviours towards methanol oxidation of mesoporous and compact CoPt nanowires of the same composition, demonstrated the porosity of the material. For the same material mass, the CoPt mesoporous nanowires present a surface area 16 times greater than compact ones, and comparable to that observed for commercial carbon-supported platinum nanoparticles.

  6. Semiconductor photocatalysts for water oxidation: current status and challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Lingling; Zhou, Han; Fan, Tongxiang; Zhang, Di

    2014-04-21

    Artificial photosynthesis is a highly-promising strategy to convert solar energy into hydrogen energy for the relief of the global energy crisis. Water oxidation is the bottleneck for its kinetic and energetic complexity in the further enhancement of the overall efficiency of the artificial photosystem. Developing efficient and cost-effective photocatalysts for water oxidation is a growing desire, and semiconductor photocatalysts have recently attracted more attention due to their stability and simplicity. This article reviews the recent advancement of semiconductor photocatalysts with a focus on the relationship between material optimization and water oxidation efficiency. A brief introduction to artificial photosynthesis and water oxidation is given first, followed by an explanation of the basic rules and mechanisms of semiconductor particulate photocatalysts for water oxidation as theoretical references for discussions of componential, surface structure, and crystal structure modification. O2-evolving photocatalysts in Z-scheme systems are also introduced to demonstrate practical applications of water oxidation photocatalysts in artificial photosystems. The final part proposes some challenges based on the dynamics and energetics of photoholes which are fundamental to the enhancement of water oxidation efficiency, as well as on the simulation of natural water oxidation that will be a trend in future research.

  7. Phase diagram of nanoscale alloy particles used for vapor-liquid-solid growth of semiconductor nanowires.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutter, Eli; Sutter, Peter

    2008-02-01

    We use transmission electron microscopy observations to establish the parts of the phase diagram of nanometer sized Au-Ge alloy drops at the tips of Ge nanowires (NWs) that determine their temperature-dependent equilibrium composition and, hence, their exchange of semiconductor material with the NWs. We find that the phase diagram of the nanoscale drop deviates significantly from that of the bulk alloy, which explains discrepancies between actual growth results and predictions on the basis of the bulk-phase equilibria. Our findings provide the basis for tailoring vapor-liquid-solid growth to achieve complex one-dimensional materials geometries.

  8. Silicon nanowire networks for multi-stage thermoelectric modules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Norris, Kate J.; Garrett, Matthew P.; Zhang, Junce; Coleman, Elane; Tompa, Gary S.; Kobayashi, Nobuhiko P.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Fabricated flexible single, double, and quadruple stacked Si thermoelectric modules. • Measured an enhanced power production of 27%, showing vertical stacking is scalable. • Vertically scalable thermoelectric module design of semiconducting nanowires. • Design can utilize either p or n-type semiconductors, both types are not required. • ΔT increases with thickness therefore power/area can increase as modules are stacked. - Abstract: We present the fabrication and characterization of single, double, and quadruple stacked flexible silicon nanowire network based thermoelectric modules. From double to quadruple stacked modules, power production increased 27%, demonstrating that stacking multiple nanowire thermoelectric devices in series is a scalable method to generate power by supplying larger temperature gradient. We present a vertically scalable multi-stage thermoelectric module design using semiconducting nanowires, eliminating the need for both n-type and p-type semiconductors for modules

  9. Guiding modes of semi-infinite nanowire and their dispersion character

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun, Yuming; Su, Yuehua; Dai, Zhenhong; Wang, Weitian

    2014-01-01

    Conventionally, the optical properties of finite semiconductor nanowires have been understood and explained in terms of an infinite nanowire. This work describes completely different photonic modes for a semi-finite nanowire based on a rigorous theoretical method, and the implications for the finite one. First, the special eigenvalue problem charactered by the end results in a distinctive mode spectrum for the semi-infinite dielectric nanowire. Meanwhile, the results show hybrid degenerate modes away from cutoff frequency, and transverse electric–transverse magnetic (TE–TM) degeneracy. Second, accompanying a different mode spectrum, a semi-finite nanowire also shows a distinctive dispersion relation compared to an infinite nanowire. Taking a semi-infinite, ZnO nanowire as an example, we find that the ℏω−k z space is not continuous in the interested photon energy window, implying that there is no uniform polariton dispersion relation for semi-infinite nanowire. Our method is shown correct through a field-reconstruction for a thin ZnO nanowire (55 nm in radius) and position determination of FP modes for a ZnO nanowire (200 nm in diameter). The results are of great significance to correctly understand the guiding and lasing mechanisms of semiconductor nanowires. (paper)

  10. Metal oxide semiconductor thin-film transistors for flexible electronics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Petti, Luisa; Vogt, Christian; Büthe, Lars; Cantarella, Giuseppe; Tröster, Gerhard [Electronics Laboratory, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zürich (Switzerland); Münzenrieder, Niko [Electronics Laboratory, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zürich (Switzerland); Sensor Technology Research Centre, University of Sussex, Falmer (United Kingdom); Faber, Hendrik; Bottacchi, Francesca; Anthopoulos, Thomas D. [Department of Physics and Centre for Plastic Electronics, Imperial College London, London (United Kingdom)

    2016-06-15

    The field of flexible electronics has rapidly expanded over the last decades, pioneering novel applications, such as wearable and textile integrated devices, seamless and embedded patch-like systems, soft electronic skins, as well as imperceptible and transient implants. The possibility to revolutionize our daily life with such disruptive appliances has fueled the quest for electronic devices which yield good electrical and mechanical performance and are at the same time light-weight, transparent, conformable, stretchable, and even biodegradable. Flexible metal oxide semiconductor thin-film transistors (TFTs) can fulfill all these requirements and are therefore considered the most promising technology for tomorrow's electronics. This review reflects the establishment of flexible metal oxide semiconductor TFTs, from the development of single devices, large-area circuits, up to entirely integrated systems. First, an introduction on metal oxide semiconductor TFTs is given, where the history of the field is revisited, the TFT configurations and operating principles are presented, and the main issues and technological challenges faced in the area are analyzed. Then, the recent advances achieved for flexible n-type metal oxide semiconductor TFTs manufactured by physical vapor deposition methods and solution-processing techniques are summarized. In particular, the ability of flexible metal oxide semiconductor TFTs to combine low temperature fabrication, high carrier mobility, large frequency operation, extreme mechanical bendability, together with transparency, conformability, stretchability, and water dissolubility is shown. Afterward, a detailed analysis of the most promising metal oxide semiconducting materials developed to realize the state-of-the-art flexible p-type TFTs is given. Next, the recent progresses obtained for flexible metal oxide semiconductor-based electronic circuits, realized with both unipolar and complementary technology, are reported. In

  11. Effect of surface oxide on the melting behavior of lead-free solder nanowires and nanorods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao Fan; Rajathurai, Karunaharan; Cui, Qingzhou; Zhou, Guangwen; NkengforAcha, Irene; Gu Zhiyong

    2012-01-01

    Lead-free nanosolders have shown promise in nanowire and nanoelectronics assembly. Among various important parameters, melting is the most fundamental property affecting the assembly process. Here we report that the melting behavior of tin and tin/silver nanowires and nanorods can be significantly affected by the surface oxide of nanosolders. By controlling the nanosolder reflow atmosphere using a flux, the surface oxide of the nanowires/nanorods can be effectively removed and complete nanosolder melting can be achieved. The complete melting of the nanosolders leads to the formation of nanoscale to microscale spherical solder balls, followed by Ostwald ripening phenomenon. The contact angle of the microscale solder balls formed on Si substrate was measured by direct electron microscopic imaging. These results provide new insights into micro- and nanoscale phase transition and liquid droplet coalescence from nanowires/nanorods to spheroids, and are relevant to nanoscale assembly and smaller ball grid array formation.

  12. In Situ Study of Noncatalytic Metal Oxide Nanowire Growth

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rackauskas, Simas; Jiang, Hua; Wagner, Jakob Birkedal

    2014-01-01

    a catalyst is still widely disputed and unclear. Here, we show that the nanowire growth during metal oxidation is limited by a nucleation of a new layer. On the basis of in situ transmission electron microscope investigations we found that the growth occurs layer by layer at the lowest specific surface...

  13. Piezo-Phototronic Matrix via a Nanowire Array.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yang; Zhai, Junyi; Wang, Zhong Lin

    2017-12-01

    Piezoelectric semiconductors, such as ZnO and GaN, demonstrate multiproperty coupling effects toward various aspects of mechanical, electrical, and optical excitation. In particular, the three-way coupling among semiconducting, photoexcitation, and piezoelectric characteristics in wurtzite-structured semiconductors is established as a new field, which was first coined as piezo-phototronics by Wang in 2010. The piezo-phototronic effect can controllably modulate the charge-carrier generation, separation, transport, and/or recombination in optical-electronic processes by modifying the band structure at the metal-semiconductor or semiconductor-semiconductor heterojunction/interface. Here, the progress made in using the piezo-phototronic effect for enhancing photodetectors, pressure sensors, light-emitting diodes, and solar cells is reviewed. In comparison with previous works on a single piezoelectric semiconducting nanowire, piezo-phototronic nanodevices built using nanowire arrays provide a promising platform for fabricating integrated optoelectronics with the realization of high-spatial-resolution imaging and fast responsivity. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  14. Epitaxy of semiconductor-superconductor nanowires

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krogstrup, P.; Ziino, N.L.B.; Chang, W.

    2015-01-01

    Controlling the properties of semiconductor/metal interfaces is a powerful method for designing functionality and improving the performance of electrical devices. Recently semiconductor/superconductor hybrids have appeared as an important example where the atomic scale uniformity of the interface...

  15. Nanowires and nanobelts, v.2 nanowires and nanobelts of functional materials

    CERN Document Server

    Wang, Zhong Lin

    2010-01-01

    Nanowires, nanobelts, nanoribbons, nanorods ..., are a new class of quasi-one-dimensional materials that have been attracting a great research interest in the last few years. These non-carbon based materials have been demonstrated to exhibit superior electrical, optical, mechanical and thermal properties, and can be used as fundamental building blocks for nano-scale science and technology, ranging from chemical and biological sensors, field effect transistors to logic circuits. Nanocircuits built using semiconductor nanowires demonstrated were declared a ""breakthrough in science"" by Science

  16. Enhanced Photon Extraction from a Nanowire Quantum Dot Using a Bottom-Up Photonic Shell

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeannin, Mathieu; Cremel, Thibault; Häyrynen, Teppo; Gregersen, Niels; Bellet-Amalric, Edith; Nogues, Gilles; Kheng, Kuntheak

    2017-11-01

    Semiconductor nanowires offer the possibility to grow high-quality quantum-dot heterostructures, and, in particular, CdSe quantum dots inserted in ZnSe nanowires have demonstrated the ability to emit single photons up to room temperature. In this paper, we demonstrate a bottom-up approach to fabricate a photonic fiberlike structure around such nanowire quantum dots by depositing an oxide shell using atomic-layer deposition. Simulations suggest that the intensity collected in our NA =0.6 microscope objective can be increased by a factor 7 with respect to the bare nanowire case. Combining microphotoluminescence, decay time measurements, and numerical simulations, we obtain a fourfold increase in the collected photoluminescence from the quantum dot. We show that this improvement is due to an increase of the quantum-dot emission rate and a redirection of the emitted light. Our ex situ fabrication technique allows a precise and reproducible fabrication on a large scale. Its improved extraction efficiency is compared to state-of-the-art top-down devices.

  17. High-yield growth and characterization of ⟨100⟩ InP p−n diode nanowires

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cavalli, A.; Wang, J.; Zadeh, I.E.; Reimer, M.E.; Verheijen, M.A.; Soini, M.; Plissard, S.R.; Zwiller, V.; Haverkort, J.E.M.; Bakkers, E.P.A.M.

    2016-01-01

    Semiconductor nanowires are nanoscale structures holding promise in many fields such as optoelectronics, quantum computing, and thermoelectrics. Nanowires are usually grown vertically on (111)-oriented substrates, while (100) is the standard in semiconductor technology. The ability to grow and to

  18. Direct observation of short-circuit diffusion during the formation of a single cupric oxide nanowire

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng, C-L; Ma, Y-R; Chou, M H; Huang, C Y; Yeh, V; Wu, S Y

    2007-01-01

    Short-circuit diffusion was observed in a single CuO nanowire synthesized using a thermal oxidation method. The confocal Raman spectra of a single CuO nanowire permit direct observation of the nature of an individual CuO nanowire. The parameter order obtained from the inverse Raman B g 2 peak linewidth results in the length dependence of the linewidth and a short-circuit diffusion length of 3.3 μm. The observed structural information is also consistent with the energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopic mapping. The results confirm that the growth of CuO nanowires occurs through the short-circuit diffusion mechanism

  19. Vapor-Liquid-Solid Etch of Semiconductor Surface Channels by Running Gold Nanodroplets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nikoobakht, Babak; Herzing, Andrew; Muramoto, Shin; Tersoff, Jerry

    2015-12-09

    We show that Au nanoparticles spontaneously move across the (001) surface of InP, InAs, and GaP when heated in the presence of water vapor. As they move, the particles etch crystallographically aligned grooves into the surface. We show that this process is a negative analogue of the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth of semiconductor nanowires: the semiconductor dissolves into the catalyst and reacts with water vapor at the catalyst surface to create volatile oxides, depleting the dissolved cations and anions and thus sustaining the dissolution process. This VLS etching process provides a new tool for directed assembly of structures with sublithographic dimensions, as small as a few nanometers in diameter. Au particles above 100 nm in size do not exhibit this process but remain stationary, with oxide accumulating around the particles.

  20. Position-controlled epitaxial III-V nanowires on silicon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roest, Aarnoud L; Verheijen, Marcel A; Wunnicke, Olaf; Serafin, Stacey; Wondergem, Harry; Bakkers, Erik P A M [Philips Research Laboratories, Professor Holstlaan 4, 5656 AA Eindhoven (Netherlands); Kavli Institute of NanoScience, Delft University of Technology, PO Box 5046, 2600 GA Delft (Netherlands)

    2006-06-14

    We show the epitaxial integration of III-V semiconductor nanowires with silicon technology. The wires are grown by the VLS mechanism with laser ablation as well as metal-organic vapour phase epitaxy. The hetero-epitaxial growth of the III-V nanowires on silicon was confirmed with x-ray diffraction pole figures and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. We show preliminary results of two-terminal electrical measurements of III-V nanowires grown on silicon. E-beam lithography was used to predefine the position of the nanowires.

  1. Position-controlled epitaxial III-V nanowires on silicon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roest, Aarnoud L; Verheijen, Marcel A; Wunnicke, Olaf; Serafin, Stacey; Wondergem, Harry; Bakkers, Erik P A M

    2006-01-01

    We show the epitaxial integration of III-V semiconductor nanowires with silicon technology. The wires are grown by the VLS mechanism with laser ablation as well as metal-organic vapour phase epitaxy. The hetero-epitaxial growth of the III-V nanowires on silicon was confirmed with x-ray diffraction pole figures and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. We show preliminary results of two-terminal electrical measurements of III-V nanowires grown on silicon. E-beam lithography was used to predefine the position of the nanowires

  2. Solution processed zinc oxide nanopyramid/silver nanowire transparent network films with highly tunable light scattering properties

    KAUST Repository

    Mehra, Saahil

    2013-01-01

    Metal nanowire transparent networks are promising replacements to indium tin oxide (ITO) transparent electrodes for optoelectronic devices. While the transparency and sheet resistance are key metrics for transparent electrode performance, independent control of the film light scattering properties is important to developing multifunctional electrodes for improved photovoltaic absorption. Here we show that controlled incorporation of ZnO nanopyramids into a metal nanowire network film affords independent, highly tunable control of the scattering properties (haze) with minimal effects on the transparency and sheet resistance. Varying the zinc oxide/silver nanostructure ratios prior to spray deposition results in sheet resistances, transmission (600 nm), and haze (600 nm) of 6-30 Ω □-1, 68-86%, and 34-66%, respectively. Incorporation of zinc oxide nanopyramid scattering agents into the conducting nanowire mesh has a negligible effect on mesh connectivity, providing a straightforward method of controlling electrode scattering properties. The decoupling of the film scattering power and electrical characteristics makes these films promising candidates for highly scattering transparent electrodes in optoelectronic devices and can be generalized to other metal nanowire films as well as carbon nanotube transparent electrodes. © 2013 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

  3. Electrically Injected UV-Visible Nanowire Lasers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, George T.; Li, Changyi; Li, Qiming; Liu, Sheng; Wright, Jeremy Benjamin; Brener, Igal; Luk, Ting -Shan; Chow, Weng W.; Leung, Benjamin; Figiel, Jeffrey J.; Koleske, Daniel D.; Lu, Tzu-Ming

    2015-09-01

    There is strong interest in minimizing the volume of lasers to enable ultracompact, low-power, coherent light sources. Nanowires represent an ideal candidate for such nanolasers as stand-alone optical cavities and gain media, and optically pumped nanowire lasing has been demonstrated in several semiconductor systems. Electrically injected nanowire lasers are needed to realize actual working devices but have been elusive due to limitations of current methods to address the requirement for nanowire device heterostructures with high material quality, controlled doping and geometry, low optical loss, and efficient carrier injection. In this project we proposed to demonstrate electrically injected single nanowire lasers emitting in the important UV to visible wavelengths. Our approach to simultaneously address these challenges is based on high quality III-nitride nanowire device heterostructures with precisely controlled geometries and strong gain and mode confinement to minimize lasing thresholds, enabled by a unique top-down nanowire fabrication technique.

  4. Nanowire Photovoltaic Devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forbes, David

    2015-01-01

    Firefly Technologies, in collaboration with the Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, developed synthesis methods for highly strained nanowires. Two synthesis routes resulted in successful nanowire epitaxy: direct nucleation and growth on the substrate and a novel selective-epitaxy route based on nanolithography using diblock copolymers. The indium-arsenide (InAs) nanowires are implemented in situ within the epitaxy environment-a significant innovation relative to conventional semiconductor nanowire generation using ex situ gold nanoparticles. The introduction of these nanoscale features may enable an intermediate band solar cell while simultaneously increasing the effective absorption volume that can otherwise limit short-circuit current generated by thin quantized layers. The use of nanowires for photovoltaics decouples the absorption process from the current extraction process by virtue of the high aspect ratio. While no functional solar cells resulted from this effort, considerable fundamental understanding of the nanowire epitaxy kinetics and nanopatterning process was developed. This approach could, in principle, be an enabling technology for heterointegration of dissimilar materials. The technology also is applicable to virtual substrates. Incorporating nanowires onto a recrystallized germanium/metal foil substrate would potentially solve the problem of grain boundary shunting of generated carriers by restricting the cross-sectional area of the nanowire (tens of nanometers in diameter) to sizes smaller than the recrystallized grains (0.5 to 1 micron(exp 2).

  5. Electro-mechanical coupling of semiconductor film grown on stainless steel by oxidation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, M. C.; Wang, G.; Guo, L. Q.; Qiao, L. J.; Volinsky, Alex A.

    2013-09-01

    Electro-mechanical coupling phenomenon in oxidation film on stainless steel has been discovered by using current-sensing atomic force microscopy, along with the I-V curves measurements. The oxidation films exhibit either ohmic, n-type, or p-type semiconductor properties, according to the obtained I-V curves. This technique allows characterizing oxidation films with high spatial resolution. Semiconductor properties of oxidation films must be considered as additional stress corrosion cracking mechanisms.

  6. Position-controlled epitaxial III-V nanowires on silicon

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roest, A.L.; Verheijen, M.A.; Wunnicke, O.; Serafin, S.N.; Wondergem, H.J.; Bakkers, E.P.A.M.

    2006-01-01

    We show the epitaxial integration of III-V semiconductor nanowires with silicon technology. The wires are grown by the VLS mechanism with laser ablation as well as metal-organic vapour phase epitaxy. The hetero-epitaxial growth of the III-V nanowires on silicon was confirmed with x-ray diffraction

  7. Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanowires Formed by Reactive Dewetting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, Roger A; Etman, Haitham A; Hicks, Hannah; Richards, Leah; Wu, Chen; Castell, Martin R; Dhesi, Sarnjeet S; Maccherozzi, Francesco

    2018-04-11

    The growth and reactive dewetting of ultrathin films of iron oxides supported on Re(0001) surfaces have been imaged in situ in real time. Initial growth forms a nonmagnetic stable FeO (wüstite like) layer in a commensurate network upon which high aspect ratio nanowires of several microns in length but less than 40 nm in width can be fabricated. The nanowires are closely aligned with the substrate crystallography and imaging by X-ray magnetic circular dichroism shows that each contain a single magnetic domain. The driving force for dewetting appears to be the minimization of strain energy of the Fe 3 O 4 crystallites and follows the Tersoff and Tromp model in which strain is minimized at constant height by extending in one epitaxially matched direction. Such wires are promising in spintronic applications and we predict that the growth will also occur on other hexagonal substrates.

  8. Surface Preparation and Deposited Gate Oxides for Gallium Nitride Based Metal Oxide Semiconductor Devices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul C. McIntyre

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available The literature on polar Gallium Nitride (GaN surfaces, surface treatments and gate dielectrics relevant to metal oxide semiconductor devices is reviewed. The significance of the GaN growth technique and growth parameters on the properties of GaN epilayers, the ability to modify GaN surface properties using in situ and ex situ processes and progress on the understanding and performance of GaN metal oxide semiconductor (MOS devices are presented and discussed. Although a reasonably consistent picture is emerging from focused studies on issues covered in each of these topics, future research can achieve a better understanding of the critical oxide-semiconductor interface by probing the connections between these topics. The challenges in analyzing defect concentrations and energies in GaN MOS gate stacks are discussed. Promising gate dielectric deposition techniques such as atomic layer deposition, which is already accepted by the semiconductor industry for silicon CMOS device fabrication, coupled with more advanced physical and electrical characterization methods will likely accelerate the pace of learning required to develop future GaN-based MOS technology.

  9. Synthesis of the cactus-like silicon nanowires/tungsten oxide nanowires composite for room-temperature NO{sub 2} gas sensor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Weiyi, E-mail: zhangweiyi@tju.edu.cn [School of Electronic Information Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072 (China); Hu, Ming [School of Electronic Information Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072 (China); Key Laboratory for Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China); Liu, Xing; Wei, Yulong; Li, Na [School of Electronic Information Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072 (China); Qin, Yuxiang, E-mail: qinyuxiang@tju.edu.cn [School of Electronic Information Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072 (China); Key Laboratory for Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China)

    2016-09-15

    In the present work, the tungsten oxide (WO{sub 3}) nanowires functionalized silicon nanowires (SiNWs) with cactus-like structure has been successfully synthesized for room-temperature NO{sub 2} detection. The novel nanocomposite was fabricated by metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) and thermal annealing of tungsten film. The WO{sub 3} nanowires were evenly distributed from the upper to the lower part of the SiNWs, indicating excellent uniformity which is conducive to adsorption and desorption of gas molecules. The gas-sensing properties have been examined by measuring the resistance change towards 0.25–5 ppm NO{sub 2} gas. At room temperature, which is the optimum working temperature, the SiNWs/WO{sub 3} nanowires composite showed two-times higher NO{sub 2} response than that of the bare SiNWs at 2 ppm NO{sub 2}. On the contrary, the responses of composite sensors to high concentrations of other reducing gases were very low, indicating excellent selectivity. Simultaneously, the composite sensors exhibited good sensing repeatability and stability. The enhancement in gas sensing properties may be attributed to the change in width of the space charge region, which is similar to the behavior of p-n junctions under forward bias, in the high-density p-n heterojunction structure formed between SiNWs and WO{sub 3} nanowires. - Highlights: • SiNWs/WO{sub 3} nanowires composite with cactus-like structure is synthesized. • The morphology of WO{sub 3} nanowires depends on the thermal annealing temperature. • The nanocomposite sensor exhibit better gas response than that of bare SiNWs. • The gas sensing mechanism is discussed using p-n heterojunction theory.

  10. Growth and Raman spectroscopy studies of gold-free catalyzed semiconductor nanowires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zardo, Ilaria

    2010-12-15

    The present Ph.D. thesis proposes two aims: the search for catalysts alternative to gold for the growth of silicon nanowires and the investigation of the structural properties of the gold-free catalyzed Si, Ge, and GaAs nanowires. The successful growth of gold free catalyzed silicon nanowires was obtained using Ga and In as catalyst. Hydrogen plasma conditions were needed during the growth process. We proposed a growth mechanism where the role of the hydrogen plasma is taken into account. The influence of the growth conditions on nanowire growth morphology and structural properties was investigated in detail. The TEM studies showed the occurrence of different kind of twin defects depending on the nanowire growth direction. The intersection of twins in different spatial directions in <111>-oriented nanowires or the periodicity of highly dense twins in <112>-oriented nanowires leads to the formation of hexagonal domains embedded in the diamond silicon structure. A simple crystallographic model which illustrates the formation of the hexagonal phase was proposed. The presence of the hexagonal domains embedded in the diamond silicon structure was investigated also by means of Raman spectroscopy. The measured frequencies of the E2g and A1g modes were found to be in agreement with frequencies expected from phonon dispersion folding. An estimation of the percentage of hexagonal structure with respect to the cubic structure was given. The relative percentage of the two structures was found to change with growth temperature. Spatially resolved Raman scattering experiments were also realized on single Si nanowires. The lattice dynamics of gold-free catalyzed Ge and GaAs nanowires was studied by means of Raman spectroscopy. We performed spatially resolved Raman spectroscopy experiments on single crystalline- amorphous core-shell Ge nanowires. The correlation with TEM studies on nanowires grown under the same conditions and with AFM measurements realized of the same nanowires

  11. Green synthesis of water soluble semiconductor nanocrystals and their applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ying

    II-VI semiconductor nanomaterials, e.g. CdSe and CdTe, have attracted great attention over the past decades due to their fascinating optical and electrical properties. The research presented here focuses on aqueous semiconductor nanomaterials. The work can be generally divided into three parts: synthesis, property study and application. The synthetic work is devoted to develop new methods to prepare shape- and structure-controlled II-VI semiconductor nanocrystals including nanoparticles and nanowires. CdSe and CdSe CdS semiconductor nanocrystals have been synthesized using sodium citrate as a stabilizer. Upon prolonged illumination with visible light, photoluminescence quantum yield of those quantum dots can be enhanced up to 5000%. The primary reason for luminescence enhancement is considered to be the removing of specific surface states (photocorrosion) and the smoothing of the CdSe core surface (photoannealing). CdTe nanowires are prepared through self-organization of stabilizer-depleted CdTe nanoparticles. The dipolar-dipolar attraction is believed to be the driving force of nanowire formation. The rich surface chemistry of CdTe nanowire is reflected by the formation of silica shell with different morphologies when nanowires with different capping ligands are used. Te and Se nanowires are prepared by chemical decomposition of CdTe and CdSe nanoparticles in presence of an external chemical stimulus, EDTA. These results not only provide a new example of NP→NW transformation, but also lead to a better understanding of the molecular process occurring in the stabilizer-depleted nanoparticles. The applications of those semiconductor materials are primarily based on the construction of nano-structured ultrathin films with desirable functions by using layer-by-layer technique (LBL). We demonstrate that light-induced micro-scale multicolor luminescent patterns can be obtained on photoactivable CdSe/CdS nanoparticles thin films by combining the advantages of LBL as

  12. Tracking Ultrafast Carrier Dynamics in Single Semiconductor Nanowire Heterostructures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taylor A.J.

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available An understanding of non-equilibrium carrier dynamics in silicon (Si nanowires (NWs and NW heterostructures is very important due to their many nanophotonic and nanoelectronics applications. Here, we describe the first measurements of ultrafast carrier dynamics and diffusion in single heterostructured Si nanowires, obtained using ultrafast optical microscopy. By isolating individual nanowires, we avoid complications resulting from the broad size and alignment distribution in nanowire ensembles, allowing us to directly probe ultrafast carrier dynamics in these quasi-one-dimensional systems. Spatially-resolved pump-probe spectroscopy demonstrates the influence of surface-mediated mechanisms on carrier dynamics in a single NW, while polarization-resolved femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy reveals a clear anisotropy in carrier lifetimes measured parallel and perpendicular to the NW axis, due to density-dependent Auger recombination. Furthermore, separating the pump and probe spots along the NW axis enabled us to track space and time dependent carrier diffusion in radial and axial NW heterostructures. These results enable us to reveal the influence of radial and axial interfaces on carrier dynamics and charge transport in these quasi-one-dimensional nanosystems, which can then be used to tailor carrier relaxation in a single nanowire heterostructure for a given application.

  13. Plasmonic Waveguide-Integrated Nanowire Laser

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bermudez-Urena, Esteban; Tutuncuoglu, Gozde; Cuerda, Javier

    2017-01-01

    technologies. Despite significant advances in their fundamental aspects, the integration within scalable photonic circuitry remains challenging. Here we report on the realization of hybrid photonic devices consisting of nanowire lasers integrated with wafer-scale lithographically designed V-groove plasmonic......Next-generation optoelectronic devices and photonic circuitry will have to incorporate on-chip compatible nanolaser sources. Semiconductor nanowire lasers have emerged as strong candidates for integrated systems with applications ranging from ultrasensitive sensing to data communication...

  14. Geometrical and band-structure effects on phonon-limited hole mobility in rectangular cross-sectional germanium nanowires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanaka, H.; Mori, S.; Morioka, N.; Suda, J.; Kimoto, T.

    2014-01-01

    We calculated the phonon-limited hole mobility in rectangular cross-sectional [001], [110], [111], and [112]-oriented germanium nanowires, and the hole transport characteristics were investigated. A tight-binding approximation was used for holes, and phonons were described by a valence force field model. Then, scattering probability of holes by phonons was calculated taking account of hole-phonon interaction atomistically, and the linearized Boltzmann's transport equation was solved to calculate the hole mobility at low longitudinal field. The dependence of the hole mobility on nanowire geometry was analyzed in terms of the valence band structure of germanium nanowires, and it was found that the dependence was qualitatively reproduced by considering an average effective mass and the density of states of holes. The calculation revealed that [110] germanium nanowires with large height along the [001] direction show high hole mobility. Germanium nanowires with this geometry are also expected to exhibit high electron mobility in our previous work, and thus they are promising for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) applications

  15. Quantum-confined nanowires as vehicles for enhanced electrical transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohammad, S Noor

    2012-01-01

    Electrical transport in semiconductor nanowires taking quantum confinement and dielectric confinement into account has been studied. A distinctly new route has been employed for the study. The fundamental science underlying the model is based on a relationship between the quantum confinement and the structural disorder of the nanowire surface. The role of surface energy and thermodynamic imbalance in nanowire structural disorder has been described. A model for the diameter dependence of energy bandgap of nanowires has been developed. Ionized impurity scattering, dislocation scattering and acoustic phonon scattering have been taken into account to study carrier mobility. A series of calculations on silicon nanowires show that carrier mobility in nanowires can be greatly enhanced by quantum confinement and dielectric confinement. The electron mobility can, for example, be a factor of 2–10 higher at room temperature than the mobility in a free-standing silicon nanowire. The calculated results agree well with almost all experimental and theoretical results available in the literature. They successfully explain experimental observations not understood before. The model is general and applicable to nanowires from all possible semiconductors. It is perhaps the first physical model highlighting the impact of both quantum confinement and dielectric confinement on carrier transport. It underscores the basic causes of thin, lowly doped nanowires in the temperature range 200 K ≤ T ≤ 500 K yielding very high carrier mobility. It suggests that the scattering by dislocations (stacking faults) can be very detrimental for carrier mobility. (paper)

  16. Synthesis, fabrication and characterization of Ge/Si axial nanowire heterostructure tunnel FETs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Picraux, Samuel T [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Dayeh, Shadi A [Los Alamos National Laboratory

    2010-01-01

    Axial Ge/Si heterostructure nanowires allow energy band-edge engineering along the axis of the nanowire, which is the charge transport direction, and the realization of asymmetric devices for novel device architectures. This work reports on two advances in the area of heterostructure nanowires and tunnel FETs: (i) the realization of 100% compositionally modulated Si/Ge axial heterostructure nanowires with lengths suitable for device fabrication and (ii) the design and implementation of Schottky barrier tunnel FETs on these nanowires for high-on currents and suppressed ambipolar behavior. Initial prototype devices resulted in a current drive in excess of 100 {micro}A/{micro}m (I/{pi}D) and 10{sup 5} I{sub on}/I{sub off} ratios. These results demonstrate the potential of such asymmetric heterostructures (both in the semiconductor channel and metal-semiconductor barrier heights) for low-power and high performance electronics.

  17. Emission and Dynamics of Charge Carriers in Uncoated and Organic/Metal Coated Semiconductor Nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaveh Baghbadorani, Masoud

    In this dissertation, the dynamics of excitons in hybrid metal/organic/nanowire structures possessing nanometer thick deposited molecular and metal films on top of InP and GaAs nanowire (NW) surfaces were investigated. Optical characterizations were carried out as a function of the semiconductor NW material, design, NW size and the type and thickness of the organic material and metal used. Hybrid organic and plasmonic semiconductor nanowire heterostructures were fabricated using organic molecular beam deposition technique. I investigated the photon emission of excitons in 150 nm diameter polytype wurtzite/zincblende InP NWs and the influence of a few ten nanometer thick organic and metal films on the emission using intensity- and temperature-dependent time-integrated and time resolved (TR) photoluminescence (PL). The plasmonic NWs were coated with an Aluminum quinoline (Alq3) interlayer and magnesium-silver (Mg0.9:Ag0.1) top layer. In addition, the nonlinear optical technique of heterodyne four-wave mixing was used (in collaboration with Prof. Wolfgang Langbein, University of Cardiff) to study incoherent and coherent carrier relaxation processes on bare nanowires on a 100 femtosecond time-scale. Alq3 covered NWs reveal a stronger emission and a longer decay time of exciton transitions indicating surface state passivation at the Alq3/NW interface. Alq3/Mg:Ag NWs reveal a strong quenching of the exciton emission which is predominantly attributed to Forster energy-transfer from excitons to plasmon oscillations in the metal cluster film. Changing the Mg:Ag to gold and the organic Alq3 spacer layer to PTCDA leads to a similar behavior, but the PL quenching is strongly increased. The observed behavior is attributed to a more continuous gold deposition leading to an increased Forster energy transfer and to a metal induced band-bending. I also investigated ensembles of bare and gold/Alq3 coated GaAs-AlGaAs-GaAs core shell NWs of 130 nm diameter. Plasmonic NWs with Au

  18. Molybdenum oxide nanowires based supercapacitors with enhanced capacitance and energy density in ethylammonium nitrate electrolyte

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sarfraz, Mansoor; Aboud, Mohamed F.A.; Shakir, Imran, E-mail: shakir@skku.edu

    2015-11-25

    Orthorhombic molybdenum trioxide (α-MoO{sub 3}) nanowires as an electrode for electrochemical supercapacitors in ethylammonium nitrate (EAN) electrolyte exhibits a high specific capacitance of 288 Fg{sup −1}, which is 8 times higher than the specific capacitance obtained from MoO{sub 3} nanowires in water based electrolyte. MoO{sub 3} nanowires in EAN electrolyte exhibit energy density of 46.32 Wh kg{sup −1} at a power density of 20.3 kW kg{sup −1} with outstanding cycling stability with specific capacitance retention of 96% over 3000 cycles. We believe that the superior performance of the MoO{sub 3} nanowires in EAN based electrolyte is primarily due to its relatively low viscosity (0.28 P at 25 °C), high electrical conductivity (20 mS cm{sup −1} at 25 °C) and large working voltage window. The results clearly demonstrate that EAN as electrolyte is one of the most promising electrolyte for high performance large scale energy storage devices. - Highlights: • Synthesis of single crystalline molybdenum oxide nanowires. • Ethylammonium Nitrate as an electrolyte for high performance large scale psuedocapacitor based energy storage devices. • Molybdenum oxide nanowires based electrodes shows 8 fold enhancement in Ethylammonium Nitrate electrolyte as compared to water based electrolytes. • The devices in Ethylammonium Nitrate exhibit excellent stability, retaining 96% of its initial capacity after 3000 cycles.

  19. Rapid Hydrothermal Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanowires by Annealing Methods on Seed Layers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jang Bo Shim

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Well-aligned zinc oxide (ZnO nanowire arrays were successfully synthesized on a glass substrate using the rapid microwave heating process. The ZnO seed layers were produced by spinning the precursor solutions onto the substrate. Among coatings, the ZnO seed layers were annealed at 100°C for 5 minutes to ensure particle adhesion to the glass surface in air, nitrogen, and vacuum atmospheres. The annealing treatment of the ZnO seed layer was most important for achieving the high quality of ZnO nanowire arrays as ZnO seed nanoparticles of larger than 30 nm in diameter evolve into ZnO nanowire arrays. Transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed a single-crystalline lattice of the ZnO nanowires. Because of their low power (140 W, low operating temperatures (90°C, easy fabrication (variable microwave sintering system, and low cost (90% cost reduction compared with gas condensation methods, high quality ZnO nanowires created with the rapid microwave heating process show great promise for use in flexible solar cells and flexible display devices.

  20. Fabrication of diameter-modulated and ultrathin porous nanowires in anodic aluminum oxide templates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sulka, Grzegorz D., E-mail: Sulka@chemia.uj.edu.pl [Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, Weinberg 2, 06120 Halle (Germany); Department of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Jagiellonian University, Ingardena 3, 30060 Krakow (Poland); Brzozka, Agnieszka [AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Non-Ferrous Metals, Al. Mickiewicza 30, Krakow 30-059 (Poland); Liu, Lifeng [Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, Weinberg 2, 06120 Halle (Germany)

    2011-05-30

    Graphical abstract: Display Omitted Highlights: > AAO templates with modulated pore diameter were fabricated by pulse anodization. > HA pulse duration tunes the shape of pores and the structure of AAO channels. > Au, Ag, Ni and Ag-Au diameter-modulated nanowires were synthetized. > Porous ultrathin Au nanowires were obtained by dealloying Ag-Au nanowires. - Abstract: Anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes with modulated pore diameter were synthesized by pulse anodization in 0.3 M sulfuric acid at 1 deg. C. For AAO growth, a typical combination of alternating mild anodizing (MA) and hard anodizing (HA) pulses with applied potential pulses of 25 V and 35 V was applied. The control of the duration of HA pulses will provide an interesting way to tune the shape of pores and the structure of AAO channels. It was found that a non-uniform length of HA segments in cross section of AAO is usually observed when the HA pulse duration is shorter than 1.2 s. The pulse anodization performed with longer HA pulses leads to the formation of AAO templates with periodically modulated pore diameter and nearly uniform length of segments. Various diameter-modulated metallic nanowires (Au, Ag, Ni and Ag-Au) were fabricated by electrodeposition in the pores of anodic alumina membranes. A typical average nanowire diameter was about 30 nm and 48 nm for MA and HA nanowire segments, respectively. After a successful dealloying silver from Ag-Au nanowires, porous ultrathin Au nanowires were obtained.

  1. Fabrication of diameter-modulated and ultrathin porous nanowires in anodic aluminum oxide templates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sulka, Grzegorz D.; Brzozka, Agnieszka; Liu, Lifeng

    2011-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Display Omitted Highlights: → AAO templates with modulated pore diameter were fabricated by pulse anodization. → HA pulse duration tunes the shape of pores and the structure of AAO channels. → Au, Ag, Ni and Ag-Au diameter-modulated nanowires were synthetized. → Porous ultrathin Au nanowires were obtained by dealloying Ag-Au nanowires. - Abstract: Anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes with modulated pore diameter were synthesized by pulse anodization in 0.3 M sulfuric acid at 1 deg. C. For AAO growth, a typical combination of alternating mild anodizing (MA) and hard anodizing (HA) pulses with applied potential pulses of 25 V and 35 V was applied. The control of the duration of HA pulses will provide an interesting way to tune the shape of pores and the structure of AAO channels. It was found that a non-uniform length of HA segments in cross section of AAO is usually observed when the HA pulse duration is shorter than 1.2 s. The pulse anodization performed with longer HA pulses leads to the formation of AAO templates with periodically modulated pore diameter and nearly uniform length of segments. Various diameter-modulated metallic nanowires (Au, Ag, Ni and Ag-Au) were fabricated by electrodeposition in the pores of anodic alumina membranes. A typical average nanowire diameter was about 30 nm and 48 nm for MA and HA nanowire segments, respectively. After a successful dealloying silver from Ag-Au nanowires, porous ultrathin Au nanowires were obtained.

  2. Epitaxy-enabled vapor-liquid-solid growth of tin-doped indium oxide nanowires with controlled orientations

    KAUST Repository

    Shen, Youde

    2014-08-13

    Controlling the morphology of nanowires in bottom-up synthesis and assembling them on planar substrates is of tremendous importance for device applications in electronics, photonics, sensing and energy conversion. To date, however, there remain challenges in reliably achieving these goals of orientation-controlled nanowire synthesis and assembly. Here we report that growth of planar, vertical and randomly oriented tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) nanowires can be realized on yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrates via the epitaxy-assisted vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism, by simply regulating the growth conditions, in particular the growth temperature. This robust control on nanowire orientation is facilitated by the small lattice mismatch of 1.6% between ITO and YSZ. Further control of the orientation, symmetry and shape of the nanowires can be achieved by using YSZ substrates with (110) and (111), in addition to (100) surfaces. Based on these insights, we succeed in growing regular arrays of planar ITO nanowires from patterned catalyst nanoparticles. Overall, our discovery of unprecedented orientation control in ITO nanowires advances the general VLS synthesis, providing a robust epitaxy-based approach toward rational synthesis of nanowires. © 2014 American Chemical Society.

  3. Preparation and characterization of CuO nanowire arrays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu Dongliang; Ge Chuannan; Du Youwei

    2009-01-01

    CuO nanowire arrays were prepared by oxidation of copper nanowires embedded in anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes. The AAO was fabricated in an oxalic acid at a constant voltage. Copper nanowires were formed in the nanopores of the AAO membranes in an electrochemical deposition process. The oxidized copper nanowires at different temperatures were studied. X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed the formation of a CuO phase after calcining at 500 0 C in air for 30 h. A transmission electron microscopy was used to characterize the nanowire morphologies. Raman spectra were performed to study the CuO nanowire arrays. After measuring, we found that the current-voltage curve of the CuO nanowires is nonlinear.

  4. Crystalline α-Sm2S3 nanowires: Structure and optical properties of an unusual intrinsically degenerate semiconductor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marin, Chris M.; Wang, Lu; Brewer, Joseph R.; Mei, Wai-Ning; Cheung, Chin Li

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Developed a rapid synthetic method to generate thin films of α-Sm 2 S 3 nanowires. ► Calculated the electronic structure of α-Sm 2 S 3 by density functional theory. ► Predicted that α-Sm 2 S 3 is an intrinsically degenerate p-type semiconductor. ► Found that the gap in the band states of α-Sm 2 S 3 could be engineered to 1.3 eV via sulfur vacancy. -- Abstract: The lanthanide sulfides have long been a promising class of semiconductors because of their infrared-to-visible range band gaps and excellent thermoelectric properties. However, their applications have been limited due to their time consuming conventional synthetic processes and the lack of sufficient understanding of their electronic properties. To address these shortcomings, here we report a rapid, chemical vapor deposition route which results in thin films of crystalline α-phase samarium sesquisulfide (α-Sm 2 S 3 ) nanowires within a few hours, rather than the typical 4–7 days required in previous synthetic processes. In addition, density functional theory was, for the first time, utilized to calculate the electronic band structure of α-Sm 2 S 3 in order to shed insight into the interpretation of their UV–Vis absorption spectrum. We found that the theoretical direct gap in the band states of α-Sm 2 S 3 is 1.7 eV. Computation results suggest that this gap can be tuned to a solar optimal ∼1.3 eV via systematic sulfur vacancy sites engineered into the crystal structure. Most significantly, the degenerate semiconductor-like behavior long observed in lanthanide sulfide samples have been shown to be present even in the ideal α-Sm 2 S 3 structure, suggesting that the observed heavily p-type behavior is an unusual intrinsic property of the material resulting from the Fermi level being located significantly below the optically active 1.7 eV band edge

  5. Nickel cobalt oxide nanowire-reduced graphite oxide composite material and its application for high performance supercapacitor electrode material.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xu; Yan, Chaoyi; Sumboja, Afriyanti; Lee, Pooi See

    2014-09-01

    In this paper, we report a facile synthesis method of mesoporous nickel cobalt oxide (NiCo2O4) nanowire-reduced graphite oxide (rGO) composite material by urea induced hydrolysis reaction, followed by sintering at 300 degrees C. P123 was used to stabilize the GO during synthesis, which resulted in a uniform coating of NiCo2O4 nanowire on rGO sheet. The growth mechanism of the composite material is discussed in detail. The NiCo2O4-rGO composite material showed an outstanding electrochemical performance of 873 F g(-1) at 0.5 A g(-1) and 512 F g(-1) at 40 A g(-1). This method provides a promising approach towards low cost and large scale production of supercapacitor electrode material.

  6. High Density Silver Nanowire Arrays using Self-ordered Anodic Aluminum Oxide (AAO) Membrane

    OpenAIRE

    Han, Young-Hwan

    2008-01-01

    High density silver nanowire arrays were synthesized through the self-ordered Anodic Aluminum Oxide (AAO) template. The pore size in the AAO membrane was confirmed by processing the widening porosity with a honeycomb structure with cross sections of 20nm, 50nm, and 100nm, by SEM. Pore numbers by unit area were consistent; only pore size changed. The synthesized silver nanowire, which was crystallized, was dense in the cross sections of the amorphous AAO membrane. The synthesized silver nanowi...

  7. Growth dynamics of SiGe nanowires by the Vapour Liquid Solid method and its impact on SiGe/Si axial heterojunction abruptness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pura, Jose Luis; Periwal, Priyanka; Baron, Thierry; Jimenez, Juan

    2018-06-05

    The Vapour Liquid Solid (VLS) method is by far the most extended procedure for bottom-up nanowire growth. This method also allows for the manufacture of nanowire axial heterojunctions in a straightforward way. To do this, during the growth process the precursor gases are switched on/off to obtain the desired change in the nanowire composition. Using this technique axially heterostructured nanowires can be grown, which are crucial for the fabrication of electronic and optoelectronic devices. SiGe/Si nanowires are compatible with Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology, this improves their versatility and the possibility of integration with the current electronic technologies. Abrupt heterointerfaces are fundamental for the development and correct operation of electronic and optoelectronic devices. Unfortunately, VLS growth of SiGe/Si heterojunctions does not provide abrupt transitions because of the high solubility of group IV semiconductors in Au, with the corresponding reservoir effect that precludes the growth of sharp interfaces. In this work, we studied the growth dynamics of SiGe/Si heterojunctions based on already developed models for VLS growth. A composition map of the Si-Ge-Au liquid alloy is proposed to better understand the impact of the growing conditions on the nanowire growth process and the heterojunction formation. The solution of our model provides heterojunction profiles in good agreement with experimental measurements. Finally, the in-depth study of the composition map provides a practical approach to reduce drastically the heterojunction abruptness by reducing the Si and Ge concentrations in the catalyst droplet. This converges with previous approaches that use catalysts aiming to reduce the solubility of the atomic species. This analysis opens new paths to reduce the heterojunction abruptness using Au catalysts, but the model can be naturally extended to other catalysts and semiconductors. © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd.

  8. Diamond nanowires: fabrication, structure, properties, and applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Yuan; Wu, Liangzhuan; Zhi, Jinfang

    2014-12-22

    C(sp(3) )C-bonded diamond nanowires are wide band gap semiconductors that exhibit a combination of superior properties such as negative electron affinity, chemical inertness, high Young's modulus, the highest hardness, and room-temperature thermal conductivity. The creation of 1D diamond nanowires with their giant surface-to-volume ratio enhancements makes it possible to control and enhance the fundamental properties of diamond. Although theoretical comparisons with carbon nanotubes have shown that diamond nanowires are energetically and mechanically viable structures, reproducibly synthesizing the crystalline diamond nanowires has remained challenging. We present a comprehensive, up-to-date review of diamond nanowires, including a discussion of their synthesis along with their structures, properties, and applications. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  9. Multifunctional Organic-Semiconductor Interfacial Layers for Solution-Processed Oxide-Semiconductor Thin-Film Transistor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwon, Guhyun; Kim, Keetae; Choi, Byung Doo; Roh, Jeongkyun; Lee, Changhee; Noh, Yong-Young; Seo, SungYong; Kim, Myung-Gil; Kim, Choongik

    2017-06-01

    The stabilization and control of the electrical properties in solution-processed amorphous-oxide semiconductors (AOSs) is crucial for the realization of cost-effective, high-performance, large-area electronics. In particular, impurity diffusion, electrical instability, and the lack of a general substitutional doping strategy for the active layer hinder the industrial implementation of copper electrodes and the fine tuning of the electrical parameters of AOS-based thin-film transistors (TFTs). In this study, the authors employ a multifunctional organic-semiconductor (OSC) interlayer as a solution-processed thin-film passivation layer and a charge-transfer dopant. As an electrically active impurity blocking layer, the OSC interlayer enhances the electrical stability of AOS TFTs by suppressing the adsorption of environmental gas species and copper-ion diffusion. Moreover, charge transfer between the organic interlayer and the AOS allows the fine tuning of the electrical properties and the passivation of the electrical defects in the AOS TFTs. The development of a multifunctional solution-processed organic interlayer enables the production of low-cost, high-performance oxide semiconductor-based circuits. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  10. Robust mode space approach for atomistic modeling of realistically large nanowire transistors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Jun Z.; Ilatikhameneh, Hesameddin; Povolotskyi, Michael; Klimeck, Gerhard

    2018-01-01

    Nanoelectronic transistors have reached 3D length scales in which the number of atoms is countable. Truly atomistic device representations are needed to capture the essential functionalities of the devices. Atomistic quantum transport simulations of realistically extended devices are, however, computationally very demanding. The widely used mode space (MS) approach can significantly reduce the numerical cost, but a good MS basis is usually very hard to obtain for atomistic full-band models. In this work, a robust and parallel algorithm is developed to optimize the MS basis for atomistic nanowires. This enables engineering-level, reliable tight binding non-equilibrium Green's function simulation of nanowire metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) with a realistic cross section of 10 nm × 10 nm using a small computer cluster. This approach is applied to compare the performance of InGaAs and Si nanowire n-type MOSFETs (nMOSFETs) with various channel lengths and cross sections. Simulation results with full-band accuracy indicate that InGaAs nanowire nMOSFETs have no drive current advantage over their Si counterparts for cross sections up to about 10 nm × 10 nm.

  11. Perspectives of single cast nanowires technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ioisher, Anatolii; Badinter, Efim; Postolache, Vitalie; Leporda, Nicolae; Tiginyanu, Ion; Monaico, Eduard

    2011-01-01

    The paper is dedicated to production potential of glass-coated cast nanowire with metal-, semimetal- and semiconductor-based cores by means of Taylor-Ulitovsky method. Criteria of melted core-formative material penetration into a drawing capillary were analyzed. Theoretical preconditions of the reduction of cast microwire diameter up to nano-dimensions of core are reviewed and an improved method of cast nanowire manufacturing is proposed. Correctness of conclusions was experimentally proved and laboratory samples of micro- and nano-wires with core diameter of about 200-300 nanometers were produced, even in case of materials with poor adhesion.

  12. Substrate dependent self-organization of mesoporous cobalt oxide nanowires with remarkable pseudocapacitance

    KAUST Repository

    Baby, Rakhi Raghavan

    2012-05-09

    A scheme of current collector dependent self-organization of mesoporous cobalt oxide nanowires has been used to create unique supercapacitor electrodes, with each nanowire making direct contact with the current collector. The fabricated electrodes offer the desired properties of macroporosity to allow facile electrolyte flow, thereby reducing device resistance and nanoporosity with large surface area to allow faster reaction kinetics. Co 3O 4 nanowires grown on carbon fiber paper collectors self-organize into a brush-like morphology with the nanowires completely surrounding the carbon microfiber cores. In comparison, Co 3O 4 nanowires grown on planar graphitized carbon paper collectors self-organize into a flower-like morphology. In three electrode configuration, brush-like and flower-like morphologies exhibited specific capacitance values of 1525 and 1199 F/g, respectively, at a constant current density of 1 A/g. In two electrode configuration, the brush-like nanowire morphology resulted in a superior supercapacitor performance with high specific capacitances of 911 F/g at 0.25 A/g and 784 F/g at 40 A/g. In comparison, the flower-like morphology exhibited lower specific capacitance values of 620 F/g at 0.25 A/g and 423 F/g at 40 A/g. The Co 3O 4 nanowires with brush-like morphology exhibited high values of specific power (71 kW/kg) and specific energy (81 Wh/kg). Maximum energy and power densities calculated for Co 3O 4 nanowires with flower-like morphology were 55 Wh/kg and 37 kW/kg respectively. Both electrode designs exhibited excellent cycling stability by retaining ∼91-94% of their maximum capacitance after 5000 cycles of continuous charge-discharge. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

  13. Narrow titanium oxide nanowires induced by femtosecond laser pulses on a titanium surface

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Hui; Li, Xian-Feng [Laboratory of Nanophotonic Functional Materials and Devices, School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Zhang, Cheng-Yun [School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Tie, Shao-Long [School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006 (China); Lan, Sheng, E-mail: slan@scnu.edu.cn [Laboratory of Nanophotonic Functional Materials and Devices, School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006 (China)

    2017-02-28

    Highlights: • Titanium oxide nanowires with a feature width as narrow as ∼20 nm were induced on a titanium surface by using femtosecond laser pulses at 400 nm. • An evolution of the surface structure from a high spatial frequency laser-induced periodic structure parallel to the laser polarization to a low spatial frequency one perpendicular to the laser polarization was observed with increasing irradiation pulse number. • The formation of the titanium oxide nanowires was confirmed by the energy dispersive spectroscopy measurements and the evolution of the surface structure was successfully interpreted by using the efficacy factor theory. - Abstract: The evolution of the nanostructure induced on a titanium (Ti) surface with increasing irradiation pulse number by using a 400-nm femtosecond laser was examined by using scanning electron microscopy. High spatial frequency periodic structures of TiO{sub 2} parallel to the laser polarization were initially observed because of the laser-induced oxidation of the Ti surface and the larger efficacy factor of TiO{sub 2} in this direction. Periodically aligned TiO{sub 2} nanowires with featured width as small as 20 nm were obtained. With increasing pulse number, however, low spatial frequency periodic structures of Ti perpendicular to the laser polarization became dominant because Ti possesses a larger efficacy factor in this direction. The competition between the high- and low-spatial frequency periodic structures is in good agreement with the prediction of the efficacy factor theory and it should also be observed in the femtosecond laser ablation of other metals which are easily oxidized in air.

  14. Optical Properties of Rotationally Twinned Nanowire Superlattices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bao, Jiming; Bell, David C.; Capasso, Federico

    2008-01-01

    We have developed a technique so that both transmission electron microscopy and microphotoluminescence can be performed on the same semiconductor nanowire over a large range of optical power, thus allowing us to directly correlate structural and optical properties of rotationally twinned zinc...... a heterostructure in a chemically homogeneous nanowire material and alter in a major way its optical properties opens new possibilities for band-structure engineering....

  15. On-chip microplasma reactors using carbon nanofibres and tungsten oxide nanowires as electrodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agiral, Anil; Groenland, Alfons W; Han Gardeniers, J G E; Chinthaginjala, J Kumar; Seshan, K; Lefferts, Leon

    2008-01-01

    Carbon nanofibres (CNFs) and tungsten oxide (W 18 O 49 ) nanowires have been incorporated into a continuous flow type microplasma reactor to increase the reactivity and efficiency of the barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure. CNFs and tungsten oxide nanowires were characterized by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and nanodiffraction methods. Field emission of electrons from those nanostructures supplies free electrons and ions during microplasma production. Reduction in breakdown voltage, higher number of microdischarges and higher energy deposition were observed at the same applied voltage when compared with plane electrodes at atmospheric pressure in air. Rate coefficients of electron impact reaction channels to decompose CO 2 were calculated and it was shown that CO 2 consumption increased using CNFs compared with plane electrode in the microplasma reactor.

  16. Room temperature NO2 gas sensing of Au-loaded tungsten oxide nanowires/porous silicon hybrid structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Deng-Feng; Liang Ji-Ran; Li Chang-Qing; Yan Wen-Jun; Hu Ming

    2016-01-01

    In this work, we report an enhanced nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) gas sensor based on tungsten oxide (WO 3 ) nanowires/porous silicon (PS) decorated with gold (Au) nanoparticles. Au-loaded WO 3 nanowires with diameters of 10 nm–25 nm and lengths of 300 nm–500 nm are fabricated by the sputtering method on a porous silicon substrate. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) micrographs show that Au nanoparticles are uniformly distributed on the surfaces of WO 3 nanowires. The effect of the Au nanoparticles on the NO 2 -sensing performance of WO 3 nanowires/porous silicon is investigated over a low concentration range of 0.2 ppm–5 ppm of NO 2 at room temperature (25 °C). It is found that the 10-Å Au-loaded WO 3 nanowires/porous silicon-based sensor possesses the highest gas response characteristic. The underlying mechanism of the enhanced sensing properties of the Au-loaded WO 3 nanowires/porous silicon is also discussed. (paper)

  17. A novel method to synthesize cobalt oxide (Co3O4) nanowires from cobalt (Co) nanobowls

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Srivastava, Akhilesh Kumar; Madhavi, S.; Ramanujan, R.V.

    2010-01-01

    A novel method suitable for the synthesis of the cobalt oxide (Co3O4) nanowires at targeted regions is presented in this report. Cobalt (Co) nanobowls synthesized by colloidal crystal directed assembly were transformed into Co3O4 nanowires by a simple heat treatment process. Co nanobowls exhibited...... a two phase (h.c.p. + f.c.c.) microstructure while single phase microstructure was observed for Co3O4 nanowires. Ferromagnetic Co nanobowls showed a dependence of coercivity on bowl size while Co3O4 exhibited weak ferromagnetic behavior....

  18. Hole spin coherence in a Ge/Si heterostructure nanowire

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Higginbotham, Andrew P; Larsen, Thorvald Wadum; Yao, Jun

    2014-01-01

    Relaxation and dephasing of hole spins are measured in a gate-defined Ge/Si nanowire double quantum dot using a fast pulsed-gate method and dispersive readout. An inhomogeneous dephasing time T2(*)≈ 0.18 μs exceeds corresponding measurements in III-V semiconductors by more than an order of magnit......Relaxation and dephasing of hole spins are measured in a gate-defined Ge/Si nanowire double quantum dot using a fast pulsed-gate method and dispersive readout. An inhomogeneous dephasing time T2(*)≈ 0.18 μs exceeds corresponding measurements in III-V semiconductors by more than an order...

  19. Synthetic Strategies and Applications of GaN Nanowires

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guoquan Suo

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available GaN is an important III-V semiconductor material with a direct band gap of 3.4 eV at 300 K. The wide direct band gap makes GaN an attractive material for various applications. GaN nanowires have demonstrated significant potential as fundamental building blocks for nanoelectronic and nanophotonic devices and also offer substantial promise for integrated nanosystems. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review on the general synthetic strategies, characterizations, and applications of GaN nanowires. We first summarize several growth techniques of GaN nanowires. Subsequently, we discuss mechanisms involved to generate GaN nanowires from different synthetic schemes and conditions. Then we review some characterization methods of GaN nanowires. Finally, several kinds of main applications of GaN nanowires are discussed.

  20. Purcell effect for finite-length metal-coated and metal nanowires

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Filonenko, Konstantin V.; Willatzen, Morten; Bordo, Vladimir G.

    2014-01-01

    We investigate the modification (enhancement and suppression) of the spontaneous emission rate of a dipole emitter in two configurations: inside a finite-length semiconductor nanowire surrounded by bulk metal and in the vicinity of a finite metal nanowire. Our analysis is based on a first......-principle approach, which is reduced to a seminumeric one in the limit of large nanowire aspect ratios. The numerical calculations are carried out for an emitter in a GaAs nanowire embedded in Ag or Au and for that nearby an Ag or Au nanowire in vacuum or dielectric. We consider in detail the Purcell and β factors...

  1. A soft chemical route to multicomponent lithium transition metal oxide nanowires as promising cathode materials for lithium secondary batteries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Dae-Hoon; Lim, Seung-Tae; Hwang, Seong-Ju

    2006-01-01

    We have synthesized 1D nanowires of lithium nickel manganese oxides with two different crystal structures through the chemical oxidation reaction of solid-state precursor LiMn 0.5 Ni 0.5 O 2 under hydrothermal condition. According to X-ray diffraction and elemental analyses, the nanowires obtained by persulfate treatments at 65 and 120 deg. C crystallize with a hexagonal layered and an α-MnO 2 -type structure, respectively, in which nickel and manganese ions exist in octahedral sites. Electron microscopic analyses reveal that the platelike crystallites of the precursor are changed into nanowires with the diameter of ∼20 nm after the persulfate treatment. Thermal and infrared spectroscopic analyses clearly demonstrate that, in comparison with α-MnO 2 -structured nanowires, the hexagonal layered nanowires contain less water molecules in the lattice, which makes them suitable for the application as electrode materials for lithium secondary batteries. According to electrochemical measurements, the hexagonal layered nanowires show a larger discharge capacity and an excellent cyclability with respect to repeated Li intercalation-disintercalation process. X-ray diffraction and electron microscopic analyses on the samples subjected to electrochemical analysis reveal that the layered structure and 1D morphology of the nanowires are still maintained after the electrochemical cyclings, which is responsible for their excellent electrochemical performances

  2. The effects of electron-hole separation on the photoconductivity of individual metal oxide nanowires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prades, J D; Hernandez-Ramirez, F; Jimenez-Diaz, R; Manzanares, M; Andreu, T; Cirera, A; Romano-Rodriguez, A; Morante, J R

    2008-01-01

    The responses of individual ZnO nanowires to UV light demonstrate that the persistent photoconductivity (PPC) state is directly related to the electron-hole separation near the surface. Our results demonstrate that the electrical transport in these nanomaterials is influenced by the surface in two different ways. On the one hand, the effective mobility and the density of free carriers are determined by recombination mechanisms assisted by the oxidizing molecules in air. This phenomenon can also be blocked by surface passivation. On the other hand, the surface built-in potential separates the photogenerated electron-hole pairs and accumulates holes at the surface. After illumination, the charge separation makes the electron-hole recombination difficult and originates PPC. This effect is quickly reverted after increasing either the probing current (self-heating by Joule dissipation) or the oxygen content in air (favouring the surface recombination mechanisms). The model for PPC in individual nanowires presented here illustrates the intrinsic potential of metal oxide nanowires to develop optoelectronic devices or optochemical sensors with better and new performances.

  3. Review of recent developments in amorphous oxide semiconductor thin-film transistor devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Joon Seok; Maeng, Wan-Joo; Kim, Hyun-Suk; Park, Jin-Seong

    2012-01-01

    The present article is a review of the recent progress and major trends in the field of thin-film transistor (TFT) research involving the use of amorphous oxide semiconductors (AOS). First, an overview is provided on how electrical performance may be enhanced by the adoption of specific device structures and process schemes, the combination of various oxide semiconductor materials, and the appropriate selection of gate dielectrics and electrode metals in contact with the semiconductor. As metal oxide TFT devices are excellent candidates for switching or driving transistors in next generation active matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCD) or active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) displays, the major parameters of interest in the electrical characteristics involve the field effect mobility (μ FE ), threshold voltage (V th ), and subthreshold swing (SS). A study of the stability of amorphous oxide TFT devices is presented next. Switching or driving transistors in AMLCD or AMOLED displays inevitably involves voltage bias or constant current stress upon prolonged operation, and in this regard many research groups have examined and proposed device degradation mechanisms under various stress conditions. The most recent studies involve stress experiments in the presence of visible light irradiating the semiconductor, and different degradation mechanisms have been proposed with respect to photon radiation. The last part of this review consists of a description of methods other than conventional vacuum deposition techniques regarding the formation of oxide semiconductor films, along with some potential application fields including flexible displays and information storage.

  4. Dielectrophoretic alignment of metal and metal oxide nanowires and nanotubes: a universal set of parameters for bridging prepatterned microelectrodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maijenburg, A W; Maas, M G; Rodijk, E J B; Ahmed, W; Kooij, E S; Carlen, E T; Blank, D H A; ten Elshof, J E

    2011-03-15

    Nanowires and nanotubes were synthesized from metals and metal oxides using templated cathodic electrodeposition. With templated electrodeposition, small structures are electrodeposited using a template that is the inverse of the final desired shape. Dielectrophoresis was used for the alignment of the as-formed nanowires and nanotubes between prepatterned electrodes. For reproducible nanowire alignment, a universal set of dielectrophoresis parameters to align any arbitrary nanowire material was determined. The parameters include peak-to-peak potential and frequency, thickness of the silicon oxide layer, grounding of the silicon substrate, and nature of the solvent medium used. It involves applying a field with a frequency >10(5) Hz, an insulating silicon oxide layer with a thickness of 2.5 μm or more, grounding of the underlying silicon substrate, and the use of a solvent medium with a low dielectric constant. In our experiments, we obtained good results by using a peak-to-peak potential of 2.1 V at a frequency of 1.2 × 10(5) Hz. Furthermore, an indirect alignment technique is proposed that prevents short circuiting of nanowires after contacting both electrodes. After alignment, a considerably lower resistivity was found for ZnO nanowires made by templated electrodeposition (2.2-3.4 × 10(-3) Ωm) compared to ZnO nanorods synthesized by electrodeposition (10 Ωm) or molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) (500 Ωm). Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Charging effects and surface potential variations of Cu-based nanowires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nunes, D., E-mail: daniela.gomes@fct.unl.pt [i3N/CENIMAT, Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica (Portugal); Calmeiro, T.R.; Nandy, S.; Pinto, J.V.; Pimentel, A.; Barquinha, P. [i3N/CENIMAT, Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica (Portugal); Carvalho, P.A. [SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, PB 124 Blindern, NO-0314, Oslo (Norway); CeFEMA, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001, Lisboa (Portugal); Walmsley, J.C. [SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, Materials and Nanotechnology, Høgskoleringen 5, 7034 Trondheim (Norway); Fortunato, E., E-mail: emf@fct.unl.pt [i3N/CENIMAT, Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica (Portugal); Martins, R., E-mail: rm@uninova.pt [i3N/CENIMAT, Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica (Portugal)

    2016-02-29

    The present work reports charging effects and surface potential variations in pure copper, cuprous oxide and cupric oxide nanowires observed by electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). The copper nanowires were produced by wet synthesis, oxidation into cuprous oxide nanowires was achieved through microwave irradiation and cupric oxide nanowires were obtained via furnace annealing in atmospheric conditions. Structural characterization of the nanowires was carried out by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. During the EFM experiments the electrostatic field of the positive probe charged negatively the Cu-based nanowires, which in turn polarized the SiO{sub 2} dielectric substrate. Both the probe/nanowire capacitance as well as the substrate polarization increased with the applied bias. Cu{sub 2}O and CuO nanowires behaved distinctively during the EFM measurements in accordance with their band gap energies. The work functions (WF) of the Cu-based nanowires, obtained by KPFM measurements, yielded WF{sub CuO} > WF{sub Cu} > WF{sub Cu{sub 2O}}. - Highlights: • Charge distribution study in Cu, Cu{sub 2}O and CuO nanowires through electrostatic force microscopy • Structural/surface defect role on the charge distribution along the Cu nanowires • Determination of the nanowire work functions by Kelvin probe force microscopy • Three types of nanowires give a broad idea of charge behavior on Cu based-nanowires.

  6. Broad spectral photocurrent enhancement in Au-decorated CdSe nanowires

    KAUST Repository

    Chakraborty, Ritun; Greullet, Fanny; George, Chandramohan; Baranov, Dmitry; Di Fabrizio, Enzo M.; Krahne, Roman

    2013-01-01

    Metal-semiconductor hybrid nanostructures promise improved photoconductive performance due to plasmonic properties of the metal portions and intrinsic electric fields at the metal-semiconductor interface that possibly enhance charge separation. Here we report gold decorated CdSe nanowires as a novel functional material and investigate the influence of gold decoration on the lateral facets on the photoconductive properties. Gold decorated nanowires show typically an at least ten-fold higher photocurrent as compared to their bare counterparts. Interestingly, the photocurrent enhancement is wavelength independent, although the plasmon resonance related to the gold particles appears in the absorption spectra. Our experiments show that light scattering and Schottky fields associated with the metal-semiconductor interface are at the origin of the photocurrent enhancement. © 2013 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

  7. Electron Band Alignment at Interfaces of Semiconductors with Insulating Oxides: An Internal Photoemission Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valeri V. Afanas'ev

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Evolution of the electron energy band alignment at interfaces between different semiconductors and wide-gap oxide insulators is examined using the internal photoemission spectroscopy, which is based on observations of optically-induced electron (or hole transitions across the semiconductor/insulator barrier. Interfaces of various semiconductors ranging from the conventional silicon to the high-mobility Ge-based (Ge, Si1-xGex, Ge1-xSnx and AIIIBV group (GaAs, InxGa1-xAs, InAs, GaP, InP, GaSb, InSb materials were studied revealing several general trends in the evolution of band offsets. It is found that in the oxides of metals with cation radii larger than ≈0.7 Å, the oxide valence band top remains nearly at the same energy (±0.2 eV irrespective of the cation sort. Using this result, it becomes possible to predict the interface band alignment between oxides and semiconductors as well as between dissimilar insulating oxides on the basis of the oxide bandgap width which are also affected by crystallization. By contrast, oxides of light elements, for example, Be, Mg, Al, Si, and Sc exhibit significant shifts of the valence band top. General trends in band lineup variations caused by a change in the composition of semiconductor photoemission material are also revealed.

  8. Growth and properties of low-dimensional III-V semiconductor nanowire heterostructures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heiss, Martin

    2010-08-25

    In this work the properties of GaAs nanowire based heterostructures are investigated. The nanowires and their heterostructures are synthesized with Molecular Beam Epitaxy. The optical and structural properties are characterized by means of low temperature confocal micro-photoluminescence spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy. Molecular Beam Epitaxy is a versatile technique that allows to switch from radial to axial growth in order to cap the nanowires by an epitaxial prismatic AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure. This can passivate surface states and improve the optical properties. The effect of such a passivation layer is studied by quantitative comparison of the diameter dependence of photoluminescence in passivated and unpassivated nanowires. The passivation is an important prerequisite for more complex axial heterostructures. Evidence for radial confinement effects is found in passivated nanowires with core diameters smaller than 70 nm. Furthermore, the polarization dependence of light absorption and emission is investigated. Two different types of axial heterostructures are studied that have the potential to further enhance the functionality of such nanowires. In a first step, the possibility of growth of axial InGaAs heterostructure in the Au-free Molecular Beam Epitaxy growth regime is investigated. Suitable growth conditions are identified and the growth temperature window for both GaAs and InGaAs nanowires is determined. At the optimum growth temperature for GaAs nanowires, the incorporation of indium in the structure is limited to a few percent. It is shown that by lowering the growth temperature the indium concentration in the structure can be increased up to 20%. The optical properties of the synthesized axial heterostructures are investigated by means of micro-photoluminescence spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy. The second type of axial nanowire heterostructure investigated in the present work is characterized by a change in crystal

  9. Quantum Dot Sensitized Solar Cells Based on Ternary Metal Oxide Nanowires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Wenyong [Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (United States); Tang, Jinke [Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (United States); Dahnovsky, Yuri [Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (United States); Pikal, Jon M [Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (United States); Chien, TeYu [Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (United States)

    2017-11-03

    In Phase I of this project we investigate quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) based on ternary metal oxide nanowires and study the physical and chemical mechanisms that govern device operation. Our research has the following five objectives: (1) synthesis of ternary metal oxide nanowires, (2) synthesis of QDs and exploration of non-solution based QD deposition methods, (3) physical and electro-optical characterizations of fabricated solar devices, (4) device modeling and first-principle theoretical study of transport physics, and (5) investigation of long-term stability issues of QD sensitized solar cells. In Phase II of this project our first major research goal is to investigate magnetically doped quantum dots and related spin polarization effect, which could improve light absorption and suppress electron relaxation in the QDs. We will utilize both physical and chemical methods to synthesize these doped QDs. We will also study magnetically modified nanowires and introduce spin-polarized transport into QDSSCs, and inspect its impact on forward electron injection and back electron transfer processes. Our second goal is to study novel solid-state electrolytes for QDSSCs. Specifically, we will inspect a new type of polymer electrolytes based on a modified polysulfide redox couple, and examine the effect of their electrical properties on QDSSC performance. These solid-state electrolytes could also be used as filler materials for in situ sample fracturing in STM and enable cross-sectional interface examination of QD/nanowire structures. Our third research goal is to examine the interfacial properties such as energy level alignment at QD/nanowire interfaces using the newly developed Cross-sectional Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy technique for non-cleavable materials. This technique allows a direct probing of band structures and alignment at device interfaces, which could generate important insight into the mechanisms that govern QDSSC operation

  10. Room-temperature solution synthesis of Ag nanoparticle functionalized molybdenum oxide nanowires and their catalytic applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dong Wenjun; Huang Huandi; Zhu Yanjun; Li Xiaoyun; Wang Xuebin; Li Chaorong; Chen Benyong; Wang Ge; Shi Zhan

    2012-01-01

    A simple chemical solution route for the synthesis of large-scale high-quality Ag nanoparticle functionalized molybdenum oxide nanowire at room temperature has been developed. In the synthesis, the protonated amine was intercalated into the molybdenum bronze layers to reduce the electrostatic force of the lamellar structures, and then the Ag nanoparticle functionalized long nanowires could be easily induced by a redox reaction between a molybdenum oxide–amine intermediate and Ag + at room temperature. The intercalation lamellar structures improved the nucleation and growth of the Ag nanoparticles, with the result that uniform Ag nanoparticles occurred on the surface of the MoO 3 nanowire. In this way Ag nanoparticles with average sizes of around 6 nm, and high-purity nanowires with mean diameter of around 50 nm and with typical lengths of several tens to hundreds of micrometers were produced. The heteronanostructured nanowires were intricately and inseparably connected to each other with hydrogen bonds and/or bridge oxygen atoms and packed together, forming a paper-like porous network film. The Ag–MoO 3 nanowire film performs a promoted catalytic property for the epoxidation of cis-cyclooctene, and the heteronanostructured nanowire film sensor shows excellent sensing performance to hydrogen and oxygen at room temperature. (paper)

  11. Pressure tuning of the optical properties of GaAs nanowires

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zardo, I.; Yazji, S.; Marini, C.; Uccelli, E.; Morral, A.F.I.; Abstreiter, G.; Postorino, P.

    2012-01-01

    The tuning of the optical and electronic properties of semiconductor nanowires can be achieved by crystal phase engineering. Zinc-blende and diamond semiconductors exhibit pressure-induced structural transitions as well as a strong pressure dependence of the band gaps. When reduced to nanoscale

  12. Self-catalytic growth of tin oxide nanowires by chemical vapor deposition process

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Thabethe, BS

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The authors report on the synthesis of tin oxide (SnO(sub2)) nanowires by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. Commercially bought SnO nanopowders were vaporized at 1050°C for 30 minutes with argon gas continuously passing through the system...

  13. Effect of Silicon Nanowire on Crystalline Silicon Solar Cell Characteristics

    OpenAIRE

    Zahra Ostadmahmoodi Do; Tahereh Fanaei Sheikholeslami; Hassan Azarkish

    2016-01-01

    Nanowires (NWs) are recently used in several sensor or actuator devices to improve their ordered characteristics. Silicon nanowire (Si NW) is one of the most attractive one-dimensional nanostructures semiconductors because of its unique electrical and optical properties. In this paper, silicon nanowire (Si NW), is synthesized and characterized for application in photovoltaic device. Si NWs are prepared using wet chemical etching method which is commonly used as a simple and low cost method fo...

  14. Synthesis, Characterization, and Ultrafast Dynamics of Metal, Metal Oxide, and Semiconductor Nanomaterials

    OpenAIRE

    Wheeler, Damon Andreas

    2013-01-01

    SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION, AND ULTRAFAST DYNAMICS OF METAL, METAL OXIDE, AND SEMICONDUCTOR NANOMATERIALSABSTRACTThe optical properties of each of the three main classes of inorganic nanomaterials, metals, metal oxides, and semiconductors differ greatly due to the intrinsically different nature of the materials. These optical properties are among the most fascinating and useful aspects of nanomaterials with applications spanning cancer treatment, sensors, lasers, and solar cells. One techn...

  15. Three-dimensional electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells: synthesis of indium-tin-oxide nanowire arrays and ITO/TiO2 core-shell nanowire arrays by electrophoretic deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, H-W; Ting, C-F; Hung, M-K; Chiou, C-H; Liu, Y-L; Liu Zongwen; Ratinac, Kyle R; Ringer, Simon P

    2009-01-01

    Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) show promise as a cheaper alternative to silicon-based photovoltaics for specialized applications, provided conversion efficiency can be maximized and production costs minimized. This study demonstrates that arrays of nanowires can be formed by wet-chemical methods for use as three-dimensional (3D) electrodes in DSSCs, thereby improving photoelectric conversion efficiency. Two approaches were employed to create the arrays of ITO (indium-tin-oxide) nanowires or arrays of ITO/TiO 2 core-shell nanowires; both methods were based on electrophoretic deposition (EPD) within a polycarbonate template. The 3D electrodes for solar cells were constructed by using a doctor-blade for coating TiO 2 layers onto the ITO or ITO/TiO 2 nanowire arrays. A photoelectric conversion efficiency as high as 4.3% was achieved in the DSSCs made from ITO nanowires; this performance was better than that of ITO/TiO 2 core-shell nanowires or pristine TiO 2 films. Cyclic voltammetry confirmed that the reaction current was significantly enhanced when a 3D ITO-nanowire electrode was used. Better separation of charge carriers and improved charge transport, due to the enlarged interfacial area, are thought to be the major advantages of using 3D nanowire electrodes for the optimization of DSSCs.

  16. Pd nanowire arrays as electrocatalysts for ethanol electrooxidation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Hong; Cheng, Faliang [Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan 523106 (China); Xu, Changwei; Jiang, Sanping [School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore)

    2007-05-15

    Highly ordered Pd nanowire arrays were prepared by template-electrodeposition method using anodic aluminum oxide template. The Pd nanowire arrays, in this paper, have high electrochemical active surface and show excellent catalytic properties for ethanol electrooxidation in alkaline media. The activity of Pd nanowire arrays for ethanol oxidation is not only higher that of Pd film, but also higher than that of commercial E-TEK PtRu(2:1 by weight)/C. The micrometer sized pores and channels in nanowire arrays act as structure units. They make liquid fuel diffuse into and products diffuse out of the catalysts layer much easier, therefore, the utilization efficiency of catalysts gets higher. Pd nanowire arrays are stable catalysts for ethanol oxidation. The nanowire arrays may be a great potential in direct ethanol fuel cells and ethanol sensors. (author)

  17. Highly sensitive uric acid biosensor based on individual zinc oxide micro/nanowires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, Yanguang; Yan, Xiaoqin; Kang, Zhuo; Lin, Pei; Fang, Xiaofei; Lei, Yang; Ma, Siwei; Zhang, Yue

    2013-01-01

    We describe the use of individual zinc oxide (ZnO) micro/nanowires in an electrochemical biosensor for uric acid. The wires were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition and possess uniform morphology and high crystallinity as revealed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and photoluminescence studies. The enzyme uricase was then immobilized on the surface of the ZnO micro/nanowires by physical adsorption, and this was proven by Raman spectroscopy and fluorescence microscopy. The resulting uric acid biosensor undergoes fast electron transfer between the active site of the enzyme and the surface of the electrode. It displays high sensitivity (89.74 μA cm −2 mM −1 ) and a wide linear analytical range (between 0.1 mM and 0.59 mM concentrations of uric acid). This study also demonstrates the potential of the use of individual ZnO micro/nanowires for the construction of highly sensitive nano-sized biosensors. (author)

  18. Novel Flame-Based Synthesis of Nanowires for Multifunctional Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-05-13

    pattern (SAED) of SnO2/WO2.9 heterojunction for case 7. TEM (Fig. 14(a)) reveals that the coating on the tungsten- oxide nanowires is actually a...tungsten oxide nanowire,s resulting in radial growth of Zn2SnO4 nanocube/WO2.9 nanowire heterojunction . Furthermore, the combined flame and solution...SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: Progress for the project has been made in various areas. Specifically, we report on: (i) flame synthesis of metal- oxide

  19. First-principles study of structural & electronic properties of pyramidal silicon nanowire

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jariwala, Pinank; Thakor, P. B. [Department of Physics, Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, Surat 395 007, Gujarat (India); Singh, Deobrat; Sonvane, Y. A., E-mail: yasonvane@gmail.com [Department of Applied Physics, S. V. National Institute of Technology, Surat 395 007 (India); Gupta, Sanjeev K. [Department of Physics, St. Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad 38 0009 (India)

    2016-05-23

    We have investigated the stable structural and electronic properties of Silicon (Si) nanowires having different cross-sections with 5-7 Si atoms per unit cell. These properties of the studied Si nanowires were significantly changed from those of diamond bulk Si structure. The binding energy increases as increasing atoms number per unit cell in different SiNWs structures. All the nanowires structures are behave like metallic rather than semiconductor in bulk systems. In general, the number of conduction channels increases when the nanowire becomes thicker. The density of charge revealed delocalized metallic bonding for all studied Si nanowires.

  20. Coaxial silver nanowire network core molybdenum oxide shell supercapacitor electrodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yuksel, Recep; Coskun, Sahin; Unalan, Husnu Emrah

    2016-01-01

    We present a new hybrid material composed of molybdenum (IV) oxide (MoO 2 ) shell on highly conducting silver nanowire (Ag NW) core in the network form for the realization of coaxial Ag NW/MoO 2 nanocomposite supercapacitor electrodes. Ag NWs were simply spray coated onto glass substrates to form conductive networks and conformal MoO 2 layer was electrodeposited onto the Ag NW network to create binder-free coaxial supercapacitor electrodes. Combination of Ag NWs and pseudocapacitive MoO 2 generated an enhanced electrochemical energy storage capacity and a specific capacitance of 500.7 F/g was obtained at a current density of 0.25 A/g. Fabricated supercapacitor electrodes showed excellent capacity retention after 5000 cycles. The methods and the design investigated herein open a wide range of opportunities for nanowire based coaxial supercapacitors.

  1. Solution-processed copper-nickel nanowire anodes for organic solar cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, Ian E.; Rathmell, Aaron R.; Yan, Liang; Ye, Shengrong; Flowers, Patrick F.; You, Wei; Wiley, Benjamin J.

    2014-05-01

    This work describes a process to make anodes for organic solar cells from copper-nickel nanowires with solution-phase processing. Copper nanowire films were coated from solution onto glass and made conductive by dipping them in acetic acid. Acetic acid removes the passivating oxide from the surface of copper nanowires, thereby reducing the contact resistance between nanowires to nearly the same extent as hydrogen annealing. Films of copper nanowires were made as oxidation resistant as silver nanowires under dry and humid conditions by dipping them in an electroless nickel plating solution. Organic solar cells utilizing these completely solution-processed copper-nickel nanowire films exhibited efficiencies of 4.9%.This work describes a process to make anodes for organic solar cells from copper-nickel nanowires with solution-phase processing. Copper nanowire films were coated from solution onto glass and made conductive by dipping them in acetic acid. Acetic acid removes the passivating oxide from the surface of copper nanowires, thereby reducing the contact resistance between nanowires to nearly the same extent as hydrogen annealing. Films of copper nanowires were made as oxidation resistant as silver nanowires under dry and humid conditions by dipping them in an electroless nickel plating solution. Organic solar cells utilizing these completely solution-processed copper-nickel nanowire films exhibited efficiencies of 4.9%. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr01024h

  2. Tuning and synthesis of semiconductor nanostructures by mechanical compression

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fan, Hongyou; Li, Binsong

    2015-11-17

    A mechanical compression method can be used to tune semiconductor nanoparticle lattice structure and synthesize new semiconductor nanostructures including nanorods, nanowires, nanosheets, and other three-dimensional interconnected structures. II-VI or IV-VI compound semiconductor nanoparticle assemblies can be used as starting materials, including CdSe, CdTe, ZnSe, ZnS, PbSe, and PbS.

  3. Solution processed bismuth sulfide nanowire array core/silver shuffle shell solar cells

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cao, Y.; Bernechea, M.; Maclachlan, A.; Zardetto, V.; Creatore, M.; Haque, S.A.; Konstantatos, G.

    2015-01-01

    Low bandgap inorganic semiconductor nanowires have served as building blocks in solution processed solar cells to improve their power conversion capacity and reduce fabrication cost. In this work, we first reported bismuth sulfide nanowire arrays grown from colloidal seeds on a transparent

  4. Fluorinated alkyne-derived monolayers on oxide-free silicon nanowires via one-step hydrosilylation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nguyen Minh, Quyen; Pujari, Sidharam P.; Wang, Bin; Wang, Zhanhua; Haick, Hossam; Zuilhof, Han; Rijn, Cees J.M. van

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Oxide-free H-terminated silicon nanowires undergo efficient surface modification by reaction with fluorinated 1-alkynes (HC≡C−(CH 2 ) 6 C 8 H 17−x F x ; x = 0–17). • These surface-modified Si NWs are chemically stable under range of conditions (including acid, base). • The surface coating yields efficient electrical passivation as demonstrated by a near-zero electrochemical activity of the surface. - Abstract: Passivation of oxide-free silicon nanowires (Si NWs) by the formation of high-quality fluorinated 1-hexadecyne-derived monolayers with varying fluorine content has been investigated. Alkyl chain monolayers (C 16 H 30−x F x ) with a varying number of fluorine substituents (x = 0, 1, 3, 9, 17) were attached onto hydrogen-terminated silicon (Si−H) surfaces with an effective one-step hydrosilylation. This surface chemistry gives well-defined monolayers on nanowires that have a cylindrical core–shell structure, as characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and static contact angle (SCA) analysis. The monolayers were stable under acidic and basic conditions, as well as under extreme conditions (such as UV exposure), and provide excellent surface passivation, which opens up applications in the fields of field effect transistors, optoelectronics and especially for disease diagnosis.

  5. Morphology Controlled Fabrication of InN Nanowires on Brass Substrates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huijie Li

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Growth of semiconductor nanowires on cheap metal substrates could pave the way to the large-scale manufacture of low-cost nanowire-based devices. In this work, we demonstrated that high density InN nanowires can be directly grown on brass substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. It was found that Zn from the brass substrates is the key factor in the formation of nanowires by restricting the lateral growth of InN. The nanowire morphology is highly dependent on the growth temperature. While at a lower growth temperature, the nanowires and the In droplets have large diameters. At the elevated growth temperature, the lateral sizes of the nanowires and the In droplets are much smaller. Moreover, the nanowire diameter can be controlled in situ by varying the temperature in the growth process. This method is very instructive to the diameter-controlled growth of nanowires of other materials.

  6. Silver nanowires-templated metal oxide for broadband Schottky photodetector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Patel, Malkeshkumar; Kim, Hong-Sik; Kim, Joondong, E-mail: joonkim@inu.ac.kr [Photoelectric and Energy Device Application Lab (PEDAL) and Department of Electrical Engineering, Incheon National University, 119 Academy Rd. Yeonsu, Incheon 406772 (Korea, Republic of); Park, Hyeong-Ho [Applied Device and Material Lab., Device Technology Division, Korea Advanced Nano Fab Center (KANC), Suwon 443270 (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-04-04

    Silver nanowires (AgNWs)-templated transparent metal oxide layer was applied for Si Schottky junction device, which remarked the record fastest photoresponse of 3.4 μs. Self-operating AgNWs-templated Schottky photodetector showed broad wavelength photodetection with high responsivity (42.4 A W{sup −1}) and detectivity (2.75 × 10{sup 15} Jones). AgNWs-templated indium-tin-oxide (ITO) showed band-to-band excitation due to the internal photoemission, resulting in significant carrier collection performances. Functional metal oxide layer was formed by AgNWs-templated from ITO structure. The grown ITO above AgNWs has a cylindrical shape and acts as a thermal protector of AgNWs for high temperature environment without any deformation. We developed thermal stable AgNWs-templated transparent oxide devices and demonstrated the working mechanism of AgNWs-templated Schottky devices. We may propose the high potential of hybrid transparent layer design for various photoelectric applications, including solar cells.

  7. Preparation and Characterization of Tin Oxide Nanowires

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Kabiri

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this research is preparation of SnO2 nanowires by means of Thermal chemical reaction vapor transport deposition (TCRVTD method from SnO powders. The morphology, chemical composition and microstructure properties of the nanowires are characterized using field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM, EDS, and XRD. The XRD diffraction patterns reveal that the SnO2 nanowires have been grown in the form of tetragonal crystal structures with the lattice parameter of a=b=0.440 nm, and c=0.370 nm. The SEM images reveal that SnO2 nanowires have successfully been grown on the Si substrate. The EDS patterns show that only elements of Sn, O and Au are detected. Prior to the VLS process the substrate is coated by a thin layer of Au. The diameter of nanowires is measured to be something between 20-100 nm.

  8. Propagation properties of silver nanowires embedded in a substrate with gain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Isidio de Lima, Joaquim Junior; Adam, Jost; Rego, Davi

    2016-01-01

    The transmittance, reflectance and absorption of silver nanowires metamaterial embedded into a semiconductor matrix with optical gain are numerically investigated. Metamaterials may suffer from appreciable dissipative losses which are inherent for all plasmonic structures. The losses can signific......The transmittance, reflectance and absorption of silver nanowires metamaterial embedded into a semiconductor matrix with optical gain are numerically investigated. Metamaterials may suffer from appreciable dissipative losses which are inherent for all plasmonic structures. The losses can...... significantly be reduced by introducing optical gain in the dielectric matrix by placing atomic or molecular impurities which are pumped by an external light source to create a population inversion. We numerically analyzed the optical properties when the semiconductor host material represents a gain medium. We...

  9. Characterization of III-V nanowires for photovoltaic devices using advanced electron microscopy techniques

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Persson, Johan Mikael

    In this work, the crystal structure of epitaxially grown semiconductor nanowires has been analysed using electron microscopy and to some extent X-ray diffractometry. The goal of the EU project which this work was a part of was to build multi-junction solar cells with nanowires as the main building...... of the crystal structure at the junction. This thesis also comments on some unusual properties and _ndings of the examined nanowires: Some nanowires sported a droplet-like protrusion of the catalyst gold particle reaching into the solid center of the nanowire. This feature can be discussed in terms of nanowire...

  10. Characterizing and simulation the scintillation properties of zinc oxide nanowires in AAO membrane for medical imaging applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Esfandi, F.; Saramad, S.; Shahmirzadi, M. Rezaei

    2017-01-01

    In this work, a new method is proposed for extracting some X-ray detection properties of ZnO nanowires electrodeposited on Anodized Aluminum Oxide (AAO) nanoporous template. The results show that the detection efficiency for 12μm thickness of zinc oxide nano scintillator at an energy of 9.8 keV, near the K-edge of ZnO (9.65 keV), is 24%. The X-rays that interact with AAO can also generate electrons that reach the nano scintillator. The scintillation events of these electrons are seen as a low energy tail in the spectrum. In addition, it is found that all the X-rays that are absorbed in 300 nm thickness of the gold layer on the top of the zinc oxide nanowires can participate in the scintillation process with an efficiency of 6%. Hence, the scintillation detection efficiency of the whole detector for 9.8 keV X-ray energy is 30%. The simulation results from Geant4 and the experimental detected photons per MeV energy deposition are also used to extract the light yield of the zinc oxide nano scintillator. The results show that the light yield of the zinc oxide nanowires deposited by the electrochemical method is approximately the same as for single crystal zinc oxide scintillator (9000). Much better spatial resolution of this nano scintillator in comparison to the bulk ones is an advantage which candidates this nano scintillator for medical imaging applications.

  11. Visual Understanding of Light Absorption and Waveguiding in Standing Nanowires with 3D Fluorescence Confocal Microscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frederiksen, Rune; Tutuncuoglu, Gozde; Matteini, Federico; Martinez, Karen L; Fontcuberta I Morral, Anna; Alarcon-Llado, Esther

    2017-09-20

    Semiconductor nanowires are promising building blocks for next-generation photonics. Indirect proofs of large absorption cross sections have been reported in nanostructures with subwavelength diameters, an effect that is even more prominent in vertically standing nanowires. In this work we provide a three-dimensional map of the light around vertical GaAs nanowires standing on a substrate by using fluorescence confocal microscopy, where the strong long-range disruption of the light path along the nanowire is illustrated. We find that the actual long-distance perturbation is much larger in size than calculated extinction cross sections. While the size of the perturbation remains similar, the intensity of the interaction changes dramatically over the visible spectrum. Numerical simulations allow us to distinguish the effects of scattering and absorption in the nanowire leading to these phenomena. This work provides a visual understanding of light absorption in semiconductor nanowire structures, which is of high interest for solar energy conversion applications.

  12. Positron studies of metal-oxide-semiconductor structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Au, H. L.; Asoka-Kumar, P.; Nielsen, B.; Lynn, K. G.

    1993-03-01

    Positron annihilation spectroscopy provides a new probe to study the properties of interface traps in metal-oxide semiconductors (MOS). Using positrons, we have examined the behavior of the interface traps as a function of gate bias. We propose a simple model to explain the positron annihilation spectra from the interface region of a MOS capacitor.

  13. Controlled Growth of Rubrene Nanowires by Eutectic Melt Crystallization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Jeyon; Hyon, Jinho; Park, Kyung-Sun; Cho, Boram; Baek, Jangmi; Kim, Jueun; Lee, Sang Uck; Sung, Myung Mo; Kang, Youngjong

    2016-03-01

    Organic semiconductors including rubrene, Alq3, copper phthalocyanine and pentacene are crystallized by the eutectic melt crystallization. Those organic semiconductors form good eutectic systems with the various volatile crystallizable additives such as benzoic acid, salicylic acid, naphthalene and 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene. Due to the formation of the eutectic system, organic semiconductors having originally high melting point (Tm > 300 °C) are melted and crystallized at low temperature (Te = 40.8-133 °C). The volatile crystallizable additives are easily removed by sublimation. For a model system using rubrene, single crystalline rubrene nanowires are prepared by the eutectic melt crystallization and the eutectic-melt-assisted nanoimpinting (EMAN) technique. It is demonstrated that crystal structure and the growth direction of rubrene can be controlled by using different volatile crystallizable additives. The field effect mobility of rubrene nanowires prepared using several different crystallizable additives are measured and compared.

  14. Tunable magnetic nanowires for biomedical and harsh environment applications

    KAUST Repository

    Ivanov, Yurii P.; Alfadhel, Ahmed; Al-Nassar, Mohammed Y.; Perez, Jose E.; Vazquez, Manuel; Chuvilin, Andrey; Kosel, Jü rgen

    2016-01-01

    We have synthesized nanowires with an iron core and an iron oxide (magnetite) shell by a facile low-cost fabrication process. The magnetic properties of the nanowires can be tuned by changing shell thicknesses to yield remarkable new properties and multi-functionality. A multi-domain state at remanence can be obtained, which is an attractive feature for biomedical applications, where a low remanence is desirable. The nanowires can also be encoded with different remanence values. Notably, the oxidation process of single-crystal iron nanowires halts at a shell thickness of 10 nm. The oxide shell of these nanowires acts as a passivation layer, retaining the magnetic properties of the iron core even during high-temperature operations. This property renders these core-shell nanowires attractive materials for application to harsh environments. A cell viability study reveals a high degree of biocompatibility of the core-shell nanowires.

  15. Tunable magnetic nanowires for biomedical and harsh environment applications

    KAUST Repository

    Ivanov, Yurii P.

    2016-04-13

    We have synthesized nanowires with an iron core and an iron oxide (magnetite) shell by a facile low-cost fabrication process. The magnetic properties of the nanowires can be tuned by changing shell thicknesses to yield remarkable new properties and multi-functionality. A multi-domain state at remanence can be obtained, which is an attractive feature for biomedical applications, where a low remanence is desirable. The nanowires can also be encoded with different remanence values. Notably, the oxidation process of single-crystal iron nanowires halts at a shell thickness of 10 nm. The oxide shell of these nanowires acts as a passivation layer, retaining the magnetic properties of the iron core even during high-temperature operations. This property renders these core-shell nanowires attractive materials for application to harsh environments. A cell viability study reveals a high degree of biocompatibility of the core-shell nanowires.

  16. Spectroscopic characterization of III-V semiconductor nanomaterials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crankshaw, Shanna Marie

    through a novel spectroscopic technique first formulated for the rather different purpose of dispersion engineering for slow-light schemes. The frequency-resolved technique combined with the unusual (110) quantum wells in a furthermore atypical waveguide experimental geometry has revealed fascinating behavior of electron spin splitting which points to the possibility of optically orienting electron spins with linearly polarized light---an experimental result supporting a theoretical description of the phenomenon itself only a few years old. Lastly, to explore a space of further-restricted dimensionality, the final chapters describe InP semiconductor nanowires with dimensions small enough to be considered truly one-dimensional. Like the bulk GaAs of the first few chapters, the InP nanowires here crystallize in a wurtzite structure. In the InP nanowire case, though, the experimental techniques explored for characterization are temperature-dependent time-integrated photoluminescence at the single-wire level (including samples with InAsP insertions) and time-resolved photoluminescence at the ensemble level. The carrier dynamics revealed through these time-resolved studies are the first of their kind for wurtzite InP nanowires. The chapters are thus ordered as a progression from three (bulk), to two (quantum well), to one (nanowire), to zero dimensions (axially-structured nanowire), with the uniting theme the emphasis on connecting the semiconductor nanomaterials' crystallinity to its exhibited properties by relevant experimental spectroscopic techniques, whether these are standard methods or effectively invented for the case at hand.

  17. Gate Modulation of Graphene-ZnO Nanowire Schottky Diode.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Ren; You, Xu-Chen; Fu, Xue-Wen; Lin, Fang; Meng, Jie; Yu, Da-Peng; Liao, Zhi-Min

    2015-05-06

    Graphene-semiconductor interface is important for the applications in electronic and optoelectronic devices. Here we report the modulation of the electric transport properties of graphene/ZnO nanowire Schottky diode by gate voltage (Vg). The ideality factor of the graphene/ZnO nanowire Schottky diode is ~1.7, and the Schottky barrier height is ~0.28 eV without external Vg. The Schottky barrier height is sensitive to Vg due to the variation of Fermi level of graphene. The barrier height increases quickly with sweeping Vg towards the negative value, while decreases slowly towards the positive Vg. Our results are helpful to understand the fundamental mechanism of the electric transport in graphene-semiconductor Schottky diode.

  18. Nanowire structures and electrical devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bezryadin, Alexey; Remeika, Mikas

    2010-07-06

    The present invention provides structures and devices comprising conductive segments and conductance constricting segments of a nanowire, such as metallic, superconducting or semiconducting nanowire. The present invention provides structures and devices comprising conductive nanowire segments and conductance constricting nanowire segments having accurately selected phases including crystalline and amorphous states, compositions, morphologies and physical dimensions, including selected cross sectional dimensions, shapes and lengths along the length of a nanowire. Further, the present invention provides methods of processing nanowires capable of patterning a nanowire to form a plurality of conductance constricting segments having selected positions along the length of a nanowire, including conductance constricting segments having reduced cross sectional dimensions and conductance constricting segments comprising one or more insulating materials such as metal oxides.

  19. Enhanced Electron Mobility in Nonplanar Tensile Strained Si Epitaxially Grown on SixGe1-x Nanowires.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Feng; Tutuc, Emanuel

    2018-01-10

    We report the growth and characterization of epitaxial, coherently strained Si x Ge 1-x -Si core-shell nanowire heterostructure through vapor-liquid-solid growth mechanism for the Si x Ge 1-x core, followed by an in situ ultrahigh-vacuum chemical vapor deposition for the Si shell. Raman spectra acquired from individual nanowire reveal the Si-Si, Si-Ge, and Ge-Ge modes of the Si x Ge 1-x core and the Si-Si mode of the shell. Because of the compressive (tensile) strain induced by lattice mismatch, the core (shell) Raman modes are blue (red) shifted compared to those of unstrained bare Si x Ge 1-x (Si) nanowires, in good agreement with values calculated using continuum elasticity model coupled with lattice dynamic theory. A large tensile strain of up to 2.3% is achieved in the Si shell, which is expected to provide quantum confinement for electrons due to a positive core-to-shell conduction band offset. We demonstrate n-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors using Si x Ge 1-x -Si core-shell nanowires as channel and observe a 40% enhancement of the average electron mobility compared to control devices using Si nanowires due to an increased electron mobility in the tensile-strained Si shell.

  20. Engineering hybrid epitaxial InAsSb/Al nanowires for stronger topological protection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sestoft, Joachim E.; Kanne, Thomas; Gejl, Aske Nørskov

    2018-01-01

    The combination of strong spin-orbit coupling, large g factors, and the coupling to a superconductor can be used to create a topologically protected state in a semiconductor nanowire. Here we report on growth and characterization of hybrid epitaxial InAsSb/Al nanowires, with varying composition a...

  1. Fluorinated alkyne-derived monolayers on oxide-free silicon nanowires via one-step hydrosilylation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nguyen Minh, Quyen [Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen (Netherlands); Nanosens, IJsselkade 7, 7201 HB Zutphen (Netherlands); Pujari, Sidharam P. [Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen (Netherlands); Wang, Bin [The Department of Chemical Engineering and Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003 (Israel); Wang, Zhanhua [Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen (Netherlands); Haick, Hossam [The Department of Chemical Engineering and Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003 (Israel); Zuilhof, Han [Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen (Netherlands); Rijn, Cees J.M. van, E-mail: cees.vanrijn@wur.nl [Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen (Netherlands)

    2016-11-30

    Highlights: • Oxide-free H-terminated silicon nanowires undergo efficient surface modification by reaction with fluorinated 1-alkynes (HC≡C−(CH{sub 2}){sub 6}C{sub 8}H{sub 17−x}F{sub x}; x = 0–17). • These surface-modified Si NWs are chemically stable under range of conditions (including acid, base). • The surface coating yields efficient electrical passivation as demonstrated by a near-zero electrochemical activity of the surface. - Abstract: Passivation of oxide-free silicon nanowires (Si NWs) by the formation of high-quality fluorinated 1-hexadecyne-derived monolayers with varying fluorine content has been investigated. Alkyl chain monolayers (C{sub 16}H{sub 30−x}F{sub x}) with a varying number of fluorine substituents (x = 0, 1, 3, 9, 17) were attached onto hydrogen-terminated silicon (Si−H) surfaces with an effective one-step hydrosilylation. This surface chemistry gives well-defined monolayers on nanowires that have a cylindrical core–shell structure, as characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and static contact angle (SCA) analysis. The monolayers were stable under acidic and basic conditions, as well as under extreme conditions (such as UV exposure), and provide excellent surface passivation, which opens up applications in the fields of field effect transistors, optoelectronics and especially for disease diagnosis.

  2. UV-Assisted Photochemical Synthesis of Reduced Graphene Oxide/ZnO Nanowires Composite for Photoresponse Enhancement in UV Photodetectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Changsong Chen

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The weak photon absorption and high recombination rate of electron-hole pairs in disordered zinc oxide nanowires (ZNWs limit its application in UV photodetection. This limitation can be overcome by introducing graphene sheets to the ZNWs. Herein we report a high-performance photodetector based on one-dimensional (1D wide band-gap semiconductor disordered ZNWs composited with reduced graphene oxide (RGO for ultraviolet (UV photoresponse enhancement. The RGO/ZNWs composites have been successfully synthetized through UV-assisted photochemical reduction of GO in ZNWs suspension. The material characterizations in morphology, Raman scattering, and Ultraviolet-visible light absorption verified the formation of graphene sheets attached in ZNWs network and the enhancement of UV absorption due to the introduction of graphene. In comparison with photodetectors based on pure ZNWs, the photodetectors based on RGO/ZNWs composite exhibit enhanced photoresponse with photocurrent density of 5.87 mA·cm−2, on/off current ratio of 3.01 × 104, and responsivity of 1.83 A·W−1 when a UV irradiation of 3.26 mW·cm−2 and 1.0 V bias were used. Theory analysis is also presented to get insight into the inherent mechanisms of separation and transportation of photo-excited carriers in RGO/ZNWs composite.

  3. UV-Assisted Photochemical Synthesis of Reduced Graphene Oxide/ZnO Nanowires Composite for Photoresponse Enhancement in UV Photodetectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Changsong; Zhou, Peng; Wang, Na; Ma, Yang; San, Haisheng

    2018-01-05

    The weak photon absorption and high recombination rate of electron-hole pairs in disordered zinc oxide nanowires (ZNWs) limit its application in UV photodetection. This limitation can be overcome by introducing graphene sheets to the ZNWs. Herein we report a high-performance photodetector based on one-dimensional (1D) wide band-gap semiconductor disordered ZNWs composited with reduced graphene oxide (RGO) for ultraviolet (UV) photoresponse enhancement. The RGO/ZNWs composites have been successfully synthetized through UV-assisted photochemical reduction of GO in ZNWs suspension. The material characterizations in morphology, Raman scattering, and Ultraviolet-visible light absorption verified the formation of graphene sheets attached in ZNWs network and the enhancement of UV absorption due to the introduction of graphene. In comparison with photodetectors based on pure ZNWs, the photodetectors based on RGO/ZNWs composite exhibit enhanced photoresponse with photocurrent density of 5.87 mA·cm -2 , on/off current ratio of 3.01 × 10⁴, and responsivity of 1.83 A·W -1 when a UV irradiation of 3.26 mW·cm -2 and 1.0 V bias were used. Theory analysis is also presented to get insight into the inherent mechanisms of separation and transportation of photo-excited carriers in RGO/ZNWs composite.

  4. Silicon nanowires nanogenerator based on the piezoelectricity of alpha-quartz.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Kui; Lin, Haiyang; Cai, Qian; Zhao, Yi; Lee, Shuit-Tong; Hu, Fei; Shao, Mingwang

    2013-12-21

    Silicon nanowires are important semiconductor with core/shell structure. In this work, the piezoelectric material alpha-quartz was grown in the interface of silicon nanowires by thermal treatment at 600 °C for 0.5 h. These nanowires were employed as starting materials to fabricate piezoelectric nanogenerators, which could convert kinetic energy into electrical one, exhibiting an output voltage of 36.5 V and a response current of 1.4 μA under a free-falling object of 300 g at a height of 30 cm.

  5. Synthesis of uniform CdS nanowires in high yield and its single nanowire electrical property

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan Shancheng; Sun Litao; Qu Peng; Huang Ninping; Song Yinchen; Xiao Zhongdang

    2009-01-01

    Large-scale high quality CdS nanowires with uniform diameter were synthesized by using a rapid and simple solvothermal route. Field emission scan electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images show that the CdS nanowires have diameter of about 26 nm and length up to several micrometres. High resolution TEM (HRTEM) study indicates the single-crystalline nature of CdS nanowires with an oriented growth along the c-axis direction. The optical properties of the products were characterized by UV-vis absorption spectra, photoluminescence spectra and Raman spectra. The resistivity, electron concentration and electron mobility of single NW are calculated by fitting the symmetric I-V curves measured on single NW by the metal-semiconductor-metal model based on thermionic field emission theory. - Graphical abstract: Large-scale high quality CdS nanowires (NWs) with uniform diameter were synthesized by using a rapid and simple solvothermal route. The reaction time is reduced to 2 h, comparing to other synthesis which needed long reaction time up to 12 h. In addition, the as-prepared CdS nanowires have more uniform diameter and high yield. More importantly, the I-V curve of present single CdS nanowire has a good symmetric characteristic as expected by the theory.

  6. Production of zinc oxide nanowires power with precisely defined morphology

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Mičová, J.; Remeš, Zdeněk; Chang, Yu-Ying

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 68, č. 7 (2017), s. 66-69 ISSN 1335-3632 R&D Projects: GA ČR GC16-10429J Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) KONNECT-007 Program:Bilaterální spolupráce Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : zinc oxide nanowires * hydrothermal growth method * scanning electron microscopy (SEM) Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism OBOR OECD: Condensed matter physics (including formerly solid state physics, supercond.) Impact factor: 0.483, year: 2016

  7. Mesoporous nickel oxide nanowires: hydrothermal synthesis, characterisation and applications for lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors with superior performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Dawei; Kim, Hyun-Soo; Kim, Woo-Seong; Wang, Guoxiu

    2012-06-25

    Mesoporous nickel oxide nanowires were synthesized by a hydrothermal reaction and subsequent annealing at 400 °C. The porous one-dimensional nanostructures were analysed by field-emission SEM, high-resolution TEM and N(2) adsorption/desorption isotherm measurements. When applied as the anode material in lithium-ion batteries, the as-prepared mesoporous nickel oxide nanowires demonstrated outstanding electrochemical performance with high lithium storage capacity, satisfactory cyclability and an excellent rate capacity. They also exhibited a high specific capacitance of 348 F g(-1) as electrodes in supercapacitors. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  8. Oxygen deficiency in MoO{sub 3} polycrystalline nanowires and nanotubes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Varlec, Ana, E-mail: ana.varlec@ijs.si [Condensed Matter Physics, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Arčon, Denis [Condensed Matter Physics, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Jadranska cesta 19, SI-1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Škapin, Srečo D. [Advanced Materials Department, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Remškar, Maja [Condensed Matter Physics, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia)

    2016-02-15

    We report on the synthesis of polycrystalline molybdenum oxide (MoO{sub 3}) nanowires via oxidation of molybdenum-sulfur-iodine (Mo{sub 6}S{sub 2}I{sub 8}) nanowires. This unique synthesis route results in an interesting morphology comprising porous nanowires and nanotubes. We found the nanowires to have the orthorhombic MoO{sub 3} structure. The structure is slightly oxygen deficient which results in the appearance of a new resonant Raman band (1004 cm{sup −1}) and paramagnetic defects (Mo{sup 5+}) of both the point and crystallographic shear plane nature. - Highlights: • Polycrystalline MoO{sub 3} nanowires were obtained via oxidation of Mo{sub 6}S{sub 2}I{sub 8} nanowires. • Nanowires are porous and tubular with either filled or empty interior. • Nanowires are slightly oxygen deficient which leads to a new Raman band.

  9. Porous Silicon Nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qu, Yongquan; Zhou, Hailong; Duan, Xiangfeng

    2011-01-01

    In this minreview, we summarize recent progress in the synthesis, properties and applications of a new type of one-dimensional nanostructures — single crystalline porous silicon nanowires. The growth of porous silicon nanowires starting from both p- and n-type Si wafers with a variety of dopant concentrations can be achieved through either one-step or two-step reactions. The mechanistic studies indicate the dopant concentration of Si wafers, oxidizer concentration, etching time and temperature can affect the morphology of the as-etched silicon nanowires. The porous silicon nanowires are both optically and electronically active and have been explored for potential applications in diverse areas including photocatalysis, lithium ion battery, gas sensor and drug delivery. PMID:21869999

  10. Simulation the spatial resolution of an X-ray imager based on zinc oxide nanowires in anodic aluminium oxide membrane by using MCNP and OPTICS Codes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samarin, S. N.; Saramad, S.

    2018-05-01

    The spatial resolution of a detector is a very important parameter for x-ray imaging. A bulk scintillation detector because of spreading of light inside the scintillator does't have a good spatial resolution. The nanowire scintillators because of their wave guiding behavior can prevent the spreading of light and can improve the spatial resolution of traditional scintillation detectors. The zinc oxide (ZnO) scintillator nanowire, with its simple construction by electrochemical deposition in regular hexagonal structure of Aluminum oxide membrane has many advantages. The three dimensional absorption of X-ray energy in ZnO scintillator is simulated by a Monte Carlo transport code (MCNP). The transport, attenuation and scattering of the generated photons are simulated by a general-purpose scintillator light response simulation code (OPTICS). The results are compared with a previous publication which used a simulation code of the passage of particles through matter (Geant4). The results verify that this scintillator nanowire structure has a spatial resolution less than one micrometer.

  11. Where science fiction meets reality? With oxide semiconductors.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fortunato, E.; Martins, R. [CENIMAT/I3N, Departamento de Ciencia dos Materiais, Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, CEMOP-UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica (Portugal)

    2011-09-15

    Transparent electronics is today one of the most advanced topics for a wide range of device applications, where the key components are wide band gap semiconductors, where oxides of different origin play an important role, not only as passive components but also as active components similar to what we observe in conventional semiconductors. As passive components they include the use of these materials as dielectrics for a wide range of electronic devices and also as transparent electrical conductors for use in several optoelectronic applications, such as liquid crystal displays, organic light emitting diodes, solar cells, optical sensors etc. As active materials, they exploit the use of truly electronic semiconductors where the main emphasis is being put on transparent thin film transistors, light emitting diodes, lasers, ultraviolet sensors and integrated circuits among others. (copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  12. Enhanced Photon Extraction from a Nanowire Quantum Dot Using a Bottom-Up Photonic Shell

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jeannin, Mathieu; Cremel, Thibault; Häyrynen, Teppo

    2017-01-01

    Semiconductor nanowires offer the possibility to grow high-quality quantum-dot heterostructures, and, in particular, CdSe quantum dots inserted in ZnSe nanowires have demonstrated the ability to emit single photons up to room temperature. In this paper, we demonstrate a bottom-up approach...

  13. Heterojunction metal-oxide-metal Au-Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}-Au single nanowire device for spintronics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reddy, K. M., E-mail: mrkongara@boisestate.edu; Punnoose, Alex; Hanna, Charles [Department of Physics, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho 83725 (United States); Padture, Nitin P. [School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912 (United States)

    2015-05-07

    In this report, we present the synthesis of heterojunction magnetite nanowires in alumina template and describe magnetic and electrical properties from a single nanowire device for spintronics applications. Heterojunction Au-Fe-Au nanowire arrays were electrodeposited in porous aluminum oxide templates, and an extensive and controlled heat treatment process converted Fe segment to nanocrystalline cubic magnetite phase with well-defined Au-Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} interfaces as confirmed by the transmission electron microscopy. Magnetic measurements revealed Verwey transition shoulder around 120 K and a room temperature coercive field of 90 Oe. Current–voltage (I-V) characteristics of a single Au-Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}-Au nanowire have exhibited Ohmic behavior. Anomalous positive magnetoresistance of about 0.5% is observed on a single nanowire, which is attributed to the high spin polarization in nanowire device with pure Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} phase and nanocontact barrier. This work demonstrates the ability to preserve the pristine Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} and well defined electrode contact metal (Au)–magnetite interface, which helps in attaining high spin polarized current.

  14. Integration, gap formation, and sharpening of III-V heterostructure nanowires by selective etching

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kallesoe, C.; Mølhave, Kristian; Larsen, K. F.

    2010-01-01

    Epitaxial growth of heterostructure nanowires allows for the definition of narrow sections with specific semiconductor composition. The authors demonstrate how postgrowth engineering of III-V heterostructure nanowires using selective etching can form gaps, sharpening of tips, and thin sections...... lithography is used for deposition of catalyst particles on trench sidewalls and the lateral growth of III-V nanowires is achieved from such catalysts. The selectivity of a bromine-based etch on gallium arsenide segments in gallium phosphide nanowires is examined, using a hydrochloride etch to remove the III...

  15. Superconductive silicon nanowires using gallium beam lithography.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Henry, Michael David; Jarecki, Robert Leo,

    2014-01-01

    This work was an early career LDRD investigating the idea of using a focused ion beam (FIB) to implant Ga into silicon to create embedded nanowires and/or fully suspended nanowires. The embedded Ga nanowires demonstrated electrical resistivity of 5 m-cm, conductivity down to 4 K, and acts as an Ohmic silicon contact. The suspended nanowires achieved dimensions down to 20 nm x 30 nm x 10 m with large sensitivity to pressure. These structures then performed well as Pirani gauges. Sputtered niobium was also developed in this research for use as a superconductive coating on the nanowire. Oxidation characteristics of Nb were detailed and a technique to place the Nb under tensile stress resulted in the Nb resisting bulk atmospheric oxidation for up to years.

  16. Long Silver Nanowires Synthesis by Pulsed Electrodeposition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.R. Batevandi

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Silver nanowires were pulse electrodeposited into nanopore anodic alumina oxide templates. The effects of continuous and pulse electrodeposition waveform on the microstructure properties of the nanowire arrays were studied. It is seen that the microstructure of nanowire is depend to pulse condition. The off time duration of pulse waveform enables to control the growth direction of Ag nanowires.

  17. Metal/oxide/semiconductor interface investigated by monoenergetic positrons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uedono, A.; Tanigawa, S.; Ohji, Y.

    1988-10-01

    Variable-energy positron-beam studies have been carried out for the first time on a metal/oxide/semiconductor (MOS) structure of polycrystalline Si/SiO 2/Si-substrate. We were successful in collecting injected positrons at the SiO 2/Si interface by the application of an electric field between the MOS electrodes.

  18. Doping assessment in GaAs nanowires

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Goktas, N. Isik; Fiordaliso, Elisabetta Maria; LaPierre, R. R.

    2018-01-01

    Semiconductor nanowires (NWs) are a candidate technology for future optoelectronic devices. One of the critical issues in NWs is the control of impurity doping for the formation of p-n junctions. In this study, beryllium (p-type dopant) and tellurium (n-type dopant) in self-assisted GaAs NWs...

  19. Highly stable field emission from ZnO nanowire field emitters controlled by an amorphous indium–gallium–zinc-oxide thin film transistor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiaojie; Wang, Ying; Zhang, Zhipeng; Ou, Hai; She, Juncong; Deng, Shaozhi; Xu, Ningsheng; Chen, Jun

    2018-04-01

    Lowering the driving voltage and improving the stability of nanowire field emitters are essential for them to be applied in devices. In this study the characteristics of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire field emitter arrays (FEAs) controlled by an amorphous indium–gallium–zinc-oxide thin film transistor (a-IGZO TFT) were studied. A low driving voltage along with stabilization of the field emission current were achieved. Modulation of field emission currents up to three orders of magnitude was achieved at a gate voltage of 0–32 V for a constant anode voltage. Additionally, a-IGZO TFT control can dramatically reduce the emission current fluctuation (i.e., from 46.11 to 1.79% at an emission current of ∼3.7 µA). Both the a-IGZO TFT and ZnO nanowire FEAs were prepared on glass substrates in our research, demonstrating the feasibility of realizing large area a-IGZO TFT-controlled ZnO nanowire FEAs.

  20. In situ synthesis and catalytic application of reduced graphene oxide supported cobalt nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Zhiqiang; Long, Qin; Deng, Yi; Liao, Li

    2018-05-01

    Controlled synthesis of magnetic nanocomposite with outstanding catalytic performances is a promising strategy in catalyst industry. We proposed a novel concept for fabrication of reduced graphene oxide-supported cobalt nanowires (RGO/Co-NWs) nanocomposite as high-efficient magnetic catalyst. Unlike the majority of experiments necessitating harsh synthesis conditions such as high-pressure, high-temperature and expensive template, here the RGO/Co-NWs were successfully prepared in aqueous solution under mild conditions with the assistance of external magnetic field. The synthetic process was facile and external magnetic force was adopted to induce the unidirectional self-assembly of cobalt crystals on graphene oxide to form RGO/Co-NWs. The possible formation mechanism laid on the fact that the dipole magnetic moments of the nanoparticles were aligned along the magnetic induction lines with the external magnetic field direction resulting in the formation of nanowires elongating in the direction of the magnetization axis. Simultaneously, a series of controlled reactions were conducted to illuminate the effect of graphene oxide, external magnetic field and PVP on the morphology and size of RGO/Co-NWs in the present approach. More importantly, the nanocomposite exhibited a high catalytic performance towards ammonia borane. Hence the novel nanocomposite holds a great potential for technological applications such as catalyst industry.

  1. Growth Mechanism of Nanowires: Binary and Ternary Chalcogenides

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, N. B.; Coriell, S. R.; Su, Ching-Hua; Hopkins, R. H.; Arnold, B.; Choa, Fow-Sen; Cullum, Brian

    2016-01-01

    Semiconductor nanowires exhibit very exciting optical and electrical properties including high transparency and a several order of magnitude better photocurrent than thin film and bulk materials. We present here the mechanism of nanowire growth from the melt-liquid-vapor medium. We describe preliminary results of binary and ternary selenide materials in light of recent theories. Experiments were performed with lead selenide and thallium arsenic selenide systems which are multifunctional material and have been used for detectors, acousto-optical, nonlinear and radiation detection applications. We observed that small units of nanocubes and elongated nanoparticles arrange and rearrange at moderate melt undercooling to form the building block of a nanowire. Since we avoided the catalyst, we observed self-nucleation and uncontrolled growth of wires from different places. Growth of lead selenide nanowires was performed by physical vapor transport method and thallium arsenic selenide nanowire by vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) method. In some cases very long wires (>mm) are formed. To achieve this goal experiments were performed to create situation where nanowires grew on the surface of solid thallium arsenic selenide itself.

  2. Label-free electrochemical immunosensor based on cerium oxide nanowires for Vibrio cholerae O1 detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tam, Phuong Dinh; Thang, Cao Xuan

    2016-01-01

    This paper developed a label-free immunosensor based on cerium oxide nanowire for Vibrio cholerae O1 detection application. The CeO 2 nanowires were synthesized by hydrothermal reaction. The immobilization of Anti-V. cholerae O1 onto CeO 2 nanowire-deposited sensor was performed via an amino ester, which was created by using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide, and sulfo-N-hydroxysuccinimide. The electrochemical responses of the immunosensor were studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy with [Fe (CN) 6 ] 3−/4− as redox probe. A linear response in electron transfer resistance for cell of V. cholerae O1 concentration was found in the range of 1.0 × 10 2 CFU/mL to 1.0 × 10 4 CFU/mL. The detection limit of the immunosensor was 1.0 × 10 2 CFU/mL. The immunosensor sensitivity was 56.82 Ω/CFU·mL −1 . Furthermore, the parameters affecting immunosensor response were also investigated, as follows: pH value, immunoreaction time, incubation temperature, and anti-V. cholerae O1 concentration. - Highlights: • A label-free immunosensor based on cerium oxide nanowire for Vibrio cholerae O1 detection application was developed. • A linear response was found in the range of 1.0 × 10 2 CFU/mL to 1.0 × 10 4 CFU/mL. • The detection limit of the immunosensor was 1.0 × 10 2 CFU/mL. • The immunosensor sensitivity was 56.82 Ω/CFU.mL −1 .

  3. Silicon nanowires for photovoltaic solar energy conversion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Kui-Qing; Lee, Shuit-Tong

    2011-01-11

    Semiconductor nanowires are attracting intense interest as a promising material for solar energy conversion for the new-generation photovoltaic (PV) technology. In particular, silicon nanowires (SiNWs) are under active investigation for PV applications because they offer novel approaches for solar-to-electric energy conversion leading to high-efficiency devices via simple manufacturing. This article reviews the recent developments in the utilization of SiNWs for PV applications, the relationship between SiNW-based PV device structure and performance, and the challenges to obtaining high-performance cost-effective solar cells.

  4. Silicon nanowire hybrid photovoltaics

    KAUST Repository

    Garnett, Erik C.

    2010-06-01

    Silicon nanowire Schottky junction solar cells have been fabricated using n-type silicon nanowire arrays and a spin-coated conductive polymer (PEDOT). The polymer Schottky junction cells show superior surface passivation and open-circuit voltages compared to standard diffused junction cells with native oxide surfaces. External quantum efficiencies up to 88% were measured for these silicon nanowire/PEDOT solar cells further demonstrating excellent surface passivation. This process avoids high temperature processes which allows for low-cost substrates to be used. © 2010 IEEE.

  5. Silicon nanowire hybrid photovoltaics

    KAUST Repository

    Garnett, Erik C.; Peters, Craig; Brongersma, Mark; Cui, Yi; McGehee, Mike

    2010-01-01

    Silicon nanowire Schottky junction solar cells have been fabricated using n-type silicon nanowire arrays and a spin-coated conductive polymer (PEDOT). The polymer Schottky junction cells show superior surface passivation and open-circuit voltages compared to standard diffused junction cells with native oxide surfaces. External quantum efficiencies up to 88% were measured for these silicon nanowire/PEDOT solar cells further demonstrating excellent surface passivation. This process avoids high temperature processes which allows for low-cost substrates to be used. © 2010 IEEE.

  6. Towards quantum dots on GaAs nanowires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moesl, Johannes; Ludwig, Stefan [Fakultaet fuer Physik, Center for NanoScience, LMU Munich, Geschwister-Scholl- Platz 1, D-80539 Muenchen (Germany); Fontcuberta i Morral, Anna [TU Munich, Walter Schottky Institut, Am Coulombwall 3, 85748 Garching (Germany); EPF, Lausanne (Switzerland)

    2009-07-01

    Semiconductor nanowires is an emergent research topic in the field of nanoelectronics, as they form an excellent building block for 0D and 1D applications and allow novel architectures and material combinations. We study electronic transport properties of catalyst-free MBE grown GaAs nanowires, p-doped at a number of different doping levels. Detailed characterization of the wires including electronic contacts fabricated by e-beam lithography and based on palladium or annealed zinc-silver alloys are discussed. Contact properties and a pronounced hysteresis of the current through the nanowires, as a backgate-voltage is swept, are explained within tentative models. In addition we present first transport measurements on quantum dots, which are defined electrostatically as well as by etched constrictions.

  7. Dye-sensitized solar cell architecture based on indium-tin oxide nanowires coated with titanium dioxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joanni, Ednan; Savu, Raluca; Sousa Goes, Marcio de; Bueno, Paulo Roberto; Nei de Freitas, Jilian; Nogueira, Ana Flavia; Longo, Elson; Varela, Jose Arana

    2007-01-01

    A new architecture for dye-sensitized solar cells is employed, based on a nanostructured transparent conducting oxide protruding from the substrate, covered with a separate active oxide layer. The objective is to decrease electron-hole recombination. The concept was tested by growing branched indium-tin oxide nanowires on glass using pulsed laser deposition followed by deposition of a sputtered titanium dioxide layer covering the wires. The separation of charge generation and charge transport functions opens many possibilities for dye-sensitized solar cell optimization

  8. Preparation and Use of Photocatalytically Active Segmented Ag|ZnO and Coaxial TiO2-Ag Nanowires Made by Templated Electrodeposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maijenburg, A. Wouter; Rodijk, Eddy J.B.; Maas, Michiel G.; ten Elshof, Johan E.

    2014-01-01

    Photocatalytically active nanostructures require a large specific surface area with the presence of many catalytically active sites for the oxidation and reduction half reactions, and fast electron (hole) diffusion and charge separation. Nanowires present suitable architectures to meet these requirements. Axially segmented Ag|ZnO and radially segmented (coaxial) TiO2-Ag nanowires with a diameter of 200 nm and a length of 6-20 µm were made by templated electrodeposition within the pores of polycarbonate track-etched (PCTE) or anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes, respectively. In the photocatalytic experiments, the ZnO and TiO2 phases acted as photoanodes, and Ag as cathode. No external circuit is needed to connect both electrodes, which is a key advantage over conventional photo-electrochemical cells. For making segmented Ag|ZnO nanowires, the Ag salt electrolyte was replaced after formation of the Ag segment to form a ZnO segment attached to the Ag segment. For making coaxial TiO2-Ag nanowires, a TiO2 gel was first formed by the electrochemically induced sol-gel method. Drying and thermal annealing of the as-formed TiO2 gel resulted in the formation of crystalline TiO2 nanotubes. A subsequent Ag electrodeposition step inside the TiO2 nanotubes resulted in formation of coaxial TiO2-Ag nanowires. Due to the combination of an n-type semiconductor (ZnO or TiO2) and a metal (Ag) within the same nanowire, a Schottky barrier was created at the interface between the phases. To demonstrate the photocatalytic activity of these nanowires, the Ag|ZnO nanowires were used in a photocatalytic experiment in which H2 gas was detected upon UV illumination of the nanowires dispersed in a methanol/water mixture. After 17 min of illumination, approximately 0.2 vol% H2 gas was detected from a suspension of ~0.1 g of Ag|ZnO nanowires in a 50 ml 80 vol% aqueous methanol solution. PMID:24837535

  9. Flexible ultraviolet photodetectors based on ZnO-SnO2 heterojunction nanowire arrays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lou, Zheng; Yang, Xiaoli; Chen, Haoran; Liang, Zhongzhu

    2018-02-01

    A ZnO-SnO2 nanowires (NWs) array, as a metal oxide semiconductor, was successfully synthesized by a near-field electrospinning method for the applications as high performance ultraviolet photodetectors. Ultraviolet photodetectors based on a single nanowire exhibited excellent photoresponse properties to 300 nm ultraviolet light illumination including ultrahigh I on/I off ratios (up to 103), good stability and reproducibility because of the separation between photo-generated electron-hole pairs. Moreover, the NWs array shows an enhanced photosensing performance. Flexible photodetectors on the PI substrates with similar tendency properties were also fabricated. In addition, under various bending curvatures and cycles, the as-fabricated flexible photodetectors revealed mechanical flexibility and good stable electrical properties, showing that they have the potential for applications in future flexible photoelectron devices. Project supported by the National Science Foundation of China (No. 61504136) and the State Key Laboratory of Applied Optics, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  10. Semiconductor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-01-01

    This book deals with process and measurement of semiconductor. It contains 20 chapters, which goes as follows; semiconductor industry, introduction of semiconductor manufacturing, yield of semiconductor process, materials, crystal growth and a wafer forming, PN, control pollution, oxidation, photomasking photoresist chemistry, photomasking technologies, diffusion and ion injection, chemical vapor deposition, metallization, wafer test and way of evaluation, semiconductor elements, integrated circuit and semiconductor circuit technology.

  11. New Applications of Electrochemically Produced Porous Semiconductors and Nanowire Arrays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leisner Malte

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The growing demand for electro mobility together with advancing concepts for renewable energy as primary power sources requires sophisticated methods of energy storage. In this work, we present a Li ion battery based on Si nanowires, which can be produced reliable and cheaply and which shows superior properties, such as a largely increased capacity and cycle stability. Sophisticated methods based on electrochemical pore etching allow to produce optimized regular arrays of nanowires, which can be stabilized by intrinsic cross-links, which serve to avoid unwanted stiction effects and allow easy processing.

  12. Oxide semiconductors

    CERN Document Server

    Svensson, Bengt G; Jagadish, Chennupati

    2013-01-01

    Semiconductors and Semimetals has distinguished itself through the careful selection of well-known authors, editors, and contributors. Originally widely known as the ""Willardson and Beer"" Series, it has succeeded in publishing numerous landmark volumes and chapters. The series publishes timely, highly relevant volumes intended for long-term impact and reflecting the truly interdisciplinary nature of the field. The volumes in Semiconductors and Semimetals have been and will continue to be of great interest to physicists, chemists, materials scientists, and device engineers in academia, scient

  13. Location deterministic biosensing from quantum-dot-nanowire assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Chao; Kim, Kwanoh; Fan, D. L.

    2014-01-01

    Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) with high fluorescent brightness, stability, and tunable sizes, have received considerable interest for imaging, sensing, and delivery of biomolecules. In this research, we demonstrate location deterministic biochemical detection from arrays of QD-nanowire hybrid assemblies. QDs with diameters less than 10 nm are manipulated and precisely positioned on the tips of the assembled Gold (Au) nanowires. The manipulation mechanisms are quantitatively understood as the synergetic effects of dielectrophoretic (DEP) and alternating current electroosmosis (ACEO) due to AC electric fields. The QD-nanowire hybrid sensors operate uniquely by concentrating bioanalytes to QDs on the tips of nanowires before detection, offering much enhanced efficiency and sensitivity, in addition to the position-predictable rationality. This research could result in advances in QD-based biomedical detection and inspires an innovative approach for fabricating various QD-based nanodevices.

  14. Supersensitive, Fast-Response Nanowire Sensors by Using Schottky Contacts

    KAUST Repository

    Hu, Youfan

    2010-05-31

    A Schottky barrier can be formed at the interface between a metal electrode and a semiconductor. The current passing through the metal-semiconductor contact is mainly controlled by the barrier height and barrier width. In conventional nanodevices, Schottky contacts are usually avoided in order to enhance the contribution made by the nanowires or nanotubes to the detected signal. We present a key idea of using the Schottky contact to achieve supersensitive and fast response nanowire-based nanosensors. We have illustrated this idea on several platforms: UV sensors, biosensors, and gas sensors. The gigantic enhancement in sensitivity of up to 5 orders of magnitude shows that an effective usage of the Schottky contact can be very beneficial to the sensitivity of nanosensors. © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  15. Andreev molecules in semiconductor nanowire double quantum dots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Zhaoen; Tacla, Alexandre B; Hocevar, Moïra; Car, Diana; Plissard, Sébastien R; Bakkers, Erik P A M; Daley, Andrew J; Pekker, David; Frolov, Sergey M

    2017-09-19

    Chains of quantum dots coupled to superconductors are promising for the realization of the Kitaev model of a topological superconductor. While individual superconducting quantum dots have been explored, control of longer chains requires understanding of interdot coupling. Here, double quantum dots are defined by gate voltages in indium antimonide nanowires. High transparency superconducting niobium titanium nitride contacts are made to each of the dots in order to induce superconductivity, as well as probe electron transport. Andreev bound states induced on each of dots hybridize to define Andreev molecular states. The evolution of these states is studied as a function of charge parity on the dots, and in magnetic field. The experiments are found in agreement with a numerical model.Quantum dots in a nanowire are one possible approach to creating a solid-state quantum simulator. Here, the authors demonstrate the coupling of electronic states in a double quantum dot to form Andreev molecule states; a potential building block for longer chains suitable for quantum simulation.

  16. PREFACE: Synthesis and integration of nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samuelson, L.

    2006-06-01

    The field of semiconductor nanowires has attracted much attention in recent years, from the areas of basic materials science, advanced characterization and technology, as well as from the perspective of the applications of nanowires. Research on large-sized whiskers and wires had already begun in the 1960s with the pioneering work of Wagner, as well as by other researchers. It was, however, in the early 1990s that Kenji Hiruma at Hitachi Central Research Laboratories in Japan first succeeded in developing methods for the growth of nanowires with dimensions on the scale of 10-100 nm, thereby initiating the field of growth and applications of nanowires, with a strong emphasis on epitaxial nucleation of nanowires on a single-crystalline substrate. Starting from the mid-1990s, the field developed very rapidly with the number of papers on the subject growing from ten per year to several thousand papers on the subject published annually today, although with a rather generous definition of the concept of nanowires. With this rapid development we have seen many new and different approaches to the growth of nanowires, technological advances leading to a more well-controlled formation of nanowires, new innovative methods for the characterization of structures, as well as a wealth of approaches towards the use of nanowires in electronics, photonics and sensor applications. This issue contains contributions from many different laboratories, each adding significant detail to the development of the field of research. The contributions cover issues such as basic growth, advanced characterization and technology, and application of nanowires. I would like to acknowledge the shared responsibilities for this special issue of Nanotechnology on the synthesis and integration of nanowires with my co-Editors, S Tong Lee and M Sunkara, as well as the highly professional support from Dr Nina Couzin, Dr Ian Forbes and the Nanotechnology team from the Institute of Physics Publishing.

  17. Characterization of Interface State in Silicon Carbide Metal Oxide Semiconductor Capacitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kao, Wei-Chieh

    Silicon carbide (SiC) has always been considered as an excellent material for high temperature and high power devices. Since SiC is the only compound semiconductor whose native oxide is silicon dioxide (SiO2), it puts SiC in a unique position. Although SiC metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) technology has made significant progress in recent years, there are still a number of issues to be overcome before more commercial SiC devices can enter the market. The prevailing issues surrounding SiC MOSFET devices are the low channel mobility, the low quality of the oxide layer and the high interface state density at the SiC/SiO2 interface. Consequently, there is a need for research to be performed in order to have a better understanding of the factors causing the poor SiC/SiO2 interface properties. In this work, we investigated the generation lifetime in SiC materials by using the pulsed metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) capacitor method and measured the interface state density distribution at the SiC/SiO2 interface by using the conductance measurement and the high-low frequency capacitance technique. These measurement techniques have been performed on n-type and p-type SiC MOS capacitors. In the course of our investigation, we observed fast interface states at semiconductor-dielectric interfaces in SiC MOS capacitors that underwent three different interface passivation processes, such states were detected in the nitrided samples but not observed in PSG-passivated samples. This result indicate that the lack of fast states at PSG-passivated interface is one of the main reasons for higher channel mobility in PSG MOSFETs. In addition, the effect of mobile ions in the oxide on the response time of interface states has been investigated. In the last chapter we propose additional methods of investigation that can help elucidate the origin of the particular interface states, enabling a more complete understanding of the SiC/SiO2 material system.

  18. Guided Growth of Horizontal p-Type ZnTe Nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    A major challenge toward large-scale integration of nanowires is the control over their alignment and position. A possible solution to this challenge is the guided growth process, which enables the synthesis of well-aligned horizontal nanowires that grow according to specific epitaxial or graphoepitaxial relations with the substrate. However, the guided growth of horizontal nanowires was demonstrated for a limited number of materials, most of which exhibit unintentional n-type behavior. Here we demonstrate the vapor–liquid–solid growth of guided horizontal ZnTe nanowires and nanowalls displaying p-type behavior on four different planes of sapphire. The growth directions of the nanowires are determined by epitaxial relations between the nanowires and the substrate or by a graphoepitaxial effect that guides their growth along nanogrooves or nanosteps along the surface. We characterized the crystallographic orientations and elemental composition of the nanowires using transmission electron microscopy and photoluminescence. The optoelectronic and electronic properties of the nanowires were studied by fabricating photodetectors and top-gate thin film transistors. These measurements showed that the guided ZnTe nanowires are p-type semiconductors and are photoconductive in the visible range. The guided growth of horizontal p-type nanowires opens up the possibility of parallel nanowire integration into functional systems with a variety of potential applications not available by other means. PMID:27885331

  19. Fabrication of CoPd alloy nanowire arrays on an anodic aluminum oxide/Ti/Si substrate and their enhanced magnetic properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu Cailing; Li Hua; Xue Tong; Li Hulin

    2006-01-01

    An anodic aluminum oxide/Ti/Si substrate was successfully synthesized by the anodization of an aluminum film on a Ti/Si substrate and then used as a template to grow 10 nm diameter CoPd alloy nanowires. X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersed X-ray patterns indicated that Co 0.97 Pd 0.03 nanowire arrays with a preferential orientation of (0 0 2) were formed during electrodeposition. High coercivity (about 1700 Oe) and squareness (about 0.85) were obtained in the samples when the magnetic field was applied parallel to the axis of the nanowires; these values are much larger than those of pure Co nanowire arrays with the same diameters

  20. Preparation and characterization of flexible asymmetric supercapacitors based on transition-metal-oxide nanowire/single-walled carbon nanotube hybrid thin-film electrodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Po-Chiang; Shen, Guozhen; Shi, Yi; Chen, Haitian; Zhou, Chongwu

    2010-08-24

    In the work described in this paper, we have successfully fabricated flexible asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs) based on transition-metal-oxide nanowire/single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) hybrid thin-film electrodes. These hybrid nanostructured films, with advantages of mechanical flexibility, uniform layered structures, and mesoporous surface morphology, were produced by using a filtration method. Here, manganese dioxide nanowire/SWNT hybrid films worked as the positive electrode, and indium oxide nanowire/SWNT hybrid films served as the negative electrode in a designed ASC. In our design, charges can be stored not only via electrochemical double-layer capacitance from SWNT films but also through a reversible faradic process from transition-metal-oxide nanowires. In addition, to obtain stable electrochemical behavior during charging/discharging cycles in a 2 V potential window, the mass balance between two electrodes has been optimized. Our optimized hybrid nanostructured ASCs exhibited a superior device performance with specific capacitance of 184 F/g, energy density of 25.5 Wh/kg, and columbic efficiency of approximately 90%. In addition, our ASCs exhibited a power density of 50.3 kW/kg, which is 10-fold higher than obtained in early reported ASC work. The high-performance hybrid nanostructured ASCs can find applications in conformal electrics, portable electronics, and electrical vehicles.

  1. EDITORIAL: Nanowires for energy Nanowires for energy

    Science.gov (United States)

    LaPierre, Ray; Sunkara, Mahendra

    2012-05-01

    dominant lighting technology due to its superior electrical to optical conversion efficiency. A unique LED structure based on CdS is presented by Ye et al [8]. A detailed study by Nguyen et al [9] provides a fundamental understanding of the non-radiative recombination mechanisms in GaN-based white light emitting nanowire diodes grown on Si substrates. Another application of III-nitrides is in photovoltaic devices (solar cells) [10]. InGaN is the only semiconductor alloy whose energy bandgap can be continuously varied across nearly the entire solar spectrum, promising a new generation of solar cells. Another potentially important application for nanowires is the efficient production of H2 from the photocatalytic splitting of water, where the H2 can be used as an energy carrier. Water splitting based on unique nanostructures include Fe2O3 [11], CuS/ZnO [12], and ZnO/Si [13]. Another candidate for photocatalysis, among other applications, is copper oxide nanowires, reviewed by Gregor et al [14]. References [1] Hiralal P, Unalan H E and Amaratunga G A J 2012 Nanotechnology 23 194002 [2] Li J, Yu H and Li Y 2012 Nanotechnology 23 194010 [3] Wang B and Leu P W 2012 Nanotechnology 23 194003 [4] Yu L, O'Donnell B, Foldyna M, and Roca i Cabarrocas P 2012 Nanotechnology 23 194011 [5] Zhang F, Song T and Sun B 2012 Nanotechnology 23 194006 [6] Herman I, Yeo J, Hong S, Lee D, Nam K H, Choi J, Hong W, Lee D, Grigoropoulos C P and Ko S H 2012 Nanotechnology 23 194005 [7] Calestani D, Pattini F, Bissoli F, Gilioli E, Villani M and Zappettini A 2012 Nanotechnology 23 194008 [8] Ye Y, Yu B, Gao Z, Mang H, Zhang H, Dai L and Qin G 2012 Nanotechnology 23 194004 [9] Nguyen H P T, Djavid M, Cui K and Mi Z 2012 Nanotechnology 23 194012 [10] Wierer J J Jr, Li Q, Koleske D D, Lee S R L and Wang G T 2012 Nanotechnology 23 194007 [11] Chernomordik B D, Russell H B, Cvelbar U, Jasinski J B, Kumar V, Deutsch T and Sunkara M K 2012 Nanotechnology 23 194009 [12] Lee M and Yong K 2012 Nanotechnology 23

  2. Morphology and optical properties of ternary Zn-Sn-O semiconductor nanowires with catalyst-free growth

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liang, Yuan-Chang, E-mail: yuanvictory@gmail.com [Institute of Materials Engineering, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 20224, Taiwan (China); Huang, Chiem-Lum; Hu, Chia-Yen; Deng, Xian-Shi; Zhong, Hua [Institute of Materials Engineering, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 20224, Taiwan (China)

    2012-10-05

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Zn{sub 2}SnO{sub 4} nanowires with various morphologies were successfully synthesized by thermal evaporation. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The as-synthesized Zn{sub 2}SnO{sub 4} nanowires have a face-centered cubic crystal structure. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Thermal annealing of Zn{sub 2}SnO{sub 4} nanowires changes the properties of the visible emission band. - Abstract: This study reports the synthesis of Zn{sub 2}SnO{sub 4} (ZTO) nanowires with various morphologies using thermal evaporation without a metal catalyst. X-ray diffraction patterns show that the structure of the as-synthesized ZTO nanowires is a face-centered cubic spinel phase. Scanning electron microscopy images exhibit that the as-synthesized nanowires have various morphologies, and homogeneously cover the area of interest. High-resolution transmittance electron microscopy reveals that these ZTO nanowires have single crystalline microstructures with four morphologies. The results of low-temperature cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements show the crystal defects of oxygen vacancies and interstitials may contribute to blue-green and yellow-orange emissions, respectively, for the as-synthesized single nanowire. This study also discusses the effects of thermal annealing under oxygen-rich and reducing ambient on the CL properties of the single ZTO nanowire.

  3. Conductance enhancement of InAs/InP heterostructure nanowires by surface assembly of oligo-phenylenevinylene molecular wires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schukfeh, Muhammed Ihab; Szwajca, Anna; Hansen, Allan; Tornow, Marc [Institut fuer Halbleitertechnik, TU Braunschweig (Germany); Storm, Kristian; Thelander, Claes; Samuelson, Lars [Lund University, Solid State Physics (Sweden); Soendergaard, Roar; Krebs, Frederik C. [Risoe DTU, Technical University of Denmark (Denmark); Hinze, Peter; Weimann, Thomas [PTB, Braunschweig (Germany)

    2011-07-01

    The direct combination of organic molecules with semiconductor nanostructures provides an appealing approach towards possible future nanoelectronic systems. In this context, indium-arsenide is a material of particular interest due to the presence of an electron inversion layer at the surface. We have prepared 50 nm diameter InAs nanowires comprising a 5 nm long InP segment, and contacted them by Ti/Au metallic leads on a planar Si/Si-oxide substrate. Electronic transport measurements at 77 K confirmed the presence of the potential barrier of the InP segment. After investigation of the assembly of 12 nm long, dithiolated oligo-phenylenevinylene (OPV) derivative molecules from solution onto planar InAs surfaces the same recipe was applied to the InAs/InP nanowires, which led to a pronounced, non-linear I-V characteristic, with significantly increased currents of up to 1 {mu}A at 1 V bias, for a back-gate voltage of 3 V. We attribute this effect to the OPV molecules tethered to the nanowire surface, thereby increasing the surface conductance across the InP barrier.

  4. Simulation of the selective oxidation process of semiconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chahoud, M.

    2012-01-01

    A new approach to simulate the selective oxidation of semiconductors is presented. This approach is based on the so-called b lack box simulation method . This method is usually used to simulate complex processes. The chemical and physical details within the process are not considered. Only the input and output data of the process are relevant for the simulation. A virtual function linking the input and output data has to be found. In the case of selective oxidation the input data are the mask geometry and the oxidation duration whereas the output data are the oxidation thickness distribution. The virtual function is determined as four virtual diffusion processes between the masked und non-masked areas. Each process delivers one part of the oxidation profile. The method is applied successfully on the oxidation system silicon-silicon nitride (Si-Si 3 N 4 ). The fitting parameters are determined through comparison of experimental and simulation results two-dimensionally.(author)

  5. Conductivity in transparent oxide semiconductors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, P D C; Veal, T D

    2011-08-24

    Despite an extensive research effort for over 60 years, an understanding of the origins of conductivity in wide band gap transparent conducting oxide (TCO) semiconductors remains elusive. While TCOs have already found widespread use in device applications requiring a transparent contact, there are currently enormous efforts to (i) increase the conductivity of existing materials, (ii) identify suitable alternatives, and (iii) attempt to gain semiconductor-engineering levels of control over their carrier density, essential for the incorporation of TCOs into a new generation of multifunctional transparent electronic devices. These efforts, however, are dependent on a microscopic identification of the defects and impurities leading to the high unintentional carrier densities present in these materials. Here, we review recent developments towards such an understanding. While oxygen vacancies are commonly assumed to be the source of the conductivity, there is increasing evidence that this is not a sufficient mechanism to explain the total measured carrier concentrations. In fact, many studies suggest that oxygen vacancies are deep, rather than shallow, donors, and their abundance in as-grown material is also debated. We discuss other potential contributions to the conductivity in TCOs, including other native defects, their complexes, and in particular hydrogen impurities. Convincing theoretical and experimental evidence is presented for the donor nature of hydrogen across a range of TCO materials, and while its stability and the role of interstitial versus substitutional species are still somewhat open questions, it is one of the leading contenders for yielding unintentional conductivity in TCOs. We also review recent work indicating that the surfaces of TCOs can support very high carrier densities, opposite to the case for conventional semiconductors. In thin-film materials/devices and, in particular, nanostructures, the surface can have a large impact on the total

  6. Long term stability of nanowire nanoelectronics in physiological environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Wei; Dai, Xiaochuan; Fu, Tian-Ming; Xie, Chong; Liu, Jia; Lieber, Charles M

    2014-03-12

    Nanowire nanoelectronic devices have been exploited as highly sensitive subcellular resolution detectors for recording extracellular and intracellular signals from cells, as well as from natural and engineered/cyborg tissues, and in this capacity open many opportunities for fundamental biological research and biomedical applications. Here we demonstrate the capability to take full advantage of the attractive capabilities of nanowire nanoelectronic devices for long term physiological studies by passivating the nanowire elements with ultrathin metal oxide shells. Studies of Si and Si/aluminum oxide (Al2O3) core/shell nanowires in physiological solutions at 37 °C demonstrate long-term stability extending for at least 100 days in samples coated with 10 nm thick Al2O3 shells. In addition, investigations of nanowires configured as field-effect transistors (FETs) demonstrate that the Si/Al2O3 core/shell nanowire FETs exhibit good device performance for at least 4 months in physiological model solutions at 37 °C. The generality of this approach was also tested with in studies of Ge/Si and InAs nanowires, where Ge/Si/Al2O3 and InAs/Al2O3 core/shell materials exhibited stability for at least 100 days in physiological model solutions at 37 °C. In addition, investigations of hafnium oxide-Al2O3 nanolaminated shells indicate the potential to extend nanowire stability well beyond 1 year time scale in vivo. These studies demonstrate that straightforward core/shell nanowire nanoelectronic devices can exhibit the long term stability needed for a range of chronic in vivo studies in animals as well as powerful biomedical implants that could improve monitoring and treatment of disease.

  7. High mobility ZnO nanowires for terahertz detection applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Huiqiang; Peng, Rufang; Chu, Shijin; Chu, Sheng

    2014-01-01

    An oxide nanowire material was utilized for terahertz detection purpose. High quality ZnO nanowires were synthesized and field-effect transistors were fabricated. Electrical transport measurements demonstrated the nanowire with good transfer characteristics and fairly high electron mobility. It is shown that ZnO nanowires can be used as building blocks for the realization of terahertz detectors based on a one-dimensional plasmon detection configuration. Clear terahertz wave (∼0.3 THz) induced photovoltages were obtained at room temperature with varying incidence intensities. Further analysis showed that the terahertz photoresponse is closely related to the high electron mobility of the ZnO nanowire sample, which suggests that oxide nanoelectronics may find useful terahertz applications.

  8. Label-free electrochemical immunosensor based on cerium oxide nanowires for Vibrio cholerae O1 detection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tam, Phuong Dinh, E-mail: phuongdinhtam@gmail.com; Thang, Cao Xuan, E-mail: thang.caoxuan@hust.edu.vn

    2016-01-01

    This paper developed a label-free immunosensor based on cerium oxide nanowire for Vibrio cholerae O1 detection application. The CeO{sub 2} nanowires were synthesized by hydrothermal reaction. The immobilization of Anti-V. cholerae O1 onto CeO{sub 2} nanowire-deposited sensor was performed via an amino ester, which was created by using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide, and sulfo-N-hydroxysuccinimide. The electrochemical responses of the immunosensor were studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy with [Fe (CN) {sub 6}] {sup 3−/4−} as redox probe. A linear response in electron transfer resistance for cell of V. cholerae O1 concentration was found in the range of 1.0 × 10{sup 2} CFU/mL to 1.0 × 10{sup 4} CFU/mL. The detection limit of the immunosensor was 1.0 × 10{sup 2} CFU/mL. The immunosensor sensitivity was 56.82 Ω/CFU·mL{sup −1}. Furthermore, the parameters affecting immunosensor response were also investigated, as follows: pH value, immunoreaction time, incubation temperature, and anti-V. cholerae O1 concentration. - Highlights: • A label-free immunosensor based on cerium oxide nanowire for Vibrio cholerae O1 detection application was developed. • A linear response was found in the range of 1.0 × 10{sup 2} CFU/mL to 1.0 × 10{sup 4} CFU/mL. • The detection limit of the immunosensor was 1.0 × 10{sup 2} CFU/mL. • The immunosensor sensitivity was 56.82 Ω/CFU.mL{sup −1}.

  9. Gas Sensors Based on Semiconducting Nanowire Field-Effect Transistors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ping Feng

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available One-dimensional semiconductor nanostructures are unique sensing materials for the fabrication of gas sensors. In this article, gas sensors based on semiconducting nanowire field-effect transistors (FETs are comprehensively reviewed. Individual nanowires or nanowire network films are usually used as the active detecting channels. In these sensors, a third electrode, which serves as the gate, is used to tune the carrier concentration of the nanowires to realize better sensing performance, including sensitivity, selectivity and response time, etc. The FET parameters can be modulated by the presence of the target gases and their change relate closely to the type and concentration of the gas molecules. In addition, extra controls such as metal decoration, local heating and light irradiation can be combined with the gate electrode to tune the nanowire channel and realize more effective gas sensing. With the help of micro-fabrication techniques, these sensors can be integrated into smart systems. Finally, some challenges for the future investigation and application of nanowire field-effect gas sensors are discussed.

  10. Methanol, ethanol and hydrogen sensing using metal oxide and metal (TiO(2)-Pt) composite nanoclusters on GaN nanowires: a new route towards tailoring the selectivity of nanowire/nanocluster chemical sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aluri, Geetha S; Motayed, Abhishek; Davydov, Albert V; Oleshko, Vladimir P; Bertness, Kris A; Sanford, Norman A; Mulpuri, Rao V

    2012-05-04

    We demonstrate a new method for tailoring the selectivity of chemical sensors using semiconductor nanowires (NWs) decorated with metal and metal oxide multicomponent nanoclusters (NCs). Here we present the change of selectivity of titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) nanocluster-coated gallium nitride (GaN) nanowire sensor devices on the addition of platinum (Pt) nanoclusters. The hybrid sensor devices were developed by fabricating two-terminal devices using individual GaN NWs followed by the deposition of TiO(2) and/or Pt nanoclusters (NCs) using the sputtering technique. This paper present the sensing characteristics of GaN/(TiO(2)-Pt) nanowire-nanocluster (NWNC) hybrids and GaN/(Pt) NWNC hybrids, and compare their selectivity with that of the previously reported GaN/TiO(2) sensors. The GaN/TiO(2) NWNC hybrids showed remarkable selectivity to benzene and related aromatic compounds, with no measurable response for other analytes. Addition of Pt NCs to GaN/TiO(2) sensors dramatically altered their sensing behavior, making them sensitive only to methanol, ethanol and hydrogen, but not to any other chemicals we tested. The GaN/(TiO(2)-Pt) hybrids were able to detect ethanol and methanol concentrations as low as 100 nmol mol(-1) (ppb) in air in approximately 100 s, and hydrogen concentrations from 1 µmol mol(-1) (ppm) to 1% in nitrogen in less than 60 s. However, GaN/Pt NWNC hybrids showed limited sensitivity only towards hydrogen and not towards any alcohols. All these hybrid sensors worked at room temperature and are photomodulated, i.e. they responded to analytes only in the presence of ultraviolet (UV) light. We propose a qualitative explanation based on the heat of adsorption, ionization energy and solvent polarity to explain the observed selectivity of the different hybrids. These results are significant from the standpoint of applications requiring room-temperature hydrogen sensing and sensitive alcohol monitoring. These results demonstrate the tremendous potential for

  11. Gate Modulation of Graphene-ZnO Nanowire Schottky Diode

    OpenAIRE

    Liu, Ren; You, Xu-Chen; Fu, Xue-Wen; Lin, Fang; Meng, Jie; Yu, Da-Peng; Liao, Zhi-Min

    2015-01-01

    Graphene-semiconductor interface is important for the applications in electronic and optoelectronic devices. Here we report the modulation of the electric transport properties of graphene/ZnO nanowire Schottky diode by gate voltage (Vg). The ideality factor of the graphene/ZnO nanowire Schottky diode is ~1.7, and the Schottky barrier height is ~0.28?eV without external Vg. The Schottky barrier height is sensitive to Vg due to the variation of Fermi level of graphene. The barrier height increa...

  12. Zinc oxide nanowire-poly(methyl methacrylate) dielectric layers for polymer capacitive pressure sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yan-Sheng; Hsieh, Gen-Wen; Chen, Shih-Ping; Tseng, Pin-Yen; Wang, Cheng-Wei

    2015-01-14

    Polymer capacitive pressure sensors based on a dielectric composite layer of zinc oxide nanowire and poly(methyl methacrylate) show pressure sensitivity in the range of 2.63 × 10(-3) to 9.95 × 10(-3) cm(2) gf(-1). This represents an increase of capacitance change by as much as a factor of 23 over pristine polymer devices. An ultralight load of only 10 mg (corresponding to an applied pressure of ∼0.01 gf cm(-2)) can be clearly recognized, demonstrating remarkable characteristics of these nanowire-polymer capacitive pressure sensors. In addition, optical transmittance of the dielectric composite layer is approximately 90% in the visible wavelength region. Their low processing temperature, transparency, and flexible dielectric film makes them a highly promising means for flexible touching and pressure-sensing applications.

  13. Direct Evidence of Mg Incorporation Pathway in Vapor-Liquid-Solid Grown p-type Nonpolar GaN Nanowires

    OpenAIRE

    Patsha, Avinash; Amirthapandian, S.; Pandian, Ramanathaswamy; Bera, S.; Bhattacharya, Anirban; Dhara, Sandip

    2015-01-01

    Doping of III-nitride based compound semiconductor nanowires is still a challenging issue to have a control over the dopant distribution in precise locations of the nanowire optoelectronic devices. Knowledge of the dopant incorporation and its pathways in nanowires for such devices is limited by the growth methods. We report the direct evidence of incorporation pathway for Mg dopants in p-type nonpolar GaN nanowires grown via vapour-liquid-solid (VLS) method in a chemical vapour deposition te...

  14. Protein Biosensors Based on Polymer Nanowires, Carbon Nanotubes and Zinc Oxide Nanorods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taeksoo Ji

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available The development of biosensors using electrochemical methods is a promising application in the field of biotechnology. High sensitivity sensors for the bio-detection of proteins have been developed using several kinds of nanomaterials. The performance of the sensors depends on the type of nanostructures with which the biomaterials interact. One dimensional (1-D structures such as nanowires, nanotubes and nanorods are proven to have high potential for bio-applications. In this paper we review these three different kinds of nanostructures that have attracted much attention at recent times with their great performance as biosensors. Materials such as polymers, carbon and zinc oxide have been widely used for the fabrication of nanostructures because of their enhanced performance in terms of sensitivity, biocompatibility, and ease of preparation. Thus we consider polymer nanowires, carbon nanotubes and zinc oxide nanorods for discussion in this paper. We consider three stages in the development of biosensors: (a fabrication of biomaterials into nanostructures, (b alignment of the nanostructures and (c immobilization of proteins. Two different methods by which the biosensors can be developed at each stage for all the three nanostructures are examined. Finally, we conclude by mentioning some of the major challenges faced by many researchers who seek to fabricate biosensors for real time applications.

  15. Atomic layer deposition of perovskite oxides and their epitaxial integration with Si, Ge, and other semiconductors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McDaniel, Martin D.; Ngo, Thong Q.; Hu, Shen; Ekerdt, John G., E-mail: ekerdt@utexas.edu [Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 (United States); Posadas, Agham; Demkov, Alexander A. [Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 (United States)

    2015-12-15

    Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a proven technique for the conformal deposition of oxide thin films with nanoscale thickness control. Most successful industrial applications have been with binary oxides, such as Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} and HfO{sub 2}. However, there has been much effort to deposit ternary oxides, such as perovskites (ABO{sub 3}), with desirable properties for advanced thin film applications. Distinct challenges are presented by the deposition of multi-component oxides using ALD. This review is intended to highlight the research of the many groups that have deposited perovskite oxides by ALD methods. Several commonalities between the studies are discussed. Special emphasis is put on precursor selection, deposition temperatures, and specific property performance (high-k, ferroelectric, ferromagnetic, etc.). Finally, the monolithic integration of perovskite oxides with semiconductors by ALD is reviewed. High-quality epitaxial growth of oxide thin films has traditionally been limited to physical vapor deposition techniques (e.g., molecular beam epitaxy). However, recent studies have demonstrated that epitaxial oxide thin films may be deposited on semiconductor substrates using ALD. This presents an exciting opportunity to integrate functional perovskite oxides for advanced semiconductor applications in a process that is economical and scalable.

  16. Atomic layer deposition of perovskite oxides and their epitaxial integration with Si, Ge, and other semiconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McDaniel, Martin D.; Ngo, Thong Q.; Hu, Shen; Ekerdt, John G.; Posadas, Agham; Demkov, Alexander A.

    2015-01-01

    Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a proven technique for the conformal deposition of oxide thin films with nanoscale thickness control. Most successful industrial applications have been with binary oxides, such as Al 2 O 3 and HfO 2 . However, there has been much effort to deposit ternary oxides, such as perovskites (ABO 3 ), with desirable properties for advanced thin film applications. Distinct challenges are presented by the deposition of multi-component oxides using ALD. This review is intended to highlight the research of the many groups that have deposited perovskite oxides by ALD methods. Several commonalities between the studies are discussed. Special emphasis is put on precursor selection, deposition temperatures, and specific property performance (high-k, ferroelectric, ferromagnetic, etc.). Finally, the monolithic integration of perovskite oxides with semiconductors by ALD is reviewed. High-quality epitaxial growth of oxide thin films has traditionally been limited to physical vapor deposition techniques (e.g., molecular beam epitaxy). However, recent studies have demonstrated that epitaxial oxide thin films may be deposited on semiconductor substrates using ALD. This presents an exciting opportunity to integrate functional perovskite oxides for advanced semiconductor applications in a process that is economical and scalable

  17. Nanowire-decorated microscale metallic electrodes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vlad, A.; Mátéfi-Tempfli, M.; Antohe, V.A.

    2008-01-01

    The fabrication of metallic nanowire patterns within anodic alumina oxide (AAO) membranes on top of continuous conducting substrates are discussed. The fabrication protocol is based on the realization of nanowire patterns using supported nanoporous alumina templates (SNAT) prepared on top...... of lithographically defined metallic microelectrodes. The anodization of the aluminum permits electroplating only on top of the metallic electrodes, leading to the nanowire patterns having the same shape as the underlying metallic tracks. The variation in the fabricated structures between the patterned and non......-patterned substrates can be interpreted in terms of different behavior during anodization. The improved quality of fabricated nanowire patterns is clearly demonstrated by the SEM imaging and the uniform growth of nanowires inside the alumina template is observed without any significant height variation....

  18. Oxide p-n Heterojunction of Cu2O/ZnO Nanowires and Their Photovoltaic Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seung Ki Baek

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Oxide p-n heterojunction devices consisting of p-Cu2O/n-ZnO nanowires were fabricated on ITO/glass substrates and their photovoltaic performances were investigated. The vertically arrayed ZnO nanowires were grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition, which was followed by the electrodeposition of the p-type Cu2O layer. Prior to the fabrication of solar cells, the effect of bath pH on properties of the absorber layers was studied to determine the optimal condition of the Cu2O electrodeposition process. With the constant pH 11 solution, the Cu2O layer preferred the (111 orientation, which gave low electrical resistivity and high optical absorption. The Cu2O (pH 11/ZnO nanowire-based solar cell exhibited a higher conversion efficiency of 0.27% than the planar structure solar cell (0.13%, because of the effective charge collection in the long wavelength region and because of the enhanced junction area.

  19. Chirality-Discriminated Conductivity of Metal-Amino Acid Biocoordination Polymer Nanowires.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Jianzhong; Wu, Yijin; Deng, Ke; He, Meng; He, Liangcan; Cao, Jing; Zhang, Xugang; Liu, Yaling; Li, Shunxing; Tang, Zhiyong

    2016-09-27

    Biocoordination polymer (BCP) nanowires are successfully constructed through self-assembly of chiral cysteine amino acids and Cd cations in solution. The varied chirality of cysteine is explored to demonstrate the difference of BCP nanowires in both morphology and structure. More interestingly and surprisingly, the electrical property measurement reveals that, although all Cd(II)/cysteine BCP nanowires behave as semiconductors, the conductivity of the Cd(II)/dl-cysteine nanowires is 4 times higher than that of the Cd(II)/l-cysteine or Cd(II)/d-cysteine ones. The origin of such chirality-discriminated characteristics registered in BCP nanowires is further elucidated by theoretical calculation. These findings demonstrate that the morphology, structure, and property of BCP nanostructures could be tuned by the chirality of the bridging ligands, which will shed light on the comprehension of chirality transcription as well as construction of chirality-regulated functional materials.

  20. Aging of Organic Nanowires

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Balzer, Frank; Schiek, Manuela; Osadnik, Andreas

    2012-01-01

    Organic semiconductors formed by epitaxial growth from small molecules such as the para-phenylenes or squaraines promise a vast application potential as the active ingredient in electric and optoelectronic devices. Their self-organization into organic nanowires or "nanofibers" adds a peculiar...... attribute, making them especially interesting for light generation in OLEDs and for light-harvesting devices such as solar cells. Functionalization of the molecules allows the customization of optical and electrical properties. However, aging of the wires might lead to a considerable decrease in device...... performance over time. In this study the morphological stability of organic nanoclusters and nanowires from the methoxy functionalized quaterphenylene, 4,4'''dimethoxy-1,1':4',1''4'',1'''-quaterphenylene (MOP4), is investigated in detail. Aging experiments conducted by atomic force microscopy under ambient...

  1. Solution-processed core-shell nanowires for efficient photovoltaic cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Jinyao; Huo, Ziyang; Brittman, Sarah; Gao, Hanwei; Yang, Peidong

    2011-08-21

    Semiconductor nanowires are promising for photovoltaic applications, but, so far, nanowire-based solar cells have had lower efficiencies than planar cells made from the same materials, even allowing for the generally lower light absorption of nanowires. It is not clear, therefore, if the benefits of the nanowire structure, including better charge collection and transport and the possibility of enhanced absorption through light trapping, can outweigh the reductions in performance caused by recombination at the surface of the nanowires and at p-n junctions. Here, we fabricate core-shell nanowire solar cells with open-circuit voltage and fill factor values superior to those reported for equivalent planar cells, and an energy conversion efficiency of ∼5.4%, which is comparable to that of equivalent planar cells despite low light absorption levels. The device is made using a low-temperature solution-based cation exchange reaction that creates a heteroepitaxial junction between a single-crystalline CdS core and single-crystalline Cu2S shell. We integrate multiple cells on single nanowires in both series and parallel configurations for high output voltages and currents, respectively. The ability to produce efficient nanowire-based solar cells with a solution-based process and Earth-abundant elements could significantly reduce fabrication costs relative to existing high-temperature bulk material approaches.

  2. Tungsten oxide@polypyrrole core-shell nanowire arrays as novel negative electrodes for asymmetric supercapacitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Fengmei; Zhan, Xueying; Cheng, Zhongzhou; Wang, Zhenxing; Wang, Qisheng; Xu, Kai; Safdar, Muhammad; He, Jun

    2015-02-11

    Among active pseudocapacitive materials, polypyrrole (PPy) is a promising electrode material in electrochemical capacitors. PPy-based materials research has thus far focused on its electrochemical performance as a positive electrode rather than as a negative electrode for asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs). Here high-performance electrochemical supercapacitors are designed with tungsten oxide@PPy (WO3 @PPy) core-shell nanowire arrays and Co(OH)2 nanowires grown on carbon fibers. The WO3 @PPy core-shell nanowire electrode exhibits a high capacitance (253 mF/cm2) in negative potentials (-1.0-0.0 V). The ASCs packaged with CF-Co(OH)2 as a positive electrode and CF-WO3 @PPy as a negative electrode display a high volumetric capacitance up to 2.865 F/cm3 based on volume of the device, an energy density of 1.02 mWh/cm3 , and very good stability performance. These findings promote the application of PPy-based nanostructures as advanced negative electrodes for ASCs. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  3. Topological insulator nanowires and nanowire hetero-junctions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Haiming; Zhao, Lukas; Wade, Travis; Konczykowski, Marcin; Krusin-Elbaum, Lia

    2014-03-01

    The existing topological insulator materials (TIs) continue to present a number of challenges to complete understanding of the physics of topological spin-helical Dirac surface conduction channels, owing to a relatively large charge conduction in the bulk. One way to reduce the bulk contribution and to increase surface-to-volume ratio is by nanostructuring. Here we report on the synthesis and characterization of Sb2Te3, Bi2Te3 nanowires and nanotubes and Sb2Te3/Bi2Te3 heterojunctions electrochemically grown in porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes with varied (from 50 to 150 nm) pore diameters. Stoichiometric rigid polycrystalline nanowires with controllable cross-sections were obtained using cell voltages in the 30 - 150 mV range. Transport measurements in up to 14 T magnetic fields applied along the nanowires show Aharonov-Bohm (A-B) quantum oscillations with periods corresponding to the nanowire diameters. All nanowires were found to exhibit sharp weak anti-localization (WAL) cusps, a characteristic signature of TIs. In addition to A-B oscillations, new quantization plateaus in magnetoresistance (MR) at low fields (< 0 . 7T) were observed. The analysis of MR as well as I - V characteristics of heterojunctions will be presented. Supported in part by NSF-DMR-1122594, NSF-DMR-1312483-MWN, and DOD-W911NF-13-1-0159.

  4. Current–Voltage Characterization of Individual As-Grown Nanowires Using a Scanning Tunneling Microscope

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Utilizing semiconductor nanowires for (opto)electronics requires exact knowledge of their current–voltage properties. We report accurate on-top imaging and I–V characterization of individual as-grown nanowires, using a subnanometer resolution scanning tunneling microscope with no need for additional microscopy tools, thus allowing versatile application. We form Ohmic contacts to InP and InAs nanowires without any sample processing, followed by quantitative measurements of diameter dependent I–V properties with a very small spread in measured values compared to standard techniques. PMID:24059470

  5. Current-voltage characterization of individual as-grown nanowires using a scanning tunneling microscope.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timm, Rainer; Persson, Olof; Engberg, David L J; Fian, Alexander; Webb, James L; Wallentin, Jesper; Jönsson, Andreas; Borgström, Magnus T; Samuelson, Lars; Mikkelsen, Anders

    2013-11-13

    Utilizing semiconductor nanowires for (opto)electronics requires exact knowledge of their current-voltage properties. We report accurate on-top imaging and I-V characterization of individual as-grown nanowires, using a subnanometer resolution scanning tunneling microscope with no need for additional microscopy tools, thus allowing versatile application. We form Ohmic contacts to InP and InAs nanowires without any sample processing, followed by quantitative measurements of diameter dependent I-V properties with a very small spread in measured values compared to standard techniques.

  6. Growth Mechanism of Nanowires: Ternary Chalcogenides

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, N. B.; Coriell, S. R.; Hopkins, R. H.; Su, Ching Hua; Arnold, B.; Choa, Fow-Sen; Cullum, Brian

    2016-01-01

    In the past two decades there has been a large rise in the investment and expectations for nanotechnology use. Almost every area of research has projected improvements in sensors, or even a promise for the emergence of some novel device technologies. For these applications major focuses of research are in the areas of nanoparticles and graphene. Although there are some near term applications with nanowires in photodetectors and other low light detectors, there are few papers on the growth mechanism and fabrication of nanowire-based devices. Semiconductor nanowires exhibit very favorable and promising optical properties, including high transparency and a several order of magnitude better photocurrent than thin film and bulk materials. We present here an overview of the mechanism of nanowire growth from the melt, and some preliminary results for the thallium arsenic selenide material system. Thallium arsenic selenide (TAS) is a multifunctional material combining excellent acousto-optical, nonlinear and radiation detection properties. We observed that small units of (TAS) nanocubes arrange and rearrange at moderate melt undercooling to form the building block of a nanowire. In some cases very long wires (less than mm) are formed. Since we avoided the catalyst, we observed self-nucleation and uncontrolled growth of wires from different places.

  7. High-frequency acoustic charge transport in GaAs nanowires

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Büyükköse, S.; Hernandez-Minguez, A.; Vratzov, B.; Somaschini, C.; Geelhaar, L.; Riechert, H.; van der Wiel, Wilfred Gerard; Santos, P.V.

    2014-01-01

    The oscillating piezoelectric fields accompanying surface acoustic waves are able to transport charge carriers in semiconductor heterostructures. Here, we demonstrate high-frequency (above 1 GHz) acoustic charge transport in GaAs-based nanowires deposited on a piezoelectric substrate. The short

  8. A shortcut hydrothermal strategy for the synthesis of zinc nanowires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu Jianqiang; Chen Zhiwu; Xie Jingsi; Yu Ying

    2008-01-01

    Synthesis of metal nanowires has opened many new possibilities for designing ideal building blocks for future nanodevices. In this work, zinc nanowires with lengths of micrometre magnitude were synthesized in high yield by a shortcut hydrothermal strategy. The synthesis involves a template-free, non-seed and catalyst-free solution-phase process to high-quality zinc nanowires, which is low-cost and proceeds at relatively short time. In this process, zinc nanowires were prepared through the reduction of zinc acetate with absolute ethanol in the presence of silver nitrate under hydrothermal atmosphere. The strategy suggests that silver ion plays a vital role in the synthesis of zinc nanowires, without which the substituted product is zinc oxide nanowires. X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy measurements confirm the final formation of zinc nanowires and component transformation from zinc oxide nanowires in the introduction of silver ion. We believe that with the efficient synthesis, longer zinc nanowires can be fabricated and may find potential applications for superconductors and nanodevices. (fast track communication)

  9. Simulation, optimization and testing of a novel high spatial resolution X-ray imager based on Zinc Oxide nanowires in Anodic Aluminium Oxide membrane using Geant4

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esfandi, F.; Saramad, S.

    2015-07-01

    In this work, a new generation of scintillator based X-ray imagers based on ZnO nanowires in Anodized Aluminum Oxide (AAO) nanoporous template is characterized. The optical response of ordered ZnO nanowire arrays in porous AAO template under low energy X-ray illumination is simulated by the Geant4 Monte Carlo code and compared with experimental results. The results show that for 10 keV X-ray photons, by considering the light guiding properties of zinc oxide inside the AAO template and suitable selection of detector thickness and pore diameter, the spatial resolution less than one micrometer and the detector detection efficiency of 66% are accessible. This novel nano scintillator detector can have many advantages for medical applications in the future.

  10. Simulation, optimization and testing of a novel high spatial resolution X-ray imager based on Zinc Oxide nanowires in Anodic Aluminium Oxide membrane using Geant4

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Esfandi, F.; Saramad, S.

    2015-01-01

    In this work, a new generation of scintillator based X-ray imagers based on ZnO nanowires in Anodized Aluminum Oxide (AAO) nanoporous template is characterized. The optical response of ordered ZnO nanowire arrays in porous AAO template under low energy X-ray illumination is simulated by the Geant4 Monte Carlo code and compared with experimental results. The results show that for 10 keV X-ray photons, by considering the light guiding properties of zinc oxide inside the AAO template and suitable selection of detector thickness and pore diameter, the spatial resolution less than one micrometer and the detector detection efficiency of 66% are accessible. This novel nano scintillator detector can have many advantages for medical applications in the future

  11. Majorana bound states in a coupled quantum-dot hybrid-nanowire system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Deng, M. T.; Vaitiekenas, S.; Hansen, E. B.

    2016-01-01

    Hybrid nanowires combining semiconductor and superconductor materials appear well suited for the creation, detection, and control of Majorana bound states (MBSs). We demonstrate the emergence of MBSs from coalescing Andreev bound states (ABSs) in a hybrid InAs nanowire with epitaxial Al, using...... with the end-dot bound state, which is in agreement with a numerical model. The ABS/MBS spectra provide parameters that are useful for understanding topological superconductivity in this system....

  12. Rapid Fabrication of Silver Nanowires through Photoreduction of Silver Nitrate from an Anodic-Aluminum-Oxide Template

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Yu-Hsuan; Chen, Kun-Tso; Ho, Jeng-Rong

    2011-06-01

    A method for rapidly fabricating dense and high-aspect-ratio silver nanowires, with wire diameter of 200 nm and wire length more than 30 µm, is reported. The fabrication process simply involves filling the silver nitrate solution into the pores of an anodic-aluminum-oxide (AAO) membrane through capillary attraction and irradiating the dried template AAO membrane using a pulsed ArF excimer laser. Through varying the thickness and pore diameter of the employed AAO membrane, the primary dimensions of the targeted silver nanowires can be plainly specified; and, by amending the initial concentration of the silver nitrate solution and adjusting the laser operation parameters, laser fluence and number of laser pulses, the surface morphology and size of the resulting nanowires can be finely regulated. The wire formation mechanism is considered through two stages: the period of precipitation of silver particles from the dried silver nitrate film through the laser-induced photoreduction; and, the phase of clustering, merging and fusing of the reduced particles to form nanowires in the template pores by the thermal energy owing to photothermal effect. This approach is straightforward and takes the advantage that all the fabrication processes can be executed in an ambient environment and at room temperature. In addition, by the excellence in local processing that the laser possesses, this method is suitable for precisely growing nanowires.

  13. Templated Control of Au nanospheres in Silica Nanowires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tringe, J W; Vanamu, G; Zaidi, S H

    2007-03-15

    The formation of regularly-spaced metal nanostructures in selectively-placed insulating nanowires is an important step toward realization of a wide range of nano-scale electronic and opto-electronic devices. Here we report templated synthesis of Au nanospheres embedded in silica nanowires, with nanospheres consistently spaced with a period equal to three times their diameter. Under appropriate conditions, nanowires form exclusively on Si nanostructures because of enhanced local oxidation and reduced melting temperatures relative to templates with larger dimensions. We explain the spacing of the nanospheres with a general model based on a vapor-liquid-solid mechanism, in which an Au/Si alloy dendrite remains liquid in the nanotube until a critical Si concentration is achieved locally by silicon oxide-generated nanowire growth. Additional Si oxidation then locally reduces the surface energy of the Au-rich alloy by creating a new surface with minimum area inside of the nanotube. The isolated liquid domain subsequently evolves to become an Au nanosphere, and the process is repeated.

  14. PdM (M = Pt, Au) bimetallic alloy nanowires with enhanced electrocatalytic activity for electro-oxidation of small molecules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Chengzhou; Guo, Shaojun; Dong, Shaojun

    2012-05-02

    A facile and general method has been developed to synthesize well-defined PdPt and PdAu alloy nanowires, which exhibit significantly enhanced activity towards small molecules, such as ethanol, methanol, and glucose electro-oxidation in an alkaline medium. Considering the important role of one-dimensional alloy nanowires in electrocatalytic systems, the present Pd-based alloy nanostructures could offer a promising new class of advanced electrocatalysts for direct alcohol fuel cells and electrochemical sensors. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  15. Design of Indium Arsenide nanowire sensors for pH and biological sensing and low temperature transport through p-doped Indium Arsenide nanowires

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Upadhyay, Shivendra

    With the goal of real time electrical detection of chemical and biological species, nanowires have shown great promise with high sensitivity due to their large surface to volume ratio. While the focus of such electrical detection has shifted to one dimensional semiconductor nanostuctures, Silicon...

  16. Templated electrodeposition of Ag7NO11 nanowires with very high oxidation states of silver

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rodijk, E.J.B.; Maijenburg, A.W.; Maas, M.G.; Blank, David H.A.; ten Elshof, Johan E.

    2011-01-01

    The templated electrodeposition of 200 nm diameter nanowires of the argentic oxynitrate Ag(Ag3O4)2NO3 phase is reported. Their high surface-to-volume ratio and the high average oxidation state of Ag make these wires promising candidates for nanoscale redox processes in which both a high volumetric

  17. Multilayered films of cobalt oxyhydroxide nanowires/manganese oxide nanosheets for electrochemical capacitor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zheng, Huajun [State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Green Chemistry Synthesis Technology, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014 (China); ARC Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials, School of Chemical Engineering and AIBN, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072 (Australia); Tang, Fengqiu; Mukherji, Aniruddh; Yan, Xiaoxia; Wang, Lianzhou (Max) Lu, Gao Qing [ARC Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials, School of Chemical Engineering and AIBN, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072 (Australia); Lim, Melvin [Division of Environmental and Water Resources Engineering, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 639798 (Singapore)

    2010-01-15

    Multilayered films of cobalt oxyhydroxide nanowires (CoOOHNW) and exfoliated manganese oxide nanosheet (MONS) are fabricated by potentiostatic deposition and electrostatic self-assembly on indium-tin oxide coated glass substrates. The morphology and chemical composition of these films are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and the potential application as electrochemical supercapacitors are investigated using cyclic voltammetry and charge-discharge measurements. These ITO/CoOOHNW/MONS multilayered film electrodes exhibit excellent electrochemical capacitance properties, including high specific capacitance (507 F g{sup -1}) and long cycling durability (less 2% capacity loss after 5000 charge/discharge cycles). These characteristics indicate that these newly developed films may find important application for electrochemical capacitors. (author)

  18. Growth of wurtzite CdTe nanowires on fluorine-doped tin oxide glass substrates and room-temperature bandgap parameter determination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Seon Bin; Song, Man Suk; Kim, Yong

    2018-04-01

    The growth of CdTe nanowires, catalyzed by Sn, was achieved on fluorine-doped tin oxide glass by physical vapor transport. CdTe nanowires grew along the 〈0001〉 direction, with a very rare and phase-pure wurtzite structure, at 290 °C. CdTe nanowires grew under Te-limited conditions by forming SnTe nanostructures in the catalysts and the wurtzite structure was energetically favored. By polarization-dependent and power-dependent micro-photoluminescence measurements of individual nanowires, heavy and light hole-related transitions could be differentiated, and the fundamental bandgap of wurtzite CdTe at room temperature was determined to be 1.562 eV, which was 52 meV higher than that of zinc-blende CdTe. From the analysis of doublet photoluminescence spectra, the valence band splitting energy between heavy hole and light hole bands was estimated to be 43 meV.

  19. Epitaxy of Polar Oxides and Semiconductors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shelton, Christopher Tyrel

    Integrating polar oxide materials with wide-bandgap nitride semiconductors offers the possibility of a tunable 2D carrier gas (2DCG) - provided defect densities are low and interfaces are abrupt. This dissertation investigates a portion of the synthesis science necessary to produce a "semiconductor-grade" interface between these highly dissimilar materials. A significant portion of this work is aligned with efforts to engineer a step-free GaN substrate to produce single in-plane oriented rocksalt oxide films. Initially, we explore the homoepitaxial MOCVD growth conditions necessary to produce highquality GaN films on ammonothermally grown substrates. Ammono substrates are only recently available for purchase and are the market leader in low-dislocation density material. Their novelty requires development of an understanding of morphology trade-offs in processing space. This includes preservation of the epi-polished surface in aggressive MOCVD environments and an understanding of the kinetic barriers affecting growth morphologies. Based on several factors, it was determined that GaN exhibits an 'uphill' diffusion bias that may likely be ascribed to a positive Ehrlich-Schwoebel (ES) barrier. This barrier should have a stabilizing effect against step-bunching but, for many growth conditions, regular step bunching was observed. One possible explanation for the step-bunching instability is the presence of impurities. Experimentally, conditions which incorporate more carbon into GaN homoepitaxial layers are correlated with step-bunching while conditions that suppress carbon produce bilayer stepped morphologies. These observations lead us to the conclusion that GaN homoepitaxial morphology is a competition between impurity induced step-bunching and a stabilizing diffusion bias due to a positive ES barrier. Application of the aforementioned homoepitaxial growth techniques to discrete substrate regions using selected- and confined area epitaxy (SAE,CAE) produces some

  20. Thermoelectric Power Factor Limit of a 1D Nanowire

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, I.-Ju; Burke, Adam; Svilans, Artis; Linke, Heiner; Thelander, Claes

    2018-04-01

    In the past decade, there has been significant interest in the potentially advantageous thermoelectric properties of one-dimensional (1D) nanowires, but it has been challenging to find high thermoelectric power factors based on 1D effects in practice. Here we point out that there is an upper limit to the thermoelectric power factor of nonballistic 1D nanowires, as a consequence of the recently established quantum bound of thermoelectric power output. We experimentally test this limit in quasiballistic InAs nanowires by extracting the maximum power factor of the first 1D subband through I -V characterization, finding that the measured maximum power factors conform to the theoretical limit. The established limit allows the prediction of the achievable power factor of a specific nanowire material system with 1D electronic transport based on the nanowire dimension and mean free path. The power factor of state-of-the-art semiconductor nanowires with small cross section and high crystal quality can be expected to be highly competitive (on the order of mW /m K2 ) at low temperatures. However, they have no clear advantage over bulk materials at, or above, room temperature.

  1. Low Temperature Processed Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) Device by Oxidation Effect from Capping Layer

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Zhenwei

    2015-04-20

    In this report, both p- and n-type tin oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) were simultaneously achieved using single-step deposition of the tin oxide channel layer. The tuning of charge carrier polarity in the tin oxide channel is achieved by selectively depositing a copper oxide capping layer on top of tin oxide, which serves as an oxygen source, providing additional oxygen to form an n-type tin dioxide phase. The oxidation process can be realized by annealing at temperature as low as 190°C in air, which is significantly lower than the temperature generally required to form tin dioxide. Based on this approach, CMOS inverters based entirely on tin oxide TFTs were fabricated. Our method provides a solution to lower the process temperature for tin dioxide phase, which facilitates the application of this transparent oxide semiconductor in emerging electronic devices field.

  2. Optimized efficiency in InP nanowire solar cells with accurate 1D analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yang; Kivisaari, Pyry; Pistol, Mats-Erik; Anttu, Nicklas

    2018-01-01

    Semiconductor nanowire arrays are a promising candidate for next generation solar cells due to enhanced absorption and reduced material consumption. However, to optimize their performance, time consuming three-dimensional (3D) opto-electronics modeling is usually performed. Here, we develop an accurate one-dimensional (1D) modeling method for the analysis. The 1D modeling is about 400 times faster than 3D modeling and allows direct application of concepts from planar pn-junctions on the analysis of nanowire solar cells. We show that the superposition principle can break down in InP nanowires due to strong surface recombination in the depletion region, giving rise to an IV-behavior similar to that with low shunt resistance. Importantly, we find that the open-circuit voltage of nanowire solar cells is typically limited by contact leakage. Therefore, to increase the efficiency, we have investigated the effect of high-bandgap GaP carrier-selective contact segments at the top and bottom of the InP nanowire and we find that GaP contact segments improve the solar cell efficiency. Next, we discuss the merit of p-i-n and p-n junction concepts in nanowire solar cells. With GaP carrier selective top and bottom contact segments in the InP nanowire array, we find that a p-n junction design is superior to a p-i-n junction design. We predict a best efficiency of 25% for a surface recombination velocity of 4500 cm s-1, corresponding to a non-radiative lifetime of 1 ns in p-n junction cells. The developed 1D model can be used for general modeling of axial p-n and p-i-n junctions in semiconductor nanowires. This includes also LED applications and we expect faster progress in device modeling using our method.

  3. Atomic layer deposition: an enabling technology for the growth of functional nanoscale semiconductors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biyikli, Necmi; Haider, Ali

    2017-09-01

    In this paper, we present the progress in the growth of nanoscale semiconductors grown via atomic layer deposition (ALD). After the adoption by semiconductor chip industry, ALD became a widespread tool to grow functional films and conformal ultra-thin coatings for various applications. Based on self-limiting and ligand-exchange-based surface reactions, ALD enabled the low-temperature growth of nanoscale dielectric, metal, and semiconductor materials. Being able to deposit wafer-scale uniform semiconductor films at relatively low-temperatures, with sub-monolayer thickness control and ultimate conformality, makes ALD attractive for semiconductor device applications. Towards this end, precursors and low-temperature growth recipes are developed to deposit crystalline thin films for compound and elemental semiconductors. Conventional thermal ALD as well as plasma-assisted and radical-enhanced techniques have been exploited to achieve device-compatible film quality. Metal-oxides, III-nitrides, sulfides, and selenides are among the most popular semiconductor material families studied via ALD technology. Besides thin films, ALD can grow nanostructured semiconductors as well using either template-assisted growth methods or bottom-up controlled nucleation mechanisms. Among the demonstrated semiconductor nanostructures are nanoparticles, nano/quantum-dots, nanowires, nanotubes, nanofibers, nanopillars, hollow and core-shell versions of the afore-mentioned nanostructures, and 2D materials including transition metal dichalcogenides and graphene. ALD-grown nanoscale semiconductor materials find applications in a vast amount of applications including functional coatings, catalysis and photocatalysis, renewable energy conversion and storage, chemical sensing, opto-electronics, and flexible electronics. In this review, we give an overview of the current state-of-the-art in ALD-based nanoscale semiconductor research including the already demonstrated and future applications.

  4. Self-powered heat-resistant polymeric 1D nanowires and 3D micro/nanowire assemblies in a pressure-crystallized size-distributed graphene oxide/poly (vinylidene fluoride) composite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Pengfei; Lyu, Jun; Huang, Rui; Zhang, Chaoliang

    2017-12-01

    Piezoelectric one- (1D) and three-dimensional (3D) hybrid micro/nanostructured materials have received intense research interest because of their ability in capturing trace amounts of energy and transforming it into electrical energy. In this work, a size-distributed graphene oxide (GO) was utilized for the concurrent growth of both the 1D nanowires and 3D micro/nanowire architectures of poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) with piezoelectricity. The in situ formation of the polymeric micro/nanostructures, with crystalline beta phase, was achieved by the high-pressure crystallization of a well dispersed GO/PVDF composite, fabricated by an environmentally friendly physical approach. Particularly, by controlling the crystallization conditions of the binary composite at high pressure, the melting point of the polymeric micro/nanowires, which further constructed the 3D micro/nanoarchitectures, was nearly 30°C higher than that of the original PVDF. The large scale simultaneous formation of the 1D and 3D micro/nanostructures was attributed to a size-dependent catalysis of the GOs in the pressure-treated composite system. The as-fabricated heat-resistant hybrid micro/nanoarchitectures, consisting of GOs and piezoelectric PVDF micro/nanowires, may permit niche applications in self-powered micro/nanodevices for energy scavenging from their working environments.

  5. Aluminum-catalyzed silicon nanowires: Growth methods, properties, and applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hainey, Mel F.; Redwing, Joan M. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Materials Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 (United States)

    2016-12-15

    Metal-mediated vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth is a promising approach for the fabrication of silicon nanowires, although residual metal incorporation into the nanowires during growth can adversely impact electronic properties particularly when metals such as gold and copper are utilized. Aluminum, which acts as a shallow acceptor in silicon, is therefore of significant interest for the growth of p-type silicon nanowires but has presented challenges due to its propensity for oxidation. This paper summarizes the key aspects of aluminum-catalyzed nanowire growth along with wire properties and device results. In the first section, aluminum-catalyzed nanowire growth is discussed with a specific emphasis on methods to mitigate aluminum oxide formation. Next, the influence of growth parameters such as growth temperature, precursor partial pressure, and hydrogen partial pressure on nanowire morphology is discussed, followed by a brief review of the growth of templated and patterned arrays of nanowires. Aluminum incorporation into the nanowires is then discussed in detail, including measurements of the aluminum concentration within wires using atom probe tomography and assessment of electrical properties by four point resistance measurements. Finally, the use of aluminum-catalyzed VLS growth for device fabrication is reviewed including results on single-wire radial p-n junction solar cells and planar solar cells fabricated with nanowire/nanopyramid texturing.

  6. Mapping the Coulomb Environment in Interference-Quenched Ballistic Nanowires.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutstein, D; Lynall, D; Nair, S V; Savelyev, I; Blumin, M; Ercolani, D; Ruda, H E

    2018-01-10

    The conductance of semiconductor nanowires is strongly dependent on their electrostatic history because of the overwhelming influence of charged surface and interface states on electron confinement and scattering. We show that InAs nanowire field-effect transistor devices can be conditioned to suppress resonances that obscure quantized conduction thereby revealing as many as six sub-bands in the conductance spectra as the Fermi-level is swept across the sub-band energies. The energy level spectra extracted from conductance, coupled with detailed modeling shows the significance of the interface state charge distribution revealing the Coulomb landscape of the nanowire device. Inclusion of self-consistent Coulomb potentials, the measured geometrical shape of the nanowire, the gate geometry and nonparabolicity of the conduction band provide a quantitative and accurate description of the confinement potential and resulting energy level structure. Surfaces of the nanowire terminated by HfO 2 are shown to have their interface donor density reduced by a factor of 30 signifying the passivating role played by HfO 2 .

  7. Binary copper oxide semiconductors: From materials towards devices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meyer, B.K.; Polity, A.; Reppin, D.; Becker, M.; Hering, P.; Klar, P.J.; Sander, T.; Reindl, C.; Benz, J.; Eickhoff, M.; Heiliger, C.; Heinemann, M. [1. Physics Institute, Justus-Liebig University of Giessen (Germany); Blaesing, J.; Krost, A. [Institute of Experimental Physics (IEP), Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg (Germany); Shokovets, S. [Institute of Physics, Ilmenau University of Technology (Germany); Mueller, C.; Ronning, C. [Institute of Solid State Physics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany)

    2012-08-15

    Copper-oxide compound semiconductors provide a unique possibility to tune the optical and electronic properties from insulating to metallic conduction, from bandgap energies of 2.1 eV to the infrared at 1.40 eV, i.e., right into the middle of the efficiency maximum for solar-cell applications. Three distinctly different phases, Cu{sub 2}O, Cu{sub 4}O{sub 3}, and CuO, of this binary semiconductor can be prepared by thin-film deposition techniques, which differ in the oxidation state of copper. Their material properties as far as they are known by experiment or predicted by theory are reviewed. They are supplemented by new experimental results from thin-film growth and characterization, both will be critically discussed and summarized. With respect to devices the focus is on solar-cell performances based on Cu{sub 2}O. It is demonstrated by photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) that the heterojunction system p-Cu{sub 2}O/n-AlGaN is much more promising for the application as efficient solar cells than that of p-Cu{sub 2}O/n-ZnO heterojunction devices that have been favored up to now. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  8. Schottky barrier measurements on individual GaAs nanowires by X-ray photoemission microscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Di Mario, Lorenzo [IMM-CNR, via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome (Italy); Turchini, Stefano, E-mail: stefano.turchini@cnr.it [ISM-CNR, via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome (Italy); Zamborlini, Giovanni; Feyer, Vitaly [Peter Grünberg Institute (PGI-6) and JARA-FIT, Research Center Jülich, 52425 Jülich (Germany); Tian, Lin [IMM-CNR, via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome (Italy); Schneider, Claus M. [Peter Grünberg Institute (PGI-6) and JARA-FIT, Research Center Jülich, 52425 Jülich (Germany); Fakultät für Physik and Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CENIDE), Universität Duisburg-Essen, D-47048 Duisburg (Germany); Rubini, Silvia [IOM-CNR, TASC Laboratory, Basovizza 34149, Trieste (Italy); Martelli, Faustino, E-mail: faustino.martelli@cnr.it [IMM-CNR, via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome (Italy)

    2016-11-15

    Highlights: • The Schottky barrier at the interface between Cu and GaAs nanowires was measured. • Individual nanowires were investigated by X-ray Photoemission Microscopy. • The Schottky barrier at different positions along the nanowire was evaluated. - Abstract: We present measurements of the Schottky barrier height on individual GaAs nanowires by means of x-ray photoelectron emission microscopy (XPEEM). Values of 0.73 and 0.51 eV, averaged over the entire wires, were measured on Cu-covered n-doped and p-doped GaAs nanowires, respectively, in agreement with results obtained on bulk material. Our measurements show that XPEEM can become a feasible and reliable investigation tool of interface formation at the nanoscale and pave the way towards the study of size-dependent effects on semiconductor-based structures.

  9. Core-shell magnetic nanowires fabrication and characterization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kalska-Szostko, B., E-mail: kalska@uwb.edu.pl [Institute of Chemistry, University of Bialystok, Ciolkowskiego 1K, 15-245 Bialystok (Poland); Faculty of Physics, University of Bialystok, Ciolkowskiego 1L, 15-245 Bialystok, Poland (Poland); Klekotka, U.; Satuła, D. [Institute of Chemistry, University of Bialystok, Ciolkowskiego 1K, 15-245 Bialystok (Poland); Faculty of Physics, University of Bialystok, Ciolkowskiego 1L, 15-245 Bialystok, Poland (Poland)

    2017-02-28

    Highlights: • New approach for nanowires modification are presented. • Physical and chemical characterization of the nanowires are shown. • Properties modulations as an effect of the surface layer composition are discussed. - Abstract: In this paper, a new way of the preparation of core-shell magnetic nanowires has been proposed. For the modification Fe nanowires were prepared by electrodeposition in anodic aluminium oxide matrixes, in first step. In second, by wetting chemical deposition, shell layers of Ag, Au or Cu were obtained. Resultant core-shell nanowires structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive x-ray. Whereas magnetic properties by Mössbauer spectroscopy.

  10. Template-based fabrication of nanowire-nanotube hybrid arrays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ye Zuxin; Liu Haidong; Schultz, Isabel; Wu Wenhao; Naugle, D G; Lyuksyutov, I

    2008-01-01

    The fabrication and structure characterization of ordered nanowire-nanotube hybrid arrays embedded in porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes are reported. Arrays of TiO 2 nanotubes were first deposited into the pores of AAO membranes by a sol-gel technique. Co nanowires were then electrochemically deposited into the TiO 2 nanotubes to form the nanowire-nanotube hybrid arrays. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy measurements showed a high nanowire filling factor and a clean interface between the Co nanowire and the TiO 2 nanotube. Application of these hybrids to the fabrication of ordered nanowire arrays with highly controllable geometric parameters is discussed

  11. Characterization of Nanostructured Semiconductors by Ultrafast Luminescence Imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blake, Jolie

    Single nanostructures are predicted to be the building blocks of next generation devices and have already been incorporated into prototypes for solar cells, biomedical devices and lasers. Their role in such applications requires a fundamental understanding of their opto-electronic properties and in particular the charge carrier dynamics occurring on an ultrafast timescale. Luminescence detection is a common approach used to investigate electronic properties of nanostructures because of the contact-less nature of these methods. They are, however, often not equipped to efficiently measure multiple single nanostructures nor do they have the temporal resolution necessary for observing femtosecond dynamics. This dissertation intends to address this paucity of techniques available for the contact-less measurement of single nanostructures through the development of an ultrafast wide-field Kerr-gated microscope system and measurement technique. The setup, operational in both the steady state and transient mode and capable of microscopic and spectroscopic measurements, was developed to measure the transient luminescence of single semiconductor nanostructures. With sub micron spatial resolution and the potential to achieve a temporal resolution greater than 90 fs, the system was used to probe the charge carrier dynamics at multiple discrete locations on single nanowires exhibiting amplified spontaneous emission. Using a rate model for amplified spontaneous emission, the transient emission data was fitted to extract the values of the competing Shockley-Read-Hall, non-geminate and Auger recombination constants. The capabilities of the setup were first demonstrated in the visible detection range, where single nanowires of the ternary alloy CdS x Se1-x were measured. The temporal emission dynamics at two separate locations were compared and calculation of the Langevin mobility revealed that the large carrier densities generated in the nanowire allows access to non

  12. Thermodynamic photoinduced disorder in AlGaN nanowires

    KAUST Repository

    Alfaraj, Nasir; Muhammed, Mufasila Mumthaz; Li, Kuang-Hui; Janjua, Bilal; Aljefri, Renad A.; Sun, Haiding; Ng, Tien Khee; Ooi, Boon S.; Roqan, Iman S.; Li, Xiaohang

    2017-01-01

    In this study, we examine thermodynamic photoinduced disorder in AlGaN nanowires through their steady-state and transient photoluminescence properties. We correlate the energy exchange during the photoexcitation and photoemission processes of the light–solid reaction and the generation of photoinduced entropy of the nanowires using temperature-dependent (6 K to 290 K) photoluminescence. We observed an oscillatory trend in the generated entropy of the system below 200 K, with an oscillation frequency that was significantly lower than what we have previously observed in InGaN/GaN nanowires. In contrast to the sharp increase in generated entropy at temperatures close to room temperature in InGaN/GaN nanowires, an insignificant increase was observed in AlGaN nanowires, indicating lower degrees of disorder-induced uncertainty in the wider bandgap semiconductor. We conjecture that the enhanced atomic ordering in AlGaN caused lower degrees of disorder-induced uncertainty related to the energy of states involved in thermionic transitions; in keeping with this conjecture, we observed lower oscillation frequency below 200 K and a stable behavior in the generated entropy at temperatures close to room temperature.

  13. Thermodynamic photoinduced disorder in AlGaN nanowires

    KAUST Repository

    Alfaraj, Nasir

    2017-12-13

    In this study, we examine thermodynamic photoinduced disorder in AlGaN nanowires through their steady-state and transient photoluminescence properties. We correlate the energy exchange during the photoexcitation and photoemission processes of the light–solid reaction and the generation of photoinduced entropy of the nanowires using temperature-dependent (6 K to 290 K) photoluminescence. We observed an oscillatory trend in the generated entropy of the system below 200 K, with an oscillation frequency that was significantly lower than what we have previously observed in InGaN/GaN nanowires. In contrast to the sharp increase in generated entropy at temperatures close to room temperature in InGaN/GaN nanowires, an insignificant increase was observed in AlGaN nanowires, indicating lower degrees of disorder-induced uncertainty in the wider bandgap semiconductor. We conjecture that the enhanced atomic ordering in AlGaN caused lower degrees of disorder-induced uncertainty related to the energy of states involved in thermionic transitions; in keeping with this conjecture, we observed lower oscillation frequency below 200 K and a stable behavior in the generated entropy at temperatures close to room temperature.

  14. Auger Recombination in III-Nitride Nanowires and Its Effect on Nanowire Light-Emitting Diode Characteristics

    KAUST Repository

    Guo, Wei; Zhang, Meng; Bhattacharya, Pallab; Heo, Junseok

    2011-01-01

    We have measured the Auger recombination coefficients in defect-free InGaN nanowires (NW) and InGaN/GaN dot-in-nanowire (DNW) samples grown on (001) silicon by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The nanowires have a density of ∼1×1011 cm-2 and exhibit photoluminescence emission peak at λ ∼ 500 nm. The Auger coefficients as a function of excitation power have been derived from excitation dependent and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements over a wide range of optical excitation power density. The values of C0, defined as the Auger coefficient at low excitation, are 6.1 × 10-32 and 4.1×10-33 cm6·s-1 in the NW and DNW samples, respectively, which are in reasonably good agreement with theoretical predictions for InGaN alloy semiconductors. Light-emitting diodes made with the NW and DNW samples exhibit no efficiency droop up to an injection current density of 400 A/cm 2. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

  15. Auger Recombination in III-Nitride Nanowires and Its Effect on Nanowire Light-Emitting Diode Characteristics

    KAUST Repository

    Guo, Wei

    2011-04-13

    We have measured the Auger recombination coefficients in defect-free InGaN nanowires (NW) and InGaN/GaN dot-in-nanowire (DNW) samples grown on (001) silicon by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The nanowires have a density of ∼1×1011 cm-2 and exhibit photoluminescence emission peak at λ ∼ 500 nm. The Auger coefficients as a function of excitation power have been derived from excitation dependent and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements over a wide range of optical excitation power density. The values of C0, defined as the Auger coefficient at low excitation, are 6.1 × 10-32 and 4.1×10-33 cm6·s-1 in the NW and DNW samples, respectively, which are in reasonably good agreement with theoretical predictions for InGaN alloy semiconductors. Light-emitting diodes made with the NW and DNW samples exhibit no efficiency droop up to an injection current density of 400 A/cm 2. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

  16. Strain in GaAs / InAs core-shell nanowire heterostructures grown on GaAs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Biermanns, Andreas; Davydok, Anton; Pietsch, Ullrich [Universitaet Siegen, Festkoerperphysik (Germany); Rieger, Torsten; Lepsa, Mihail Ion [Peter Gruenberg Institut 9, Forschungszentrum Juelich (Germany); JARA - Fundamentals of Future Information Technology (Germany)

    2012-07-01

    The growth of semiconductor nanowires (NWs) has attracted significant interest in recent years due to the possible fabrication of novel semiconductor devices for future electronic and opto-electronic applications. Compared to planar heterostructures, the nanowire approach offers an advantage regarding the possibility to form heterostructures between highly lattice mismatched systems, because the free surface of the nanowires allows to relieve the strain more efficiently. One particular way to form heterostructures in the NW geometry, is the fabrication of core-shell devices, in which a NW core is surrounded by a shell of different material. The understanding of the mutual strain between core and shell, as well as the relaxation behavior of the system are crucial for the fabrication of functional devices. In this contribution we report on first X-ray diffraction measurements of GaAs-core/InAs-shell nanowires grown on GaAs(111) by molecular beam epitaxy. Using symmetric- and grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction, the relaxation state of the InAs shell as well as the strain in the GaAs core are measured as function of the InAs shell thickness, showing a gradual relaxation behavior of the shell.

  17. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy for quantitative interface state characterization of planar and nanostructured semiconductor-dielectric interfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Andrew C.; Tang, Kechao; Braun, Michael R.; Zhang, Liangliang; McIntyre, Paul C.

    2017-10-01

    The performance of nanostructured semiconductors is frequently limited by interface defects that trap electronic carriers. In particular, high aspect ratio geometries dramatically increase the difficulty of using typical solid-state electrical measurements (multifrequency capacitance- and conductance-voltage testing) to quantify interface trap densities (D it). We report on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to characterize the energy distribution of interface traps at metal oxide/semiconductor interfaces. This method takes advantage of liquid electrolytes, which provide conformal electrical contacts. Planar Al2O3/p-Si and Al2O3/p-Si0.55Ge0.45 interfaces are used to benchmark the EIS data against results obtained from standard electrical testing methods. We find that the solid state and EIS data agree very well, leading to the extraction of consistent D it energy distributions. Measurements carried out on pyramid-nanostructured p-Si obtained by KOH etching followed by deposition of a 10 nm ALD-Al2O3 demonstrate the application of EIS to trap characterization of a nanostructured dielectric/semiconductor interface. These results show the promise of this methodology to measure interface state densities for a broad range of semiconductor nanostructures such as nanowires, nanofins, and porous structures.

  18. Lithium effects on the mechanical and electronic properties of germanium nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Macías, A.; Salazar, F.; Miranda, A.; Trejo-Baños, A.; Pérez, L. A.; Carvajal, E.; Cruz-Irisson, M.

    2018-04-01

    Semiconductor nanowire arrays promise rapid development of a new generation of lithium (Li) batteries because they can store more Li atoms than conventional crystals due to their large surface areas. During the charge-discharge process, the electrodes experience internal stresses that fatigue the material and limit the useful life of the battery. The theoretical study of electronic and mechanical properties of lithiated nanowire arrays allows the designing of electrode materials that could improve battery performance. In this work, we present a density functional theory study of the electronic band structure, formation energy, binding energy, and Young’s modulus (Y) of hydrogen passivated germanium nanowires (H-GeNWs) grown along the [111] and [001] crystallographic directions with surface and interstitial Li atoms. The results show that the germanium nanowires (GeNWs) with surface Li atoms maintain their semiconducting behavior but their energy gap size decreases when the Li concentration grows. In contrast, the GeNWs can have semiconductor or metallic behavior depending on the concentration of the interstitial Li atoms. On the other hand, Y is an indicator of the structural changes that GeNWs suffer due to the concentration of Li atoms. For surface Li atoms, Y stays almost constant, whereas for interstitial Li atoms, the Y values indicate important structural changes in the GeNWs.

  19. ZnO nanowire-based nano-floating gate memory with Pt nanocrystals embedded in Al2O3 gate oxides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yeom, Donghyuk; Kang, Jeongmin; Lee, Myoungwon; Jang, Jaewon; Yun, Junggwon; Jeong, Dong-Young; Yoon, Changjoon; Koo, Jamin; Kim, Sangsig

    2008-01-01

    The memory characteristics of ZnO nanowire-based nano-floating gate memory (NFGM) with Pt nanocrystals acting as the floating gate nodes were investigated in this work. Pt nanocrystals were embedded between Al 2 O 3 tunneling and control oxide layers deposited on ZnO nanowire channels. For a representative ZnO nanowire-based NFGM with embedded Pt nanocrystals, a threshold voltage shift of 3.8 V was observed in its drain current versus gate voltage (I DS -V GS ) measurements for a double sweep of the gate voltage, revealing that the deep effective potential wells built into the nanocrystals provide our NFGM with a large charge storage capacity. Details of the charge storage effect observed in this memory device are discussed in this paper

  20. Broad compositional tunability of indium tin oxide nanowires grown by the vapor-liquid-solid mechanism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Zervos

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Indium tin oxide nanowires were grown by the reaction of In and Sn with O2 at 800 °C via the vapor-liquid-solid mechanism on 1 nm Au/Si(001. We obtain Sn doped In2O3 nanowires having a cubic bixbyite crystal structure by using In:Sn source weight ratios > 1:9 while below this we observe the emergence of tetragonal rutile SnO2 and suppression of In2O3 permitting compositional and structural tuning from SnO2 to In2O3 which is accompanied by a blue shift of the photoluminescence spectrum and increase in carrier lifetime attributed to a higher crystal quality and Fermi level position.

  1. In situ hydrogenation of molybdenum oxide nanowires for enhanced supercapacitors

    KAUST Repository

    Shakir, Imran

    2014-01-01

    In situ hydrogenation of orthorhombic molybdenum trioxide (α-MoO 3) nanowires has been achieved on a large scale by introducing alcohol during the hydrothermal synthesis for electrochemical energy storage supercapacitor devices. The hydrogenated molybdenum trioxide (H xMoO3) nanowires yield a specific capacitance of 168 F g-1 at 0.5 A g-1 and maintain 108 F g-1 at 10 A g-1, which is 36-fold higher than the capacitance obtained from pristine MoO3 nanowires at the same conditions. The electrochemical devices made with HxMoO3 nanowires exhibit excellent cycling stability by retaining 97% of their capacitance after 3000 cycles due to an enhanced electronic conductivity and increased density of hydroxyl groups on the surface of the MoO3 nanowires. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.

  2. Epitaxial III-V nanowires on silicon for vertical devices

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bakkers, E.P.A.M.; Borgström, M.T.; Einden, Van Den W.; Weert, van M.H.M.; Helman, A.; Verheijen, M.A.

    2006-01-01

    We show the epitaxial integration of III-V semiconductor nanowires with silicon technology. The wires are grown by the Vapor-Liquid-Solid (VLS) mechanism with laser ablation as well as metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. The VLS growth enables the fabrication of complex axial and radial

  3. Origin of noise in liquid-gated Si nanowire troponin biosensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kutovyi, Y.; Zadorozhnyi, I.; Hlukhova, H.; Handziuk, V.; Petrychuk, M.; Ivanchuk, Andriy; Vitusevich, S.

    2018-04-01

    Liquid-gated Si nanowire field-effect transistor (FET) biosensors are fabricated using a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor-compatible top-down approach. The transport and noise properties of the devices reflect the high performance of the FET structures, which allows label-free detection of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) molecules. Moreover, after removing the troponin antigens the structures demonstrate the same characteristics as before cTnI detection, indicating the reusable operation of biosensors. Our results show that the additional noise is related to the troponin molecules and has characteristics which considerably differ from those usually recorded for conventional FETs without target molecules. We describe the origin of the noise and suggest that noise spectroscopy represents a powerful tool for understanding molecular dynamic processes in nanoscale FET-based biosensors.

  4. Size-controlled synthesis and formation mechanism of manganese oxide OMS-2 nanowires under reflux conditions with KMnO4 and inorganic acids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qin; Cheng, Xiaodi; Qiu, Guohong; Liu, Fan; Feng, Xionghan

    2016-05-01

    This study presents a simplified approach for size-controlled synthesis of manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieve (OMS-2) nanowires using potassium permanganate (KMnO4) and different inorganic acids (HCl, HNO3, and H2SO4) under reflux conditions. The morphology and nanostructure of the synthesized products are characterized by X-ray diffraction, Ar adsorption, and electron microscopy analysis, in order to elucidate the controlling effects of acid concentration and type as well as the formation mechanism of OMS-2 nanowires. The concentration of inorganic acid is a crucial factor controlling the phase of the synthesized products. OMS-2 nanowires are obtained with HCl at the concentration ≥0.96 mol/L or with HNO3 and H2SO4 at the concentrations ≥0.72 mol/L. Differently, the type of inorganic acid effectively determines the particle size of OMS-2 nanowires. When the acid is changed from HCl to HNO3 and H2SO4 in the reflux system, the average length of OMS-2 declines significantly by 60-70% (1104-442 and 339 nm), with minor decreased in the average width (43-39 and 34 nm). The formation of OMS-2 nanowires under reflux conditions with KMnO4 and inorganic acids involves a two-step process, i.e., the initial formation of layered manganese oxides, and subsequent transformation to OMS-2 via a dissolution-recrystallization process under acidic conditions. The proposed reflux route provides an alternative approach for synthesizing OMS-2 nanowires as well as other porous nano-crystalline OMS materials.

  5. Deformable Organic Nanowire Field-Effect Transistors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Yeongjun; Oh, Jin Young; Kim, Taeho Roy; Gu, Xiaodan; Kim, Yeongin; Wang, Ging-Ji Nathan; Wu, Hung-Chin; Pfattner, Raphael; To, John W F; Katsumata, Toru; Son, Donghee; Kang, Jiheong; Matthews, James R; Niu, Weijun; He, Mingqian; Sinclair, Robert; Cui, Yi; Tok, Jeffery B-H; Lee, Tae-Woo; Bao, Zhenan

    2018-02-01

    Deformable electronic devices that are impervious to mechanical influence when mounted on surfaces of dynamically changing soft matters have great potential for next-generation implantable bioelectronic devices. Here, deformable field-effect transistors (FETs) composed of single organic nanowires (NWs) as the semiconductor are presented. The NWs are composed of fused thiophene diketopyrrolopyrrole based polymer semiconductor and high-molecular-weight polyethylene oxide as both the molecular binder and deformability enhancer. The obtained transistors show high field-effect mobility >8 cm 2 V -1 s -1 with poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) polymer dielectric and can easily be deformed by applied strains (both 100% tensile and compressive strains). The electrical reliability and mechanical durability of the NWs can be significantly enhanced by forming serpentine-like structures of the NWs. Remarkably, the fully deformable NW FETs withstand 3D volume changes (>1700% and reverting back to original state) of a rubber balloon with constant current output, on the surface of which it is attached. The deformable transistors can robustly operate without noticeable degradation on a mechanically dynamic soft matter surface, e.g., a pulsating balloon (pulse rate: 40 min -1 (0.67 Hz) and 40% volume expansion) that mimics a beating heart, which underscores its potential for future biomedical applications. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  6. Cathodoluminescence of semiconductors in the scanning electron microscope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noriegas, Javier Piqueras de

    2008-01-01

    Full text: Cathodoluminescence (CL) in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a nondestructive technique, useful for characterization of optical and electronic properties of semiconductors, with spatial resolution. The contrast in the images of CL is related to the presence of crystalline defects, precipitates or impurities and provides information on their spatial distribution. CL spectra allows to study local energy position of localized electronic states. The application of the CL is extended to semiconductor very different characteristics, such as bulk material, heterostructures, nanocrystalline film, porous semiconductor, nanocrystals, nanowires and other nano-and microstructures. In the case of wafers, provides information on the homogeneity of their electronic characteristics, density of dislocations, grain sub frontiers, distribution of impurities and so on. while on the study of heterostructures CL images can determine, for example, the presence of misfit dislocations at the interface between different sheets, below the outer surface of the sample. In the study of other low dimensional structures, such as nanocrystalline films, nanoparticles and nano-and microstructures are observed elongated in some cases quantum confinement effects from the CL spectra. Moreover, larger structures, the order of hundreds of nanometers, with forms of wires, tubes or strips, is that in many semiconductor materials, mainly oxides, the behavior of luminescence is different from bulk material. The microstructures have a different structure of defects and a greater influence of the surface, which in some cases leads to a higher emission efficiency and a different spectral distribution. The presentation describes the principle of the CL technique and examples of its application in the characterization of a wide range of both semiconductor materials of different composition, and of different sizes ranging from nanostructures to bulk samples

  7. Ultrawide band gap amorphous oxide semiconductor, Ga–Zn–O

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Junghwan, E-mail: JH.KIM@lucid.msl.titech.ac.jp [Materials and Structures Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Mailbox R3-4, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama (Japan); Miyokawa, Norihiko; Sekiya, Takumi; Ide, Keisuke [Materials and Structures Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Mailbox R3-4, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama (Japan); Toda, Yoshitake [Materials Research Center for Element Strategy, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Mailbox SE-6, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama (Japan); Hiramatsu, Hidenori; Hosono, Hideo; Kamiya, Toshio [Materials and Structures Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Mailbox R3-4, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama (Japan); Materials Research Center for Element Strategy, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Mailbox SE-6, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama (Japan)

    2016-09-01

    We fabricated amorphous oxide semiconductor films, a-(Ga{sub 1–x}Zn{sub x})O{sub y}, at room temperature on glass, which have widely tunable band gaps (E{sub g}) ranging from 3.47–4.12 eV. The highest electron Hall mobility ~ 7 cm{sup 2} V{sup −1} s{sup −1} was obtained for E{sub g} = ~ 3.8 eV. Ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy revealed that the increase in E{sub g} with increasing the Ga content comes mostly from the deepening of the valence band maximum level while the conduction band minimum level remains almost unchanged. These characteristics are explained by their electronic structures. As these films can be fabricated at room temperature on plastic, this achievement extends the applications of flexible electronics to opto-electronic integrated circuits associated with deep ultraviolet region. - Highlights: • Incorporation of H/H{sub 2}O stabilizes the amorphous phase. • Ultrawide band gap (~ 3.8 eV) amorphous oxide semiconductor was fabricated. • The increase in band gap comes mostly from the deepening of the valence band maximum level. • Donor level is more likely aligned to the valence band maximum level.

  8. Synthesis and magnetic properties of cobalt-iron/cobalt-ferrite soft/hard magnetic core/shell nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leandro Londoño-Calderón, César; Moscoso-Londoño, Oscar; Muraca, Diego; Arzuza, Luis; Carvalho, Peterson; Pirota, Kleber Roberto; Knobel, Marcelo; Pampillo, Laura Gabriela; Martínez-García, Ricardo

    2017-06-01

    A straightforward method for the synthesis of CoFe2.7/CoFe2O4 core/shell nanowires is described. The proposed method starts with a conventional pulsed electrodeposition procedure on alumina nanoporous template. The obtained CoFe2.7 nanowires are released from the template and allowed to oxidize at room conditions over several weeks. The effects of partial oxidation on the structural and magnetic properties were studied by x-ray spectrometry, magnetometry, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The results indicate that the final nanowires are composed of 5 nm iron-cobalt alloy nanoparticles. Releasing the nanowires at room conditions promoted surface oxidation of the nanoparticles and created a CoFe2O4 shell spinel-like structure. The shell avoids internal oxidation and promotes the formation of bi-magnetic soft/hard magnetic core/shell nanowires. The magnetic properties of both the initial single-phase CoFe2.7 nanowires and the final core/shell nanowires, reveal that the changes in the properties from the array are due to the oxidation more than effects associated with released processes (disorder and agglomeration).

  9. Diameter- and current-density-dependent growth orientation of hexagonal CdSe nanowire arrays via electrodeposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun Hongyu; Li Xiaohong; Chen Yan; Guo Defeng; Xie Yanwu; Li Wei; Zhang Xiangyi; Liu Baoting

    2009-01-01

    Controlling the growth orientation of semiconductor nanowire arrays is of vital importance for their applications in the fields of nanodevices. In the present work, hexagonal CdSe nanowire arrays with various preferential growth orientations have been successfully yielded by employing the electrodeposition technique using porous alumina as templates (PATs). We demonstrate by experimental and theoretical efforts that the growth orientation of the CdSe nanowires can be effectively manipulated by varying either the nanopore diameter of the PATs or the deposited current density, which has significant effects on the optical properties of the CdSe nanowires. The present study provides an alternative approach to tuning the growth direction of electrodeposited nanowires and thus is of importance for the fabrication of nanodevices with controlled functional properties.

  10. Diameter- and current-density-dependent growth orientation of hexagonal CdSe nanowire arrays via electrodeposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sun Hongyu; Li Xiaohong; Chen Yan; Guo Defeng; Xie Yanwu; Li Wei; Zhang Xiangyi [State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004 (China); Liu Baoting, E-mail: xyzh66@ysu.edu.c [College of Physics Science and Technology, Hebei University, Baoding 071002 (China)

    2009-10-21

    Controlling the growth orientation of semiconductor nanowire arrays is of vital importance for their applications in the fields of nanodevices. In the present work, hexagonal CdSe nanowire arrays with various preferential growth orientations have been successfully yielded by employing the electrodeposition technique using porous alumina as templates (PATs). We demonstrate by experimental and theoretical efforts that the growth orientation of the CdSe nanowires can be effectively manipulated by varying either the nanopore diameter of the PATs or the deposited current density, which has significant effects on the optical properties of the CdSe nanowires. The present study provides an alternative approach to tuning the growth direction of electrodeposited nanowires and thus is of importance for the fabrication of nanodevices with controlled functional properties.

  11. Observation of linear I-V curves on vertical GaAs nanowires with atomic force microscope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geydt, P.; Alekseev, P. A.; Dunaevskiy, M.; Lähderanta, E.; Haggrén, T.; Kakko, J.-P.; Lipsanen, H.

    2015-12-01

    In this work we demonstrate the possibility of studying the current-voltage characteristics for single vertically standing semiconductor nanowires on standard AFM equipped by current measuring module in PeakForce Tapping mode. On the basis of research of eight different samples of p-doped GaAs nanowires grown on different GaAs substrates, peculiar electrical effects were revealed. It was found how covering of substrate surface by SiOx layer increases the current, as well as phosphorous passivation of the grown nanowires. Elimination of the Schottky barrier between golden cap and the top parts of nanowires was observed. It was additionally studied that charge accumulation on the shell of single nanowires affects its resistivity and causes the hysteresis loops on I-V curves.

  12. Anodic Aluminum Oxide Membrane-Assisted Fabrication of ?-In2S3Nanowires

    OpenAIRE

    Shi, Jen-Bin; Chen, Chih-Jung; Lin, Ya-Ting; Hsu, Wen-Chia; Chen, Yu-Cheng; Wu, Po-Feng

    2009-01-01

    Abstract In this study, β-In2S3nanowires were first synthesized by sulfurizing the pure Indium (In) nanowires in an AAO membrane. As FE-SEM results, β-In2S3nanowires are highly ordered, arranged tightly corresponding to the high porosity of the AAO membrane used. The diameter of the β-In2S3nanowires is about 60 nm with the length of about 6–8 μm. Moreover, the aspect ratio of β-In2S3nanowires is up to 117. An EDS analysis revealed the β-In2S3nanowires with ...

  13. A p-silicon nanowire/n-ZnO thin film heterojunction diode prepared by thermal evaporation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hazra, Purnima; Jit, S.

    2014-01-01

    This paper represents the electrical and optical characteristics of a SiNW/ZnO heterojunction diode and subsequent studies on the photodetection properties of the diode in the ultraviolet (UV) wavelength region. In this work, silicon nanowire arrays were prepared on p-type (100)-oriented Si substrate by an electroless metal deposition and etching method with the help of ultrasonication. After that, catalyst-free deposition of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires on a silicon nanowire (SiNW) array substrate was done by utilizing a simple and cost-effective thermal evaporation technique without using a buffer layer. The SEM and XRD techniques are used to show the quality of the as-grown ZnO nanowire film. The junction properties of the diode are evaluated by measuring current—voltage and capacitance—voltage characteristics. The diode has a well-defined rectifying behavior with a rectification ratio of 190 at ±2 V, turn-on voltage of 0.5 V, and barrier height is 0.727 eV at room temperature under dark conditions. The photodetection parameters of the diode are investigated in the bias voltage range of ±2 V. The diode shows responsivity of 0.8 A/W at a bias voltage of 2 V under UV illumination (wavelength = 365 nm). The characteristics of the device indicate that it can be used for UV detection applications in nano-optoelectronic and photonic devices. (semiconductor devices)

  14. Enhanced performance of thermal-assisted electron field emission based on barium oxide nanowire

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cui, Yunkang [Department of Mathematics and Physics, Nanjing Institute of technology, Nanjing, 211167 (China); Chen, Jing, E-mail: chenjingmoon@gmail.com [School of Electronic Science & Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096 (China); Zhang, Yuning; Zhang, Xiaobing; Lei, Wei; Di, Yunsong [School of Electronic Science & Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096 (China); Zhang, Zichen, E-mail: zz241@ime.ac.cn [Integrated system for Laser applications Group, Institute of Microelectronics of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100029, Beijing (China)

    2017-02-28

    Highlights: • A possible mechanism for thermal-assisted electric field was demonstrated. • A new path for the architecture of the novel nanomaterial and methodology for its potential application in the field emission device area was provided. • The turn-on field, the threshold field and the field emission current density were largely related to the temperature of the cathode. • The relationship between the work function of emitter material and the temperature of emitter was found. - Abstract: In this paper, thermal-assisted field emission properties of barium oxide (BaO) nanowire synthesized by a chemical bath deposition method were investigated. The morphology and composition of BaO nanowire were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction (SED), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX) respectively. The turn-on field, threshold field and the emission current density could be affected relatively due to the thermal-assisted effect when the electric field was applied, in the meanwhile, the turn-on field for BaO nanowire was measured to be decreased from 1.12 V/μm to 0.66 V/μm when the temperature was raised from 293 K to 593 K, whereas for the threshold field was found to decrease from 3.64 V/μm to 2.12 V/μm. The improved performance was demonstrated due to the reduced work function of the BaO nanowire as the agitation temperature increasing, leading to the higher probability of electrons tunneling through the energy barrier and enhancement of the field emission properties of BaO emitters.

  15. Enhanced performance of thermal-assisted electron field emission based on barium oxide nanowire

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cui, Yunkang; Chen, Jing; Zhang, Yuning; Zhang, Xiaobing; Lei, Wei; Di, Yunsong; Zhang, Zichen

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • A possible mechanism for thermal-assisted electric field was demonstrated. • A new path for the architecture of the novel nanomaterial and methodology for its potential application in the field emission device area was provided. • The turn-on field, the threshold field and the field emission current density were largely related to the temperature of the cathode. • The relationship between the work function of emitter material and the temperature of emitter was found. - Abstract: In this paper, thermal-assisted field emission properties of barium oxide (BaO) nanowire synthesized by a chemical bath deposition method were investigated. The morphology and composition of BaO nanowire were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction (SED), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX) respectively. The turn-on field, threshold field and the emission current density could be affected relatively due to the thermal-assisted effect when the electric field was applied, in the meanwhile, the turn-on field for BaO nanowire was measured to be decreased from 1.12 V/μm to 0.66 V/μm when the temperature was raised from 293 K to 593 K, whereas for the threshold field was found to decrease from 3.64 V/μm to 2.12 V/μm. The improved performance was demonstrated due to the reduced work function of the BaO nanowire as the agitation temperature increasing, leading to the higher probability of electrons tunneling through the energy barrier and enhancement of the field emission properties of BaO emitters.

  16. Synthesis of single crystalline CdS nanowires with polyethylene glycol 400 as inducing template

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2006-01-01

    Solvothermal technique, an one-step soft solution-processing route was successfully employed to synthesize single crystalline CdS nanowires in ethylenediamine medium at lower temperature (170 □) for 1-8 d. In this route, polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG400)was used as surfactant, which played a crucial role in preferentially oriented growth of semiconductor nanowires. Characterizations of as-prepared CdS nanowires by X-ray powder diffraction(XRD), transmission electron microscopy(TEM) indicate that the naonowires,with typical diameters of 20nm and lengths up to several micrometers, have preferential [001] orientation. Also, investigations into the physical properties of the CdS nanowires were conducted with UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy and photoluminescence emission spectroscopy. The excitonic photo-optical phenomena of the nanowires shows the potential in the practical applications.

  17. Wurtzite InP nanowire arrays grown by selective area MOCVD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chu, Hyung-Joon; Stewart, Lawrence; Yeh, Ting-Wei; Dapkus, P.D.

    2010-01-01

    InP nanowires are a unique material phase because this normally zincblende material forms in the wurtzite crystal structure below a critical diameter owing to the contribution of sidewalls to the total formation energy. This may allow control of the carrier transport and optical properties of InP nanowires for applications such as nano scale transistors, lasers and detectors. In this work, we describe the fabrication of InP nanowire arrays by selective area growth using MOCVD in the diameter range where the wurtzite structure is formed. The spatial growth rate in selective area growth is modeled by a diffusion model for the precursors. The proposed model achieves an average error of 9%. Electron microscopy shows that the grown InP nanowires are in the wurtzite crystal phase with many stacking faults. The threshold diameter of the crystal phase transition of InP nanowires is larger than the thermodynamic estimation. In order to explain this tendency, we propose a surface kinetics model based on a 2 x 2 reconstruction. This model can explain the increased tendency for wurtzite nanowire formation on InP (111)A substrates and the preferred growth direction of binary III-V compound semiconductor nanowires. (copyright 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  18. Single InAs/GaSb nanowire low-power CMOS inverter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dey, Anil W; Svensson, Johannes; Borg, B Mattias; Ek, Martin; Wernersson, Lars-Erik

    2012-11-14

    III-V semiconductors have so far predominately been employed for n-type transistors in high-frequency applications. This development is based on the advantageous transport properties and the large variety of heterostructure combinations in the family of III-V semiconductors. In contrast, reports on p-type devices with high hole mobility suitable for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) circuits for low-power operation are scarce. In addition, the difficulty to integrate both n- and p-type devices on the same substrate without the use of complex buffer layers has hampered the development of III-V based digital logic. Here, inverters fabricated from single n-InAs/p-GaSb heterostructure nanowires are demonstrated in a simple processing scheme. Using undoped segments and aggressively scaled high-κ dielectric, enhancement mode operation suitable for digital logic is obtained for both types of transistors. State-of-the-art on- and off-state characteristics are obtained and the individual long-channel n- and p-type transistors exhibit minimum subthreshold swings of SS = 98 mV/dec and SS = 400 mV/dec, respectively, at V(ds) = 0.5 V. Inverter characteristics display a full signal swing and maximum gain of 10.5 with a small device-to-device variability. Complete inversion is measured at low frequencies although large parasitic capacitances deform the waveform at higher frequencies.

  19. Fabrication and characterization of well-aligned zinc oxide nanowire arrays and their realizations in Schottky-device applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wong, Kin Mun; Grote, Fabian; Sun, Hui; Lei, Yong [Institute of Materials Physics, Center for Nanotechnology, University of Muenster (Germany); Wen, Liaoyong; Fang, Yaoguo [Institute of Nanochemistry and Nanobiology, Shanghai University, Shanghai 201800 (China)

    2011-07-01

    Highly ordered arrays of vertical zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires (NWs) or nanopores were fabricated in our group by first thermal evaporating a thin film of gold on the ultrathin alumina membrane (UTAM). The UTAM was then utilized as a substrate for the growth of the ordered arrays using a chemical vapour deposition (CVD) process. Alternatively, a modified CVD process was also used to fabricate ultra-long ZnO NWs with the length of the nanowire exceeding 100 micrometres. Subsequently, densely packed arrays of ZnO NWs Schottky diodes were synthesized by transferring the long NWs on a substrate using a dry contact printing method and the electrical contacts were made on the NWs with a photolithographic process. The interesting electrical properties of the ZnO NWs, diodes or other metal oxide NWs such as the field emission, electron transport and piezoelectric properties were characterized by current-voltage or by other appropriate measurements.

  20. BiOCl nanowire with hierarchical structure and its Raman features

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tian Ye; Guo Chuanfei; Guo Yanjun; Wang Qi; Liu Qian

    2012-01-01

    BiOCl is a promising V-VI-VII-compound semiconductor with excellent optical and electrical properties, and has great potential applications in photo-catalysis, photoelectric, etc. We successfully synthesize BiOCl nanowire with a hierarchical structure by combining wet etch (top-down) with liquid phase crystal growth (bottom-up) process, opening a novel method to construct ordered bismuth-based nanostructures. The morphology and lattice structures of Bi nanowires, β-Bi 2 O 3 nanowires and BiOCl nanowires with the hierarchical structure are investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transition electron microscope (TEM). The formation mechanism of such ordered BiOCl hierarchical structure is considered to mainly originate from the highly preferred growth, which is governed by the lattice match between (1 1 0) facet of BiOCl and (2 2 0) or (0 0 2) facet of β-Bi 2 O 3 . A schematic model is also illustrated to depict the formation process of the ordered BiOCl hierarchical structure. In addition, Raman properties of the BiOCl nanowire with the hierarchical structure are investigated deeply.

  1. The effect of body bias of the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor in the resistive network on spatial current distribution in a bio-inspired complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor vision chip

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Jae-Sung; Hyun, Hyo-Young; Seo, Sang-Ho; Shin, Jang-Kyoo

    2008-11-01

    Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) vision chips for edge detection based on a resistive circuit have recently been developed. These chips help in the creation of neuromorphic systems of a compact size, high speed of operation, and low power dissipation. The output of the vision chip depends predominantly upon the electrical characteristics of the resistive network which consists of a resistive circuit. In this paper, the body effect of the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor for current distribution in a resistive circuit is discussed with a simple model. In order to evaluate the model, two 160 × 120 CMOS vision chips have been fabricated using a standard CMOS technology. The experimental results nicely match our prediction.

  2. Perspectives: Nanofibers and nanowires for disordered photonics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dario Pisignano

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available As building blocks of microscopically non-homogeneous materials, semiconductor nanowires and polymer nanofibers are emerging component materials for disordered photonics, with unique properties of light emission and scattering. Effects found in assemblies of nanowires and nanofibers include broadband reflection, significant localization of light, strong and collective multiple scattering, enhanced absorption of incident photons, synergistic effects with plasmonic particles, and random lasing. We highlight recent related discoveries, with a focus on material aspects. The control of spatial correlations in complex assemblies during deposition, the coupling of modes with efficient transmission channels provided by nanofiber waveguides, and the embedment of random architectures into individually coded nanowires will allow the potential of these photonic materials to be fully exploited, unconventional physics to be highlighted, and next-generation optical devices to be achieved. The prospects opened by this technology include enhanced random lasing and mode-locking, multi-directionally guided coupling to sensors and receivers, and low-cost encrypting miniatures for encoders and labels.

  3. Ni-doped zinc oxide nanocombs and phonon spectra properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Bin; Zhang Xingtang; Gong Hechun; Wu Zhishen; Zhou Shaomin; Du Zuliang

    2008-01-01

    Ni-doped comb-like zinc oxide (ZnO) semiconductor nanostructures have been synthesized by a simple chemical vapor-deposition method (CVD) at relatively low temperature. The as-synthesized ZnO nanocombs consist of an array of very uniform, perfectly aligned, evenly spaced and long single-crystalline nanobelts (nanowires) with periods of about several tens of nanometers. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectra results provide the evidence that Ni is incorporated into the ZnO lattice at Zn site. Photoluminescence spectra of the as-obtained samples have been detected, in which the incorporation of donor Ni leads to the increases of the ultraviolet emission intensity and a blueshift of emission peak. This technique can be used to prepare other semiconductors and morphology-controlled doping nanocombs

  4. Self-bridging of vertical silicon nanowires and a universal capacitive force model for spontaneous attraction in nanostructures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Zhelin; Wang, Deli; Xiang, Jie

    2014-11-25

    Spontaneous attractions between free-standing nanostructures have often caused adhesion or stiction that affects a wide range of nanoscale devices, particularly nano/microelectromechanical systems. Previous understandings of the attraction mechanisms have included capillary force, van der Waals/Casimir forces, and surface polar charges. However, none of these mechanisms universally applies to simple semiconductor structures such as silicon nanowire arrays that often exhibit bunching or adhesions. Here we propose a simple capacitive force model to quantitatively study the universal spontaneous attraction that often causes stiction among semiconductor or metallic nanostructures such as vertical nanowire arrays with inevitably nonuniform size variations due to fabrication. When nanostructures are uniform in size, they share the same substrate potential. The presence of slight size differences will break the symmetry in the capacitive network formed between the nanowires, substrate, and their environment, giving rise to electrostatic attraction forces due to the relative potential difference between neighboring wires. Our model is experimentally verified using arrays of vertical silicon nanowire pairs with varied spacing, diameter, and size differences. Threshold nanowire spacing, diameter, or size difference between the nearest neighbors has been identified beyond which the nanowires start to exhibit spontaneous attraction that leads to bridging when electrostatic forces overcome elastic restoration forces. This work illustrates a universal understanding of spontaneous attraction that will impact the design, fabrication, and reliable operation of nanoscale devices and systems.

  5. Design and evaluation of basic standard encryption algorithm modules using nanosized complementary metal oxide semiconductor molecular circuits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masoumi, Massoud; Raissi, Farshid; Ahmadian, Mahmoud; Keshavarzi, Parviz

    2006-01-01

    We are proposing that the recently proposed semiconductor-nanowire-molecular architecture (CMOL) is an optimum platform to realize encryption algorithms. The basic modules for the advanced encryption standard algorithm (Rijndael) have been designed using CMOL architecture. The performance of this design has been evaluated with respect to chip area and speed. It is observed that CMOL provides considerable improvement over implementation with regular CMOS architecture even with a 20% defect rate. Pseudo-optimum gate placement and routing are provided for Rijndael building blocks and the possibility of designing high speed, attack tolerant and long key encryptions are discussed.

  6. Emergent ferromagnetism in ZnO/Al2O3 core-shell nanowires: Towards oxide spinterfaces

    KAUST Repository

    Xing, G. Z.; Wang, D. D.; Cheng, C.-J.; He, M.; Li, S.; Wu, Tao

    2013-01-01

    We report that room-temperature ferromagnetism emerges at the interface formed between ZnO nanowire core and Al2O3 shell although both constituents show mainly diamagnetism. The interface-based ferromagnetism can be further enhanced by annealing the ZnO/Al2O3 core-shell nanowires and activating the formation of ZnAl2O4 phase as a result of interfacial solid-state reaction. High-temperature measurements indicate that the magnetic order is thermally stable up to 750 K. Transmission electron microscopy studies reveal the annealing-induced jagged interfaces, and the extensive structural defects appear to be relevant to the emergent magnetism. Our study suggests that tailoring the spinterfaces in nanostructure-harnessed wide-band-gap oxides is an effective route towards engineered nanoscale architecture with enhanced magnetic properties.

  7. Emergent ferromagnetism in ZnO/Al2O3 core-shell nanowires: Towards oxide spinterfaces

    KAUST Repository

    Xing, G. Z.

    2013-07-08

    We report that room-temperature ferromagnetism emerges at the interface formed between ZnO nanowire core and Al2O3 shell although both constituents show mainly diamagnetism. The interface-based ferromagnetism can be further enhanced by annealing the ZnO/Al2O3 core-shell nanowires and activating the formation of ZnAl2O4 phase as a result of interfacial solid-state reaction. High-temperature measurements indicate that the magnetic order is thermally stable up to 750 K. Transmission electron microscopy studies reveal the annealing-induced jagged interfaces, and the extensive structural defects appear to be relevant to the emergent magnetism. Our study suggests that tailoring the spinterfaces in nanostructure-harnessed wide-band-gap oxides is an effective route towards engineered nanoscale architecture with enhanced magnetic properties.

  8. Color-selective photodetection from intermediate colloidal quantum dots buried in amorphous-oxide semiconductors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Kyung-Sang; Heo, Keun; Baik, Chan-Wook; Choi, Jun Young; Jeong, Heejeong; Hwang, Sungwoo; Lee, Sang Yeol

    2017-10-10

    We report color-selective photodetection from intermediate, monolayered, quantum dots buried in between amorphous-oxide semiconductors. The proposed active channel in phototransistors is a hybrid configuration of oxide-quantum dot-oxide layers, where the gate-tunable electrical property of silicon-doped, indium-zinc-oxide layers is incorporated with the color-selective properties of quantum dots. A remarkably high detectivity (8.1 × 10 13 Jones) is obtained, along with three major findings: fast charge separation in monolayered quantum dots; efficient charge transport through high-mobility oxide layers (20 cm 2  V -1  s -1 ); and gate-tunable drain-current modulation. Particularly, the fast charge separation rate of 3.3 ns -1 measured with time-resolved photoluminescence is attributed to the intermediate quantum dots buried in oxide layers. These results facilitate the realization of efficient color-selective detection exhibiting a photoconductive gain of 10 7 , obtained using a room-temperature deposition of oxide layers and a solution process of quantum dots. This work offers promising opportunities in emerging applications for color detection with sensitivity, transparency, and flexibility.The development of highly sensitive photodetectors is important for image sensing and optical communication applications. Cho et al., report ultra-sensitive photodetectors based on monolayered quantum dots buried in between amorphous-oxide semiconductors and demonstrate color-detecting logic gates.

  9. Highly Conductive One-Dimensional Manganese Oxide Wires by Coating with Graphene Oxides

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tojo, Tomohiro; Shinohara, Masaki; Fujisawa, Kazunori; Muramatsu, Hiroyuki; Hayashi, Takuya; Ahm Kim, Yoong; Endo, Morinobu

    2012-10-01

    Through coating with graphene oxides, we have developed a chemical route to the bulk production of long, thin manganese oxide (MnO2) nanowires that have high electrical conductivity. The average diameter of these hybrid nanowires is about 25 nm, and their average length is about 800 nm. The high electrical conductivity of these nanowires (ca. 189.51+/-4.51 µS) is ascribed to the homogeneous coating with conductive graphene oxides as well as the presence of non-bonding manganese atoms. The growth mechanism of the nanowires is theoretically supported by the initiation of morphological conversion from graphene oxide to wrapped structures through the formation of covalent bonds between manganese and oxygen atoms at the graphene oxide edge.

  10. Transport and performance of a gate all around InAs nanowire transistor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alam, Khairul

    2009-01-01

    The transport physics and performance metrics of a gate all around an InAs nanowire transistor are studied using a three-dimensional quantum simulation. The transistor action of an InAs nanowire transistor occurs by modulating the transmission coefficient of the device. This action is different from a conventional metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor, where the transistor action occurs by modulating the charge in the channel. The device has 82% tunneling current in the off-state and 81% thermal current in the on-state. The two current components become equal at a gate bias at which an approximate source-channel flat-band condition is achieved. Prior to this gate bias, the tunneling current dominates and the thermal current dominates beyond it. The device has an on/off current ratio of 7.84 × 10 5 and an inverse subthreshold slope of 63 mV dec −1 . The transistor operates in the quantum capacitance limit with a normalized transconductance value of 14.43 mS µm −1 , an intrinsic switching delay of 90.1675 fs, and an intrinsic unity current gain frequency of 6.8697 THz

  11. Growth and Characterisation of GaAs/AlGaAs Core-shell Nanowires for Optoelectronic Device Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Nian

    III-V semiconductor nanowires have been investigated as key components for future electronic and optoelectronic devices and systems due to their direct band gap and high electron mobility. Amongst the III-V semiconductors, the planar GaAs material system has been extensively studied and used in industries. Accordingly, GaAs nanowires are the prime candidates for nano-scale devices. However, the electronic performance of GaAs nanowires has yet to match that of state-of-the-art planar GaAs devices. The present deficiency of GaAs nanowires is typically attributed to the large surface-to- volume ratio and the tendency for non-radiative recombination centres to form at the surface. The favoured solution of this problem is by coating GaAs nanowires with AlGaAs shells, which replaces the GaAs surface with GaAs/AlGaAs interface. This thesis presents a systematic study of GaAs/AlGaAs core-shell nanowires grown by metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD), including understanding the growth, and characterisation of their structural and optical properties. The structures of the nanowires were mainly studied by scanning electron microscopy and transmis- sion electron microscopy (TEM). A procedure of microtomy was developed to prepare the cross-sectional samples for the TEM studies. The optical properties were charac- terised by photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Carrier lifetimes were measured by time-resolved PL. The growth of AlGaAs shell was optimised to obtain the best optical properties, e.g. the strongest PL emission and the longest minority carrier lifetimes. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).

  12. Flexible anodized aluminum oxide membranes with customizable back contact materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nadimpally, B; Jarro, C A; Mangu, R; Rajaputra, S; Singh, V P

    2016-12-16

    Anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes were fabricated using flexible substrate/carrier material. This method facilitates the use of AAO templates with many different materials as substrates that are otherwise incompatible with most anodization techniques. Thin titanium (Ti) and tungsten (W) layers were employed as interlayer materials. Titanium enhances adhesion. Tungsten not only helps eliminate the barrier layer but also plays a critical role in enabling the use of flexible substrates. The resulting flexible templates provide new, exciting opportunities in photovoltaic and other device applications. CuInSe 2 nanowires were electrochemically deposited into porous AAO templates with molybdenum (Mo) as the back contact material. The feasibility of using any material to form a contact with semiconductor nanowires has been demonstrated for the first time enabling new avenues in photovoltaic applications.

  13. Flexible anodized aluminum oxide membranes with customizable back contact materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nadimpally, B.; Jarro, C. A.; Mangu, R.; Rajaputra, S.; Singh, V. P.

    2016-12-01

    Anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes were fabricated using flexible substrate/carrier material. This method facilitates the use of AAO templates with many different materials as substrates that are otherwise incompatible with most anodization techniques. Thin titanium (Ti) and tungsten (W) layers were employed as interlayer materials. Titanium enhances adhesion. Tungsten not only helps eliminate the barrier layer but also plays a critical role in enabling the use of flexible substrates. The resulting flexible templates provide new, exciting opportunities in photovoltaic and other device applications. CuInSe2 nanowires were electrochemically deposited into porous AAO templates with molybdenum (Mo) as the back contact material. The feasibility of using any material to form a contact with semiconductor nanowires has been demonstrated for the first time enabling new avenues in photovoltaic applications.

  14. Group IIB-VIA semiconductor oxide cluster ions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jayasekharan, Thankan

    2018-05-01

    Metal oxide cluster ions, MnOm± (M = Zn, Cd) and HgnOm- of various stoichiometry have been generated from solid IIB-VIA semiconductor oxides targets, (ZnO(s), CdO(s), and HgO(s)) by using pulse laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry with a laser of λ = 355 nm. Analysis of mass spectral data indicates the formation of stoichiometric cluster ions viz., (ZnO)n=1-30+ and (CdO)n=1-40+ along with -O bound anions, (ZnO)n=1-30O-, (CdO)n=1-40O- and (HgO)n=1-36O- from their respective solids. Further, metal oxoanions such as ZnOn=2,3-, CdOn=2,3,6-, and HgOn=2,3,6,7- have also been noted signifying the higher coordination ability of both Cd and Hg with O/O2/O3 species.

  15. Doping process of p-type GaN nanowires: A first principle study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Sihao; Liu, Lei; Diao, Yu; Feng, Shu

    2017-10-01

    The process of p-type doping for GaN nanowires is investigated using calculations starting from first principles. The influence of different doping elements, sites, types, and concentrations is discussed. Results suggest that Mg is an optimal dopant when compared to Be and Zn due to its stronger stability, whereas Be atoms are more inclined to exist in the interspace of a nanowire. Interstitially-doped GaN nanowires show notable n-type conductivity, and thus, Be is not a suitable dopant, which is to be expected since systems with inner substitutional dopants are more favorable than those with surface substitutions. Both interstitial and substitutional doping affect the atomic structure near dopants and induce charge transfer between the dopants and adjacent atoms. By altering doping sites and concentrations, nanowire atomic structures remain nearly constant. Substitutional doping models show p-type conductivity, and Mg-doped nanowires with doping concentrations of 4% showing the strongest p-type conductivity. All doping configurations are direct bandgap semiconductors. This study is expected to direct the preparation of high-quality GaN nanowires.

  16. GaAs nanowire array solar cells with axial p-i-n junctions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Maoqing; Huang, Ningfeng; Cong, Sen; Chi, Chun-Yung; Seyedi, M Ashkan; Lin, Yen-Ting; Cao, Yu; Povinelli, Michelle L; Dapkus, P Daniel; Zhou, Chongwu

    2014-06-11

    Because of unique structural, optical, and electrical properties, solar cells based on semiconductor nanowires are a rapidly evolving scientific enterprise. Various approaches employing III-V nanowires have emerged, among which GaAs, especially, is under intense research and development. Most reported GaAs nanowire solar cells form p-n junctions in the radial direction; however, nanowires using axial junction may enable the attainment of high open circuit voltage (Voc) and integration into multijunction solar cells. Here, we report GaAs nanowire solar cells with axial p-i-n junctions that achieve 7.58% efficiency. Simulations show that axial junctions are more tolerant to doping variation than radial junctions and lead to higher Voc under certain conditions. We further study the effect of wire diameter and junction depth using electrical characterization and cathodoluminescence. The results show that large diameter and shallow junctions are essential for a high extraction efficiency. Our approach opens up great opportunity for future low-cost, high-efficiency photovoltaics.

  17. Self-assisted GaAs nanowires with selectable number density on Silicon without oxide layer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bietti, S; Somaschini, C; Esposito, L; Sanguinetti, S; Frigeri, C; Fedorov, A; Geelhaar, L

    2014-01-01

    We present the growth of self-assisted GaAs nanowires (NWs) with selectable number density on bare Si(1 1 1), not covered by the silicon oxide. We determine the number density of the NWs by initially self-assembling GaAs islands on whose top a single NW is nucleated. The number density of the initial GaAs base islands can be tuned by droplet epitaxy and the same degree of control is then transferred to the NWs. This procedure is completely performed during a single growth in an ultra-high vacuum environment and requires neither an oxide layer covering the substrate, nor any pre-patterning technique. (paper)

  18. Hierarchical Mesoporous Zinc-Nickel-Cobalt Ternary Oxide Nanowire Arrays on Nickel Foam as High-Performance Electrodes for Supercapacitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Chun; Cai, Junjie; Zhang, Qiaobao; Zhou, Xiang; Zhu, Ying; Shen, Pei Kang; Zhang, Kaili

    2015-12-09

    Nickel foam supported hierarchical mesoporous Zn-Ni-Co ternary oxide (ZNCO) nanowire arrays are synthesized by a simple two-step approach including a hydrothermal method and subsequent calcination process and directly utilized for supercapacitive investigation for the first time. The nickel foam supported hierarchical mesoporous ZNCO nanowire arrays possess an ultrahigh specific capacitance value of 2481.8 F g(-1) at 1 A g(-1) and excellent rate capability of about 91.9% capacitance retention at 5 A g(-1). More importantly, an asymmetric supercapacitor with a high energy density (35.6 Wh kg(-1)) and remarkable cycle stability performance (94% capacitance retention over 3000 cycles) is assembled successfully by employing the ZNCO electrode as positive electrode and activated carbon as negative electrode. The remarkable electrochemical behaviors demonstrate that the nickel foam supported hierarchical mesoporous ZNCO nanowire array electrodes are highly desirable for application as advanced supercapacitor electrodes.

  19. Ultrahigh Density Array of Vertically Aligned Small-molecular Organic Nanowires on Arbitrary Substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Starko-Bowes, Ryan; Pramanik, Sandipan

    2013-01-01

    In recent years π-conjugated organic semiconductors have emerged as the active material in a number of diverse applications including large-area, low-cost displays, photovoltaics, printable and flexible electronics and organic spin valves. Organics allow (a) low-cost, low-temperature processing and (b) molecular-level design of electronic, optical and spin transport characteristics. Such features are not readily available for mainstream inorganic semiconductors, which have enabled organics to carve a niche in the silicon-dominated electronics market. The first generation of organic-based devices has focused on thin film geometries, grown by physical vapor deposition or solution processing. However, it has been realized that organic nanostructures can be used to enhance performance of above-mentioned applications and significant effort has been invested in exploring methods for organic nanostructure fabrication. A particularly interesting class of organic nanostructures is the one in which vertically oriented organic nanowires, nanorods or nanotubes are organized in a well-regimented, high-density array. Such structures are highly versatile and are ideal morphological architectures for various applications such as chemical sensors, split-dipole nanoantennas, photovoltaic devices with radially heterostructured "core-shell" nanowires, and memory devices with a cross-point geometry. Such architecture is generally realized by a template-directed approach. In the past this method has been used to grow metal and inorganic semiconductor nanowire arrays. More recently π-conjugated polymer nanowires have been grown within nanoporous templates. However, these approaches have had limited success in growing nanowires of technologically important π-conjugated small molecular weight organics, such as tris-8-hydroxyquinoline aluminum (Alq3), rubrene and methanofullerenes, which are commonly used in diverse areas including organic displays, photovoltaics, thin film transistors

  20. Hybrid Surface Plasmon Polariton Modes of Subwavelength Nanowire Resonators

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Filonenko, Konstantin; Duggen, Lars; Willatzen, Morten

    2015-01-01

    -localized gap plasmon mode are studied depending on the vacuum wavelength. In order to directly compare resonators, where metal and semiconductor nanowires are employed, we consider the two resonators, both including silver slab and magnesium fluoride gap region, as is shown in figure. The two compared......We perform Comsol simulations of two types of hybrid plasmonic resonator configurations, similar to those proposed for nanowire plasmonic laser in [1] and [2]. In both references the nanowire - based plasmonic resonators are studied, which overall sizes are larger than the wavelength in vacuum....... However, it is advantageous for the nanolaser to have subwavelength sizes at least in two dimensions. Therefore, we study the two configurations and the hybrid mode behavior in the case, where resonator sizes are smaller than the half of the wavelength in vacuum. First, we assume finite dimensions...

  1. X-ray diffraction analysis of InAs nanowires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davydok, Anton

    2013-01-01

    Semiconductor nanowires have attracted great interest as building blocks for future electronic and optoelectronic devices. The variability of the growth process opens the opportunity to control and combine the various properties tailoring for specific application. It was shown that the electrical and optical characteristics of the nanowires are strongly connected with their structure. Despite intensive research in this field, the growth process is still not fully understood. In particular, extensive real structure investigations are required. Most of the reports dedicated on the structural researches are based on the results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) or transmission electron microscopy (TEM). SEM provides an image of the surface with nanostructures and is mainly used to describe the morphology of the sample, but it does not bring information about the internal structure, phase composition and defect structure. At the same time, the internal structure can be examined by TEM down to atomic scale. TEM image of good quality are very expensive due to the efforts in sample preparation and in localisation of a single object. All these aspects make the statistical structural analysis difficult. In the present work, X-ray diffraction analysis has been applied for structural investigation of InAs nanowires grown by different techniques. Using various X-ray diffraction geometries, the nanowire systems were investigated in terms of the lattice parameters, phase composition, strains and displacement fields and stacking defects. In particular, realizing grazing incidence diffraction and controlling the penetration depth of X-ray beam, we characterized sample series grown by Au-assisted metal organic phase epitaxy on GaAs [111]B substrate with different growth time. According to the results of SEM and X-ray investigations, a model of the growth process has been proposed. A more detailed analysis was performed on InAs nanowires grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on

  2. Integration of functional complex oxide nanomaterials on silicon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jose Manuel eVila-Fungueiriño

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The combination of standard wafer-scale semiconductor processing with the properties of functional oxides opens up to innovative and more efficient devices with high value applications that can be produced at large scale. This review uncovers the main strategies that are successfully used to monolithically integrate functional complex oxide thin films and nanostructures on silicon: the chemical solution deposition approach (CSD and the advanced physical vapor deposition techniques such as oxide molecular beam epitaxy (MBE. Special emphasis will be placed on complex oxide nanostructures epitaxially grown on silicon using the combination of CSD and MBE. Several examples will be exposed, with a particular stress on the control of interfaces and crystallization mechanisms on epitaxial perovskite oxide thin films, nanostructured quartz thin films, and octahedral molecular sieve nanowires. This review enlightens on the potential of complex oxide nanostructures and the combination of both chemical and physical elaboration techniques for novel oxide-based integrated devices.

  3. Bi-component semiconductor oxide photoanodes for the photoelectrocatalytic oxidation of organic solutes and vapours: a short review with emphasis to TiO2-WO3 photoanodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Georgieva, J; Valova, E; Armyanov, S; Philippidis, N; Poulios, I; Sotiropoulos, S

    2012-04-15

    The use of binary semiconductor oxide anodes for the photoelectrocatalytic oxidation of organic species (both in solution and gas phase) is reviewed. In the first part of the review, the principle of electrically assisted photocatalysis is presented, the preparation methods for the most common semiconductor oxide catalysts are briefly mentioned, while the advantages of appropriately chosen semiconductor combinations for efficient UV and visible (vis) light utilization are highlighted. The second part of the review focuses on the discussion of TiO(2)-WO(3) photoanodes (among the most studied bi-component semiconductor oxide systems) and in particular on coatings prepared by electrodeposition/electrosynthesis or powder mixtures (the focus of the authors' research during recent years). Studies concerning the microscopic, spectroscopic and photoelectrochemical characterization of the catalysts are presented and examples of photoanode activity towards typical dissolved organic contaminants as well as organic vapours are given. Particular emphasis is paid to: (a) The dependence of photoactivity on catalyst morphology and composition and (b) the possibility of carrying out photoelectrochemistry in all-solid cells, thus opening up the opportunity for photoelectrocatalytic air treatment. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Mechanical anomaly impact on metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors on flexible silicon fabric

    KAUST Repository

    Ghoneim, Mohamed T.; Kutbee, Arwa T.; Ghodsi Nasseri, Seyed Faizelldin; Bersuker, G.; Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

    2014-01-01

    We report the impact of mechanical anomaly on high-κ/metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors built on flexible silicon (100) fabric. The mechanical tests include studying the effect of bending radius up to 5 mm minimum bending radius with respect

  5. Dielectrophoretic alignment of metal and metal oxide nanowires and nanotubes: A universal set of parameters for bridging prepatterned microelectrodes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Maijenburg, A.W.; Maas, M.G.; Rodijk, E.J.B.; Ahmed, W.; Kooij, Ernst S.; Carlen, Edwin; Blank, David H.A.; ten Elshof, Johan E.

    2011-01-01

    Nanowires and nanotubes were synthesized from metals and metal oxides using templated cathodic electrodeposition. With templated electrodeposition, small structures are electrodeposited using a template that is the inverse of the final desired shape. Dielectrophoresis was used for the alignment of

  6. Study of removal of Direct Yellow 12 by cadmium oxide nanowires loaded on activated carbon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ghaedi, Mehrorang, E-mail: m_ghaedi@mail.yu.ac.ir [Chemistry Department, Yasouj University Yasouj 75914-35 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Sadeghian, Batuol [Chemistry Department, Yasouj University Yasouj 75914-35 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Kokhdan, Syamak Nasiri, E-mail: syamak.nasiri@yahoo.com [Chemistry Department, Yasouj University Yasouj 75914-35 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Pebdani, Arezou Amiri [Chemistry Department, Yasouj University Yasouj 75914-35 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Sahraei, Reza; Daneshfar, Ali; Mihandoost, Asma [Department of Chemistry, University of Ilam, P.O. Box: 65315-516, Ilam (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2013-05-01

    In this research, cadmium oxide nanowires loaded on activated carbon (CdO-NW-AC) has been synthesized by a simple procedure and characterized by different techniques such as XRD, SEM and UV–vis spectrometry. This new adsorbent has been efficiently utilized for the removal of the Direct Yellow 12 (DY-12) from wastewater. To obtain maximum DY-12 removal efficiency, the influences of variables such as pH, DY-12 concentration, amount of CdO-NW-AC, contact time, and temperature have been examined and optimized in a batch method. Following the variable optimization, the experimental equilibrium data (at different concentration of DY-12) was fitted to conventional isotherm models such as Langmuir, Freundlich and Tempkin. The applicability of each method is based on the R{sup 2} and error analysis for each model. It was found that the experimental equilibrium data well fitted to the Langmuir isotherm model. The dependency of removal process to time and the experimental data follow second order kinetic model with involvement of intraparticle diffusion model. The negative value of Gibbs's free energy and positive value of adsorption enthalpy show the spontaneous and endothermic nature of adsorption process. - Graphical abstract: Typical FE-SEM image of the CdO nanowires. Highlights: ► Cadmium oxide nanowires loaded on activated carbon was utilized as an adsorbent. ► It was used for the removal of Direct Yellow 12 from aqueous solutions. ► The adsorption of Direct Yellow 12 on this adsorbent is endothermic in nature. ► The adsorption equilibrium data was well described by the Langmuir isotherm model.

  7. Writing and functionalisation of suspended DNA nanowires on superhydrophobic pillar arrays

    KAUST Repository

    Miele, Ermanno; Accardo, Angelo; Falqui, Andrea; Marini, Monica; Giugni, Andrea; Leoncini, Marco; De Angelis, Francesco De; Krahne, Roman; Di Fabrizio, Enzo M.

    2014-01-01

    Nanowire arrays and networks with precisely controlled patterns are very interesting for innovative device concepts in mesoscopic physics. In particular, DNA templates have proven to be versatile for the fabrication of complex structures that obtained functionality via combinations with other materials, for example by functionalisation with molecules or nanoparticles, or by coating with metals. Here, the controlled motion of the a three-phase contact line (TCL) of DNA-loaded drops on superhydrophobic substrates is used to fabricate suspended nanowire arrays. In particular, the deposition of DNA wires is imaged in situ, and different patterns are obtained on hexagonal pillar arrays by controlling the TCL velocity and direction. Robust conductive wires and networks are achieved by coating the wires with a thin layer of gold, and as proof of concept conductivity measurements are performed on single suspended wires. The plastic material of the superhydrophobic pillars ensures electrical isolation from the substrate. The more general versatility of these suspended nanowire networks as functional templates is outlined by fabricating hybrid organic-metal-semiconductor nanowires by growing ZnO nanocrystals onto the metal-coated nanowires.

  8. Writing and functionalisation of suspended DNA nanowires on superhydrophobic pillar arrays

    KAUST Repository

    Miele, Ermanno

    2014-08-08

    Nanowire arrays and networks with precisely controlled patterns are very interesting for innovative device concepts in mesoscopic physics. In particular, DNA templates have proven to be versatile for the fabrication of complex structures that obtained functionality via combinations with other materials, for example by functionalisation with molecules or nanoparticles, or by coating with metals. Here, the controlled motion of the a three-phase contact line (TCL) of DNA-loaded drops on superhydrophobic substrates is used to fabricate suspended nanowire arrays. In particular, the deposition of DNA wires is imaged in situ, and different patterns are obtained on hexagonal pillar arrays by controlling the TCL velocity and direction. Robust conductive wires and networks are achieved by coating the wires with a thin layer of gold, and as proof of concept conductivity measurements are performed on single suspended wires. The plastic material of the superhydrophobic pillars ensures electrical isolation from the substrate. The more general versatility of these suspended nanowire networks as functional templates is outlined by fabricating hybrid organic-metal-semiconductor nanowires by growing ZnO nanocrystals onto the metal-coated nanowires.

  9. Magnetic properties in (Mn,Fe)-codoped ZnO nanowire

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cao, Huawei; Lu, Pengfei; Cong, Zixiang; Yu, Zhongyuan; Cai, Ningning; Zhang, Xianlong; Gao, Tao; Wang, Shumin

    2013-01-01

    Using the first-principles density functional theory, we have studied the electronic structures and magnetic properties of Mn/Fe codoped ZnO nanowires systematically. The calculated results of formation energy indicate that the configuration of the lowest energy where Mn and Fe atoms form nearest neighbors on the outer cylindrical surface layer along the [0001] direction, will be determined. The magnetic coupling of 8 types of Mn/Fe codoped ZnO nanowires was investigated and ferromagnetic state was found in certain configurations. The mechanism is from the fierce hybridization between 3d of Mn and Fe with O 2p near the Fermi level. The relative energy difference for configuration VIII is 0.221 eV, which indicates that room temperature ferromagnetism could be obtained in such a system and Mn/Fe codoped ZnO nanowires are a promising nanoscale spintronic material. - Highlights: • The stable structure prefers that Mn/Fe form nearest neighbors on the outer surface. • The fierce p–d hybridization is responsible for ferromagnetic (FM) coupling. • Mn/Fe codoped ZnO nanowire is a promising FM semiconductor material

  10. Magnetic properties in (Mn,Fe)-codoped ZnO nanowire

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cao, Huawei [Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications (Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications), Ministry of Education, Beijing 100876 (China); Lu, Pengfei, E-mail: photon.bupt@gmail.com [Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications (Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications), Ministry of Education, Beijing 100876 (China); Cong, Zixiang [School of Information and Communication Engineering, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing 100976 (China); Yu, Zhongyuan; Cai, Ningning; Zhang, Xianlong [Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications (Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications), Ministry of Education, Beijing 100876 (China); Gao, Tao [Institute of Atomic and Molecular Physics, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065 (China); Wang, Shumin [Photonics Laboratory, Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Gothenburg (Sweden); State Key Laboratory of Functional Materials for Informatics, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050 (China)

    2013-12-02

    Using the first-principles density functional theory, we have studied the electronic structures and magnetic properties of Mn/Fe codoped ZnO nanowires systematically. The calculated results of formation energy indicate that the configuration of the lowest energy where Mn and Fe atoms form nearest neighbors on the outer cylindrical surface layer along the [0001] direction, will be determined. The magnetic coupling of 8 types of Mn/Fe codoped ZnO nanowires was investigated and ferromagnetic state was found in certain configurations. The mechanism is from the fierce hybridization between 3d of Mn and Fe with O 2p near the Fermi level. The relative energy difference for configuration VIII is 0.221 eV, which indicates that room temperature ferromagnetism could be obtained in such a system and Mn/Fe codoped ZnO nanowires are a promising nanoscale spintronic material. - Highlights: • The stable structure prefers that Mn/Fe form nearest neighbors on the outer surface. • The fierce p–d hybridization is responsible for ferromagnetic (FM) coupling. • Mn/Fe codoped ZnO nanowire is a promising FM semiconductor material.

  11. Microwave exfoliated graphene oxide/TiO{sub 2} nanowire hybrid for high performance lithium ion battery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ishtiaque Shuvo, Mohammad Arif; Rodriguez, Gerardo; Karim, Hasanul; Lin, Yirong [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas 79968 (United States); Islam, Md Tariqul; Noveron, Juan C. [Department of Chemistry, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas 79968 (United States); Ramabadran, Navaneet [Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California at Santa Barbara, California 93106 (United States)

    2015-09-28

    Lithium ion battery (LIB) is a key solution to the demand of ever-improving, high energy density, clean-alternative energy systems. In LIB, graphite is the most commonly used anode material; however, lithium-ion intercalation in graphite is limited, hindering the battery charge rate and capacity. To date, one of the approaches in LIB performance improvement is by using porous carbon (PC) to replace graphite as anode material. PC's pore structure facilitates ion transport and has been proven to be an excellent anode material candidate in high power density LIBs. In addition, to overcome the limited lithium-ion intercalation obstacle, nanostructured anode assembly has been extensively studied to increase the lithium-ion diffusion rate. Among these approaches, high specific surface area metal oxide nanowires connecting nanostructured carbon materials accumulation have shown promising results for enhanced lithium-ion intercalation. Herein, we demonstrate a hydrothermal approach of growing TiO{sub 2} nanowires (TON) on microwave exfoliated graphene oxide (MEGO) to further improve LIB performance over PC. This MEGO-TON hybrid not only uses the high surface area of MEGO but also increases the specific surface area for electrode–electrolyte interaction. Therefore, this new nanowire/MEGO hybrid anode material enhances both the specific capacity and charge–discharge rate. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction were used for materials characterization. Battery analyzer was used for measuring the electrical performance of the battery. The testing results have shown that MEGO-TON hybrid provides up to 80% increment of specific capacity compared to PC anode.

  12. Specific synthesis of Pt nanowires for catalytic applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fenske, Daniela; Kehres, Jan; Al-Shamery, Katharina [IRAC, University Oldenburg (Germany); Center of Interface Science, CIS (Germany); Borchert, Holger; Kolny-Olesiak, Joanna [EHF, University Oldenburg (Germany); Center of Interface Science, CIS (Germany); Baeumer, Marcus [IAPC, University Bremen (Germany); Center of Interface Science, CIS (Germany)

    2008-07-01

    Metallic nanomaterials are of great interest in the last years due to their interesting properties as new materials for optical, electronic, magnetic or catalytic applications. Particularly size and morphology of such nanoparticulate systems offer also high potential for material improvement. A promising issue is the preparation of platinum nanowires by means of colloidal chemistry which allows obtaining particles with well-defined size and shape by use of stabilizing ligands. Recent efforts have been focused on the development of synthesis to obtain these nanowires. Therefore we were able to prepare dodecylamine-capped Pt nanowires with 2 nm in diameter and several multiple in length in varying the synthesis conditions. The influence of temperature, stabilisers and reducing agents on the morphology has been investigated. The catalytic activity of such nanowires immobilized at different oxidic supports could also be demonstrated on the example of CO oxidation and are compared to spherical Pt and bimetallic colloidal nanoparticles.

  13. Bound magnetic polaron in Zn-rich cobalt-doped ZnSe nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Lipeng; Pan, Longfei; Liang, Bianbian; Liu, Yuting; Zhang, Li; Bukhtiar, Arfan; Shi, Lijie; Liu, Ruibin; Zou, Bingsuo

    2018-02-01

    The micro-luminescence spectra of the diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) can reflect the spin-exciton interaction and related relaxation process. Here the micro-photoluminescence (micro-PL) spectra and PL lifetime measurements have been done on an individual ferromagnetic (FM)-coupled cobalt (Co) doped zinc selenide (ZnSe) nanowire. There occurs a double-peak profile in its near bandedge emission spectrum: the first peak is from free exciton (FX) and the second comes from magnetic polaron (MP). In their temperature dependent PL spectra, the MP emission peak demonstrates obviously temperature-independent behavior, in contrast to the behaviors of FX and reported exciton MP in nanobelt. It is found that in this Co(II) doped ZnSe nanowires, this MP’s temperature-independent emission is related to the coupling between exciton and a FM nanocluster (↑↑↓). The nanocluster is likely due to the interaction of Se vacancies of the wide bandgap semiconductors with the antiferromagnetic (AFM) arrangement transition metal (TM) ions in these Se-deficient Co doped ZnSe nanowires. These results reflect that the AFM coupling TM ions pair can give rise to FM behavior with the involvement of positive charge defect, also indicating that the micro-luminescence detection can be used to study the magnetic coupling in DMS.

  14. Growth of GaAs-nanowires on GaAs (111)B substrates induced by focused ion beam

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schott, Ruediger; Reuter, Dirk; Wieck, Andreas D. [Lehrstuhl fuer Angewandte Festkoerperphysik, Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum (Germany)

    2011-07-01

    Semiconductor nanowires are a promising system for applications in the areas of electronics and photonics and also for exploring phenomena at the nanoscale. There are several approaches to grow nanowires at arbitrary sites on the wafer. We report about growing GaAs-nanowires on GaAs(111)B substrates via the vapour-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism in an ultra-high-vacuum (UHV)-cluster of a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and a focused ion beam (FIB) system. Our idea is to implant metal seeds (especially Au) for the nanowire growth by in situ patterning using FIB. Due to the UHV transfer between the FIB and the MBE chamber, no further cleaning step of the substrate surface is necessary. Formations of organized GaAs-nanowires and high aspect ratios are observed.

  15. Gate tunneling current and quantum capacitance in metal-oxide-semiconductor devices with graphene gate electrodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Yanbin; Shekhawat, Aniruddh; Behnam, Ashkan; Pop, Eric; Ural, Ant

    2016-11-01

    Metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices with graphene as the metal gate electrode, silicon dioxide with thicknesses ranging from 5 to 20 nm as the dielectric, and p-type silicon as the semiconductor are fabricated and characterized. It is found that Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) tunneling dominates the gate tunneling current in these devices for oxide thicknesses of 10 nm and larger, whereas for devices with 5 nm oxide, direct tunneling starts to play a role in determining the total gate current. Furthermore, the temperature dependences of the F-N tunneling current for the 10 nm devices are characterized in the temperature range 77-300 K. The F-N coefficients and the effective tunneling barrier height are extracted as a function of temperature. It is found that the effective barrier height decreases with increasing temperature, which is in agreement with the results previously reported for conventional MOS devices with polysilicon or metal gate electrodes. In addition, high frequency capacitance-voltage measurements of these MOS devices are performed, which depict a local capacitance minimum under accumulation for thin oxides. By analyzing the data using numerical calculations based on the modified density of states of graphene in the presence of charged impurities, it is shown that this local minimum is due to the contribution of the quantum capacitance of graphene. Finally, the workfunction of the graphene gate electrode is extracted by determining the flat-band voltage as a function of oxide thickness. These results show that graphene is a promising candidate as the gate electrode in metal-oxide-semiconductor devices.

  16. Recrystallized arrays of bismuth nanowires with trigonal orientation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Limmer, Steven J; Yelton, W Graham; Erickson, Kristopher J; Medlin, Douglas L; Siegal, Michael P

    2014-01-01

    We demonstrate methods to improve the crystalline-quality of free-standing Bi nanowires arrays on a Si substrate and enhance the preferred trigonal orientation for thermoelectric performance by annealing the arrays above the 271.4 °C Bi melting point. The nanowires maintain their geometry during melting due to the formation of a thin Bi-oxide protective shell that contains the molten Bi. Recrystallizing nanowires from the melt improves crystallinity; those cooled rapidly demonstrate a strong trigonal orientation preference.

  17. Ingestion of gallium phosphide nanowires has no adverse effect on Drosophila tissue function

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adolfsson, Karl; Hammarin, Greger; Prinz, Christelle N; Schneider, Martina; Häcker, Udo

    2013-01-01

    Engineered nanoparticles have been under increasing scrutiny in recent years. High aspect ratio nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes and nanowires have raised safety concerns due to their geometrical similarity to asbestos fibers. III–V epitaxial semiconductor nanowires are expected to be utilized in devices such as LEDs and solar cells and will thus be available to the public. In addition, clean-room staff fabricating and characterizing the nanowires are at risk of exposure, emphasizing the importance of investigating their possible toxicity. Here we investigated the effects of gallium phosphide nanowires on the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Drosophila larvae and/or adults were exposed to gallium phosphide nanowires by ingestion with food. The toxicity and tissue interaction of the nanowires was evaluated by investigating tissue distribution, activation of immune response, genome-wide gene expression, life span, fecundity and somatic mutation rates. Our results show that gallium phosphide nanowires applied through the diet are not taken up into Drosophila tissues, do not elicit a measurable immune response or changes in genome-wide gene expression and do not significantly affect life span or somatic mutation rate. (paper)

  18. Facile Five-Step Heteroepitaxial Growth of GaAs Nanowires on Silicon Substrates and the Twin Formation Mechanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Maoqing; Sheng, Chunyang; Ge, Mingyuan; Chi, Chun-Yung; Cong, Sen; Nakano, Aiichiro; Dapkus, P Daniel; Zhou, Chongwu

    2016-02-23

    Monolithic integration of III-V semiconductors with Si has been pursued for some time in the semiconductor industry. However, the mismatch of lattice constants and thermal expansion coefficients represents a large technological challenge for the heteroepitaxial growth. Nanowires, due to their small lateral dimension, can relieve strain and mitigate dislocation formation to allow single-crystal III-V materials to be grown on Si. Here, we report a facile five-step heteroepitaxial growth of GaAs nanowires on Si using selective area growth (SAG) in metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, and we further report an in-depth study on the twin formation mechanism. Rotational twin defects were observed in the nanowire structures and showed strong dependence on the growth condition and nanowire size. We adopt a model of faceted growth to demonstrate the formation of twins during growth, which is well supported by both a transmission electron microscopy study and simulation based on nucleation energetics. Our study has led to twin-free segments in the length up to 80 nm, a significant improvement compared to previous work using SAG. The achievements may open up opportunities for future functional III-V-on-Si heterostructure devices.

  19. Gate-tunable Andreev bound states in InSb nanowire Josephson junction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kang, Ning; Li, Sen; Fan, Dingxun; Xu, Hongqi [Key Laboratory for the Physics and Chemistry of Nanodevices, Department of Electronics, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Caroff, Philippe [Division of Solid State Physics, Lund University, P. O. Box 118, S-221 00 Lund (Sweden)

    2016-07-01

    Hybrid InSb nanowire-superconductor devices are promising candidates for investigating Majorana modes in solid-state devices and future technologies of topological quantum manipulation. Here, we report low-temperature transport measurements on an individual InSb nanowire quantum dot coupled to superconducting contacts that exhibit an interplay between the Kondo effects and superconductivity. We observed two types of subgap resonance states within the superconducting gap, which can be attributed to gate-tunable Andreev bound states in Coulomb valleys with different Kondo temperatures. The presence of the gate-tunable 0 and pi junction allow us to investigate the fundamental 0- pi transition. Detailed magnetic field and temperature evolution of level spectroscopy demonstrate different behavior of two types of the Andreev bound states. Our results exhibit that the InSb nanowires can provide a promising platform for exploring phase coherence transport and the effect of spin-orbit coupling in semiconductor nanowire-superconductor hybrid device.

  20. Fabrication of Coaxial Si(1-x)Ge(x) Heterostructure Nanowires by O(2) Flow-Induced Bifurcate Reactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Ilsoo; Lee, Ki-Young; Kim, Ungkil; Park, Yong-Hee; Park, Tae-Eon; Choi, Heon-Jin

    2010-06-17

    We report on bifurcate reactions on the surface of well-aligned Si(1-x)Ge(x) nanowires that enable fabrication of two different coaxial heterostructure nanowires. The Si(1-x)Ge(x) nanowires were grown in a chemical vapor transport process using SiCl(4) gas and Ge powder as a source. After the growth of nanowires, SiCl(4) flow was terminated while O(2) gas flow was introduced under vacuum. On the surface of nanowires was deposited Ge by the vapor from the Ge powder or oxidized into SiO(2) by the O(2) gas. The transition from deposition to oxidation occurred abruptly at 2 torr of O(2) pressure without any intermediate region and enables selectively fabricated Ge/Si(1-x)Ge(x) or SiO(2)/Si(1-x)Ge(x) coaxial heterostructure nanowires. The rate of deposition and oxidation was dominated by interfacial reaction and diffusion of oxygen through the oxide layer, respectively.

  1. Fabrication of Coaxial Si1−xGex Heterostructure Nanowires by O2 Flow-Induced Bifurcate Reactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kim Ilsoo

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract We report on bifurcate reactions on the surface of well-aligned Si1−xGex nanowires that enable fabrication of two different coaxial heterostructure nanowires. The Si1−xGex nanowires were grown in a chemical vapor transport process using SiCl4 gas and Ge powder as a source. After the growth of nanowires, SiCl4 flow was terminated while O2 gas flow was introduced under vacuum. On the surface of nanowires was deposited Ge by the vapor from the Ge powder or oxidized into SiO2 by the O2 gas. The transition from deposition to oxidation occurred abruptly at 2 torr of O2 pressure without any intermediate region and enables selectively fabricated Ge/Si1−xGex or SiO2/Si1−xGex coaxial heterostructure nanowires. The rate of deposition and oxidation was dominated by interfacial reaction and diffusion of oxygen through the oxide layer, respectively.

  2. Dissolution-Induced Nanowire Synthesis on Hot-Dip Galvanized Surface in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aaretti Kaleva

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available In this study, we demonstrate a rapid treatment method for producing a needle-like nanowire structure on a hot-dip galvanized sheet at a temperature of 50 °C. The processing method involved only supercritical carbon dioxide and water to induce a reaction on the zinc surface, which resulted in growth of zinc hydroxycarbonate nanowires into flower-like shapes. This artificial patina nanostructure predicts high surface area and offers interesting opportunities for its use in industrial high-end applications. The nanowires can significantly improve paint adhesion and promote electrochemical stability for organic coatings, or be converted to ZnO nanostructures by calcining to be used in various semiconductor applications.

  3. Simple synthetic route to manganese-containing nanowires with the spinel crystal structure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Lei; Zhang, Yan; Hudak, Bethany M.; Wallace, Damon K.; Kim, Doo Young; Guiton, Beth S.

    2016-08-15

    This report describes a new route to synthesize single-crystalline manganese-containing spinel nanowires (NWs) by a two-step hydrothermal and solid-state synthesis. Interestingly, a nanowire or nanorod morphology is maintained during conversion from MnO{sub 2}/MnOOH to CuMn{sub 2}O{sub 4}/Mg{sub 2}MnO{sub 4}, despite the massive structural rearrangement this must involve. Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) curves of the products give preliminary demonstration that CuMn{sub 2}O{sub 4} NWs are catalytically active towards the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline solution, exhibiting five times the magnitude of current density found with pure carbon black. - Highlights: • Synthesis of single-crystalline manganese-containing spinel nanowires. • Binary oxide nanowire converted to ternary oxide wire through solid state reaction. • Approach to structure conversion with shape retention could be generally applicable. • Copper and Manganese display multiple oxidation states with potential for catalysis. • CuMn{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanowires show promise as catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction.

  4. Formation of ultralong copper nanowires by hydrothermal growth for transparent conducting applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balela, Mary Donnabelle L.; Tan, Michael

    2017-07-01

    Transparent conducting electrodes are key components of optoelectronic devices, such as touch screens, organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and solar cells. Recent market surveys have shown that the demands for these devices are rapidly growing at a tremendous rate. Semiconducting oxides, in particular indium tin oxide (ITO) are the material of choice for transparent conducting electrodes. However, these conventional oxides are typically brittle, which limits their applicability in flexible electronics. Metal nanowires, e.g. copper (Cu) nanowires, are considered as the best candidate as substitute for ITO due to their excellent mechanical and electrical properties. In this paper, ultralong copper (Cu) nanowires with were successfully prepared by hydrothermal growth at 50-80°C for 1 h. Ethylenediamine was employed as the structure-directing agents, while hydrazine was used as the reductant. In situ mixed potential measurement was also carried out to monitor Cu deposition. Higher temperature shifted the mixed potential negatively, leading to thicker Cu nanowires. Transparent conducting electrode, with a sheet resistance of 197 Ω sq-1 at an optical transmittance of around 61 %, was fabricated with the Cu nanowire ink.

  5. Molecular-beam-deposited yttrium-oxide dielectrics in aluminum-gated metal - oxide - semiconductor field-effect transistors: Effective electron mobility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ragnarsson, L.-A degree.; Guha, S.; Copel, M.; Cartier, E.; Bojarczuk, N. A.; Karasinski, J.

    2001-01-01

    We report on high effective mobilities in yttrium-oxide-based n-channel metal - oxide - semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) with aluminum gates. The yttrium oxide was grown in ultrahigh vacuum using a reactive atomic-beam-deposition system. Medium-energy ion-scattering studies indicate an oxide with an approximate composition of Y 2 O 3 on top of a thin layer of interfacial SiO 2 . The thickness of this interfacial oxide as well as the effective mobility are found to be dependent on the postgrowth anneal conditions. Optimum conditions result in mobilities approaching that of SiO 2 -based MOSFETs at higher fields with peak mobilities at approximately 210 cm 2 /Vs. [copyright] 2001 American Institute of Physics

  6. Extreme IR absorption in group IV-SiGeSn core-shell nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attiaoui, Anis; Wirth, Stephan; Blanchard-Dionne, André-Pierre; Meunier, Michel; Hartmann, J. M.; Buca, Dan; Moutanabbir, Oussama

    2018-06-01

    Sn-containing Si and Ge (Ge1-y-xSixSny) alloys are an emerging family of semiconductors with the potential to impact group IV material-based devices. These semiconductors provide the ability to independently engineer both the lattice parameter and bandgap, which holds the premise to develop enhanced or novel photonic and electronic devices. With this perspective, we present detailed investigations of the influence of Ge1-y-xSixSny layers on the optical properties of Si and Ge based heterostructures and nanowires. We found that by adding a thin Ge1-y-xSixSny capping layer on Si or Ge greatly enhances light absorption especially in the near infrared range, leading to an increase in short-circuit current density. For the Ge1-y-xSixSny structure at thicknesses below 30 nm, a 14-fold increase in the short-circuit current is observed with respect to bare Si. This enhancement decreases by reducing the capping layer thickness. Conversely, decreasing the shell thickness was found to improve the short-circuit current in Si/Ge1-y-xSixSny and Ge/Ge1-y-xSixSny core/shell nanowires. The optical absorption becomes very important by increasing the Sn content. Moreover, by exploiting an optical antenna effect, these nanowires show extreme light absorption, reaching an enhancement factor, with respect to Si or Ge nanowires, on the order of 104 in Si/Ge0.84Si0.04Sn0.12 and 12 in Ge/Ge0.84Si0.04Sn0.12. Furthermore, we analyzed the optical response after the addition of a dielectric layer of Si3N4 to the Si/Ge1-y-xSixSny core-shell nanowire and found approximatively a 50% increase in the short-circuit current density for a dielectric layer of thickness equal to 45 nm and both a core radius and a shell thickness greater than 40 nm. The core-shell optical antenna benefits from a multiplication of enhancements contributed by leaky mode resonances in the semiconductor part and antireflection effects in the dielectric part.

  7. Co-percolation to tune conductive behaviour in dynamical metallic nanowire networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fairfield, J A; Rocha, C G; O'Callaghan, C; Ferreira, M S; Boland, J J

    2016-11-03

    Nanowire networks act as self-healing smart materials, whose sheet resistance can be tuned via an externally applied voltage stimulus. This memristive response occurs due to modification of junction resistances to form a connectivity path across the lowest barrier junctions in the network. While most network studies have been performed on expensive noble metal nanowires like silver, networks of inexpensive nickel nanowires with a nickel oxide coating can also demonstrate resistive switching, a common feature of metal oxides with filamentary conduction. However, networks made from solely nickel nanowires have high operation voltages which prohibit large-scale material applications. Here we show, using both experiment and simulation, that a heterogeneous network of nickel and silver nanowires allows optimization of the activation voltage, as well as tuning of the conduction behavior to be either resistive switching, memristive, or a combination of both. Small percentages of silver nanowires, below the percolation threshold, induce these changes in electrical behaviour, even for low area coverage and hence very transparent films. Silver nanowires act as current concentrators, amplifying conductivity locally as shown in our computational dynamical activation framework for networks of junctions. These results demonstrate that a heterogeneous nanowire network can act as a cost-effective adaptive material with minimal use of noble metal nanowires, without losing memristive behaviour that is essential for smart sensing and neuromorphic applications.

  8. Development of highly transparent Pd-coated Ag nanowire electrode for display and catalysis applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Canlier, Ali, E-mail: ali.canlier@agu.edu.tr [Department of Materials Science and Nanotechnology Engineering, Abdullah Gul University, P.O. Box 38080, Kayseri (Turkey); Ucak, Umit Volkan, E-mail: sirvolkan@gmail.com [Department of Materials Science and Nanotechnology Engineering, Abdullah Gul University, P.O. Box 38080, Kayseri (Turkey); Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water, and Sustainability (EEWS), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), P.O. Box 305-701, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Usta, Hakan, E-mail: husta38@gmail.com [Department of Materials Science and Nanotechnology Engineering, Abdullah Gul University, P.O. Box 38080, Kayseri (Turkey); Cho, Changsoon, E-mail: cscho@kaist.ac.kr [Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water, and Sustainability (EEWS), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), P.O. Box 305-701, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Jung-Yong, E-mail: jungyong.lee@kaist.ac.kr [Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water, and Sustainability (EEWS), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), P.O. Box 305-701, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Sen, Unal, E-mail: senunal@gmail.com [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Abdullah Gul University, P.O. Box 38080, Kayseri (Turkey); Citir, Murat, E-mail: muratcitir@gmail.com [Department of Chemical Engineering, Abdullah Gul University, P.O. Box 38080, Kayseri (Turkey)

    2015-09-30

    Highlights: • Highly uniform thin-layer coating of Pd onto Ag nanowire surface was accomplished. • A transparent electrode of Pd-coated Ag nanowire was uniformly deposited on flexible substrate. • 95% of optical transmittance and 175 Ω/sq sheet resistance were obtained. • Extremely low haze of 1.9% and high oxidation stability proved an efficient transparent electrode. • This electrode can be used as Pd-catalyst for synthesis reactions and fuel cell electrode applications. - Abstract: Ag nanowire transparent electrode has excellent transmittance (90%) and sheet resistance (20 Ω/sq), yet there are slight drawbacks such as optical haze and chemical instability against aerial oxidation. Chemical stability of Ag nanowires needs to be improved in order for it to be suitable for electrode applications. In our recent article, we demonstrated that coating Ag nanowires with a thin layer of Au through galvanic exchange reactions enhances the chemical stability of Ag nanowire films highly and also helps to obtain lower haze. In this study, coating of a thin Pd layer has been applied successfully onto the surface of Ag nanowires. A mild Pd complex oxidant [Pd(en){sub 2}](NO{sub 3}){sub 2} was prepared in order to oxidize Ag atoms partially on the surface via galvanic displacement. The mild galvanic exchange allowed for a thin layer (1–2 nm) of Pd coating on the Ag nanowires with minimal truncation of the nanowire, where the average length and the diameter were 12.5 μm and 59 nm, respectively. The Pd-coated Ag nanowires were suspended in methanol and then electrostatically sprayed on flexible polycarbonate substrates. It has been revealed that average total transmittance remain around 95% within visible spectrum region (400–800 nm) whereas sheet resistance rises up to 175 Ω/sq. To the best of our knowledge, for the first time in the literature, Pd coating was employed on Ag nanowires in order to design transparent electrodes for high transparency and strong

  9. Laser Doppler perfusion imaging with a complimentary metal oxide semiconductor image sensor

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Serov, Alexander; Steenbergen, Wiendelt; de Mul, F.F.M.

    2002-01-01

    We utilized a complimentary metal oxide semiconductor video camera for fast f low imaging with the laser Doppler technique. A single sensor is used for both observation of the area of interest and measurements of the interference signal caused by dynamic light scattering from moving particles inside

  10. Anodic Aluminum Oxide Membrane-Assisted Fabrication of beta-In(2)S(3) Nanowires.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Jen-Bin; Chen, Chih-Jung; Lin, Ya-Ting; Hsu, Wen-Chia; Chen, Yu-Cheng; Wu, Po-Feng

    2009-06-06

    In this study, beta-In(2)S(3) nanowires were first synthesized by sulfurizing the pure Indium (In) nanowires in an AAO membrane. As FE-SEM results, beta-In(2)S(3) nanowires are highly ordered, arranged tightly corresponding to the high porosity of the AAO membrane used. The diameter of the beta-In(2)S(3) nanowires is about 60 nm with the length of about 6-8 mum. Moreover, the aspect ratio of beta-In(2)S(3) nanowires is up to 117. An EDS analysis revealed the beta-In(2)S(3) nanowires with an atomic ratio of nearly S/In = 1.5. X-ray diffraction and corresponding selected area electron diffraction patterns demonstrated that the beta-In(2)S(3) nanowire is tetragonal polycrystalline. The direct band gap energy (E(g)) is 2.40 eV from the optical measurement, and it is reasonable with literature.

  11. Quantum transport in nanowire-based hybrid devices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guenel, Haci Yusuf

    2013-05-08

    We have studied the low-temperature transport properties of nanowires contacted by a normal metal as well as by superconducting electrodes. As a consequence of quantum coherence, we have demonstrated the electron interference effect in different aspects. The mesoscopic phase coherent transport properties were studied by contacting the semiconductor InAs and InSb nanowires with normal metal electrodes. Moreover, we explored the interaction of the microscopic quantum coherence of the nanowires with the macroscopic quantum coherence of the superconductors. In superconducting Nb contacted InAs nanowire junctions, we have investigated the effect of temperature, magnetic field and electric field on the supercurrent. Owing to relatively high critical temperature of superconducting Nb (T{sub c} ∝ 9 K), we have observed the supercurrent up to 4 K for highly doped nanowire-based junctions, while for low doped nanowire-based junctions a full control of the supercurrent was achieved. Due to low transversal dimension of the nanowires, we have found a monotonous decay of the critical current in magnetic field dependent measurements. The experimental results were analyzed within narrow junction model which has been developed recently. At high bias voltages, we have observed subharmonic energy gap structures as a consequence of multiple Andreev reflection. Some of the nanowires were etched, such that the superconducting Nb electrodes are connected to both ends of the nanowire rather than covering the surface of the nanowire. As a result of well defined nanowire-superconductor interfaces, we have examined quasiparticle interference effect in magnetotransport measurements. Furthermore, we have developed a new junction geometry, such that one of the superconducting Nb electrodes is replaced by a superconducting Al. Owing to the smaller critical magnetic field of superconducting Al (B{sub c} ∝ 15-50,mT), compared to superconducting Nb (B{sub c} ∝ 3 T), we were able to studied

  12. Nano/CMOS architectures using a field-programmable nanowire interconnect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Snider, Gregory S; Williams, R Stanley

    2007-01-01

    A field-programmable nanowire interconnect (FPNI) enables a family of hybrid nano/CMOS circuit architectures that generalizes the CMOL (CMOS/molecular hybrid) approach proposed by Strukov and Likharev, allowing for simpler fabrication, more conservative process parameters, and greater flexibility in the choice of nanoscale devices. The FPNI improves on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) architecture by lifting the configuration bit and associated components out of the semiconductor plane and replacing them in the interconnect with nonvolatile switches, which decreases both the area and power consumption of the circuit. This is an example of a more comprehensive strategy for improving the efficiency of existing semiconductor technology: placing a level of intelligence and configurability in the interconnect can have a profound effect on integrated circuit performance, and can be used to significantly extend Moore's law without having to shrink the transistors. Compilation of standard benchmark circuits onto FPNI chip models shows reduced area (8 x to 25 x), reduced power, slightly lower clock speeds, and high defect tolerance-an FPNI chip with 20% defective junctions and 20% broken nanowires has an effective yield of 75% with no significant slowdown along the critical path, compared to a defect-free chip. Simulations show that the density and power improvements continue as both CMOS and nano fabrication parameters scale down, although the maximum clock rate decreases due to the high resistance of very small (<10 nm) metallic nanowires

  13. Templated synthesis, characterization, and sensing application of macroscopic platinum nanowire network electrodes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, D. H.; Kou, R.; Gil, M. P.

    2005-01-01

    properties of the electrodes, such as electrochemical active area and methanol oxidation, have also been studied. Compared with conventional polycrystalline Pt electrodes, these novel nanowire network electrodes possess high electrochemical active areas and demonstrate higher current densities and a lower...... onset potential for methanol electro-oxidation. Enzymatic Pt nanowire-network-based sensors show higher sensitivity for glucose detection than that using conventional polycrystalline Pt electrode. Such macroscopic nanowire network electrodes provide ideal platforms for sensing and other device......Abstract: Novel platinum nanowire network electrodes have been fabricated through electrodeposition using mesoporous silica thin films as templates. These electrodes were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope, and scanning electron microscope. The electrochemical...

  14. Piezoelectric properties of zinc oxide nanowires: an ab initio study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korir, K K; Cicero, G; Catellani, A

    2013-11-29

    Nanowires made of materials with non-centrosymmetric crystal structures are expected to be ideal building blocks for self-powered nanodevices due to their piezoelectric properties, yet a controversial explanation of the effective operational mechanisms and size effects still delays their real exploitation. To solve this controversy, we propose a methodology based on DFT calculations of the response of nanostructures to external deformations that allows us to distinguish between the different (bulk and surface) contributions: we apply this scheme to evaluate the piezoelectric properties of ZnO [0001] nanowires, with a diameter up to 2.3 nm. Our results reveal that, while surface and confinement effects are negligible, effective strain energies, and thus the nanowire mechanical response, are dependent on size. Our unified approach allows for a proper definition of piezoelectric coefficients for nanostructures, and explains in a rigorous way the reason why nanowires are found to be more sensitive to mechanical deformation than the corresponding bulk material.

  15. Piezoelectric properties of zinc oxide nanowires: an ab initio study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korir, K K; Cicero, G; Catellani, A

    2013-01-01

    Nanowires made of materials with non-centrosymmetric crystal structures are expected to be ideal building blocks for self-powered nanodevices due to their piezoelectric properties, yet a controversial explanation of the effective operational mechanisms and size effects still delays their real exploitation. To solve this controversy, we propose a methodology based on DFT calculations of the response of nanostructures to external deformations that allows us to distinguish between the different (bulk and surface) contributions: we apply this scheme to evaluate the piezoelectric properties of ZnO [0001] nanowires, with a diameter up to 2.3 nm. Our results reveal that, while surface and confinement effects are negligible, effective strain energies, and thus the nanowire mechanical response, are dependent on size. Our unified approach allows for a proper definition of piezoelectric coefficients for nanostructures, and explains in a rigorous way the reason why nanowires are found to be more sensitive to mechanical deformation than the corresponding bulk material. (paper)

  16. Growth and applicability of radiation-responsive silica nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bettge, Martin

    Surface energetics play an important role in processes on the nanoscale. Nanowire growth via vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism is no exception in this regard. Interfacial and line energies are found to impose some fundamental limits during three-phase nanowire growth and lead to formation of stranded nanowires with fascinating characteristics such as high responsiveness towards ion irradiation. By using two materials with a relatively low surface energy (indium and silicon oxide) this is experimentally and theoretically demonstrated in this doctoral thesis. The augmentation of VLS nanowire growth with ion bombardment enables fabrication of vertically aligned silica nanowires over large areas. Synthesis of their arrays begins with a thin indium film deposited on a Si or SiO 2 surface. At temperatures below 200ºC, the indium film becomes a self-organized seed layer of molten droplets, receiving a flux of atomic silicon by DC magnetron sputtering. Simultaneous vigorous ion bombardment through substrate biasing aligns the growing nanowires vertically and expedites mixing of oxygen and silicon into the indium. The vertical growth rate can reach up to 1000 nm-min-1 in an environment containing only argon and traces of water vapor. Silicon oxide precipitates from each indium seed in the form of multiple thin strands having diameters less than 9 nm and practically independent of droplet size. The strands form a single loose bundle, eventually consolidating to form one vertically aligned nanowire. These observations are in stark contrast to conventional VLS growth in which one liquid droplet precipitates a single solid nanowire and in which the precipitated wire diameter is directly proportional to the droplet diameter. The origin of these differences is revealed through a detailed force balance analysis, analogous to Young's relation, at the three-phase line. The liquid-solid interfacial energy of indium/silica is found to be the largest energy contribution at the three

  17. ZnO nanowire-based nano-floating gate memory with Pt nanocrystals embedded in Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} gate oxides

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yeom, Donghyuk; Kang, Jeongmin; Lee, Myoungwon; Jang, Jaewon; Yun, Junggwon; Jeong, Dong-Young; Yoon, Changjoon; Koo, Jamin; Kim, Sangsig [Department of Electrical Engineering and Institute for Nano Science, Korea University, Seoul 136-701 (Korea, Republic of)], E-mail: sangsig@korea.ac.kr

    2008-10-01

    The memory characteristics of ZnO nanowire-based nano-floating gate memory (NFGM) with Pt nanocrystals acting as the floating gate nodes were investigated in this work. Pt nanocrystals were embedded between Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} tunneling and control oxide layers deposited on ZnO nanowire channels. For a representative ZnO nanowire-based NFGM with embedded Pt nanocrystals, a threshold voltage shift of 3.8 V was observed in its drain current versus gate voltage (I{sub DS}-V{sub GS}) measurements for a double sweep of the gate voltage, revealing that the deep effective potential wells built into the nanocrystals provide our NFGM with a large charge storage capacity. Details of the charge storage effect observed in this memory device are discussed in this paper.

  18. Failure mechanisms and electromechanical coupling in semiconducting nanowires

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peng B.

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available One dimensional nanostructures, like nanowires and nanotubes, are increasingly being researched for the development of next generation devices like logic gates, transistors, and solar cells. In particular, semiconducting nanowires with a nonsymmetric wurtzitic crystal structure, such as zinc oxide (ZnO and gallium nitride (GaN, have drawn immense research interests due to their electromechanical coupling. The designing of the future nanowire-based devices requires component-level characterization of individual nanowires. In this paper, we present a unique experimental set-up to characterize the mechanical and electromechanical behaviour of individual nanowires. Using this set-up and complementary atomistic simulations, mechanical properties of ZnO nanowires and electromechanical properties of GaN nanowires were investigated. In ZnO nanowires, elastic modulus was found to depend on nanowire diameter decreasing from 190 GPa to 140 GPa as the wire diameter increased from 5 nm to 80 nm. Inconsistent failure mechanisms were observed in ZnO nanowires. Experiments revealed a brittle fracture, whereas simulations using a pairwise potential predicted a phase transformation prior to failure. This inconsistency is addressed in detail from an experimental as well as computational perspective. Lastly, in addition to mechanical properties, preliminary results on the electromechanical properties of gallium nitride nanowires are also reported. Initial investigations reveal that the piezoresistive and piezoelectric behaviour of nanowires is different from bulk gallium nitride.

  19. Nanowire transistors physics of devices and materials in one dimension

    CERN Document Server

    Colinge, Jean-Pierre

    2016-01-01

    From quantum mechanical concepts to practical circuit applications, this book presents a self-contained and up-to-date account of the physics and technology of nanowire semiconductor devices. It includes a unified account of the critical ideas central to low-dimensional physics and transistor physics which equips readers with a common framework and language to accelerate scientific and technological developments across the two fields. Detailed descriptions of novel quantum mechanical effects such as quantum current oscillations, the metal-to-semiconductor transition and the transition from classical transistor to single-electron transistor operation are described in detail, in addition to real-world applications in the fields of nanoelectronics, biomedical sensing techniques, and advanced semiconductor research. Including numerous illustrations to help readers understand these phenomena, this is an essential resource for researchers and professional engineers working on semiconductor devices and materials in ...

  20. A universal approach to electrically connecting nanowire arrays using nanoparticles—application to a novel gas sensor architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parthangal, Prahalad M.; Cavicchi, Richard E.; Zachariah, Michael R.

    2006-08-01

    We report on a novel, in situ approach toward connecting and electrically contacting vertically aligned nanowire arrays using conductive nanoparticles. The utility of the approach is demonstrated by development of a gas sensing device employing this nano-architecture. Well-aligned, single-crystalline zinc oxide nanowires were grown through a direct thermal evaporation process at 550 °C on gold catalyst layers. Electrical contact to the top of the nanowire array was established by creating a contiguous nanoparticle film through electrostatic attachment of conductive gold nanoparticles exclusively onto the tips of nanowires. A gas sensing device was constructed using such an arrangement and the nanowire assembly was found to be sensitive to both reducing (methanol) and oxidizing (nitrous oxides) gases. This assembly approach is amenable to any nanowire array for which a top contact electrode is needed.

  1. A universal approach to electrically connecting nanowire arrays using nanoparticles-application to a novel gas sensor architecture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parthangal, Prahalad M; Cavicchi, Richard E; Zachariah, Michael R

    2006-01-01

    We report on a novel, in situ approach toward connecting and electrically contacting vertically aligned nanowire arrays using conductive nanoparticles. The utility of the approach is demonstrated by development of a gas sensing device employing this nano-architecture. Well-aligned, single-crystalline zinc oxide nanowires were grown through a direct thermal evaporation process at 550 deg. C on gold catalyst layers. Electrical contact to the top of the nanowire array was established by creating a contiguous nanoparticle film through electrostatic attachment of conductive gold nanoparticles exclusively onto the tips of nanowires. A gas sensing device was constructed using such an arrangement and the nanowire assembly was found to be sensitive to both reducing (methanol) and oxidizing (nitrous oxides) gases. This assembly approach is amenable to any nanowire array for which a top contact electrode is needed

  2. Top-down Fabrication and Enhanced Active Area Electronic Characteristics of Amorphous Oxide Nanoribbons for Flexible Electronics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, Hyun-June; Joong Lee, Ki; Jo, Kwang-Won; Katz, Howard E; Cho, Won-Ju; Shin, Yong-Beom

    2017-07-18

    Inorganic amorphous oxide semiconductor (AOS) materials such as amorphous InGaZnO (a-IGZO) possess mechanical flexibility and outstanding electrical properties, and have generated great interest for use in flexible and transparent electronic devices. In the past, however, AOS devices required higher activation energies, and hence higher processing temperatures, than organic ones to neutralize defects. It is well known that one-dimensional nanowires tend to have better carrier mobility and mechanical strength along with fewer defects than the corresponding two-dimensional films, but until now it has been difficult, costly, and impractical to fabricate such nanowires in proper alignments by either "bottom-up" growth techniques or by "top-down" e-beam lithography. Here we show a top-down, cost-effective, and scalable approach for the fabrication of parallel, laterally oriented AOS nanoribbons based on lift-off and nano-imprinting. High mobility (132 cm 2 /Vs), electrical stability, and transparency are obtained in a-IGZO nanoribbons, compared to the planar films of the same a-IGZO semiconductor.

  3. Anodic Aluminum Oxide Membrane-Assisted Fabrication of β-In2S3Nanowires

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen Chih-Jung

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract In this study, β-In2S3nanowires were first synthesized by sulfurizing the pure Indium (In nanowires in an AAO membrane. As FE-SEM results, β-In2S3nanowires are highly ordered, arranged tightly corresponding to the high porosity of the AAO membrane used. The diameter of the β-In2S3nanowires is about 60 nm with the length of about 6–8 μm. Moreover, the aspect ratio of β-In2S3nanowires is up to 117. An EDS analysis revealed the β-In2S3nanowires with an atomic ratio of nearly S/In = 1.5. X-ray diffraction and corresponding selected area electron diffraction patterns demonstrated that the β-In2S3nanowire is tetragonal polycrystalline. The direct band gap energy (Eg is 2.40 eV from the optical measurement, and it is reasonable with literature.

  4. Room-Temperature Quantum Ballistic Transport in Monolithic Ultrascaled Al-Ge-Al Nanowire Heterostructures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sistani, Masiar; Staudinger, Philipp; Greil, Johannes; Holzbauer, Martin; Detz, Hermann; Bertagnolli, Emmerich; Lugstein, Alois

    2017-08-09

    Conductance quantization at room temperature is a key requirement for the utilizing of ballistic transport for, e.g., high-performance, low-power dissipating transistors operating at the upper limit of "on"-state conductance or multivalued logic gates. So far, studying conductance quantization has been restricted to high-mobility materials at ultralow temperatures and requires sophisticated nanostructure formation techniques and precise lithography for contact formation. Utilizing a thermally induced exchange reaction between single-crystalline Ge nanowires and Al pads, we achieved monolithic Al-Ge-Al NW heterostructures with ultrasmall Ge segments contacted by self-aligned quasi one-dimensional crystalline Al leads. By integration in electrostatically modulated back-gated field-effect transistors, we demonstrate the first experimental observation of room temperature quantum ballistic transport in Ge, favorable for integration in complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor platform technology.

  5. Fabrication and characterization of a flow-through nanoporous gold nanowire/AAO composite membrane

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, L; Lee, W; Huang, Z; Scholz, R; Goesele, U [Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, Weinberg 2, D-06120 Halle (Germany)

    2008-08-20

    The fabrication of a composite membrane of nanoporous gold nanowires and anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) is demonstrated by the electrodeposition of Au-Ag alloy nanowires into an AAO membrane, followed by selective etching of silver from the alloy nanowires. This composite membrane is advantageous for flow-through type catalytic reactions. The morphology evolution of the nanoporous gold nanowires as a function of the diameter of the Au-Ag nanowire 'precursors' is also investigated.

  6. Fabrication and characterization of a flow-through nanoporous gold nanowire/AAO composite membrane

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, L; Lee, W; Huang, Z; Scholz, R; Goesele, U

    2008-01-01

    The fabrication of a composite membrane of nanoporous gold nanowires and anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) is demonstrated by the electrodeposition of Au-Ag alloy nanowires into an AAO membrane, followed by selective etching of silver from the alloy nanowires. This composite membrane is advantageous for flow-through type catalytic reactions. The morphology evolution of the nanoporous gold nanowires as a function of the diameter of the Au-Ag nanowire 'precursors' is also investigated

  7. Fabrication and characterization of a flow-through nanoporous gold nanowire/AAO composite membrane.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, L; Lee, W; Huang, Z; Scholz, R; Gösele, U

    2008-08-20

    The fabrication of a composite membrane of nanoporous gold nanowires and anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) is demonstrated by the electrodeposition of Au-Ag alloy nanowires into an AAO membrane, followed by selective etching of silver from the alloy nanowires. This composite membrane is advantageous for flow-through type catalytic reactions. The morphology evolution of the nanoporous gold nanowires as a function of the diameter of the Au-Ag nanowire 'precursors' is also investigated.

  8. Multi-segmented Magnetic Nanowires Fabrication and Characterization

    KAUST Repository

    Moreno Garcia, Julian

    2016-04-28

    In this work, nickel-gold multi-segmented magnetic nanowires were grown by electrodeposition in anodized alumina templates. The templates were fabricated by a two step anodization process of aluminum disks in an aqueous solution of oxalic acid. In this process, ordered pores grew in an alumina oxide layer at the exposed aluminum area. Each disk was electropolished before the anodization process and the features at its surface were characterized to assess the effect on the pore ordering. Nickel Watts and gold cyanide electrolyte baths were prepared to electrodeposit pure nickel and gold in the templates. Both solutions response to a range of externally applied voltages was characterized and a threshold voltage above which deposition occurs is reported. Single nanowires were isolated by chemically dissolving the template and dispersed in ethanol. Devices were fabricated with these isolated nanowires in which gold contacts were deposited to measure the resistance. A current pulse setup was implemented in a magnetoresistance system allowing to send current pulses with amplitude as low as 2nA and 50μs width. Magneto resistance measurement were carried out on the single nanowires devices and the effect of current pulses was studied. It was found that distinct resistance states can be achieved by applying a determined current pulse at a constant applied field and that the initial state can be recovered by removing excess charge from the nanowire. Finally, the effect of annealing the nanowires in an air atmosphere at 150°C for 24 hours is studied showing that the nickel sections oxidize and the gold sections remain unchanged.

  9. Multi-segmented Magnetic Nanowires Fabrication and Characterization

    KAUST Repository

    Moreno Garcia, Julian

    2016-01-01

    In this work, nickel-gold multi-segmented magnetic nanowires were grown by electrodeposition in anodized alumina templates. The templates were fabricated by a two step anodization process of aluminum disks in an aqueous solution of oxalic acid. In this process, ordered pores grew in an alumina oxide layer at the exposed aluminum area. Each disk was electropolished before the anodization process and the features at its surface were characterized to assess the effect on the pore ordering. Nickel Watts and gold cyanide electrolyte baths were prepared to electrodeposit pure nickel and gold in the templates. Both solutions response to a range of externally applied voltages was characterized and a threshold voltage above which deposition occurs is reported. Single nanowires were isolated by chemically dissolving the template and dispersed in ethanol. Devices were fabricated with these isolated nanowires in which gold contacts were deposited to measure the resistance. A current pulse setup was implemented in a magnetoresistance system allowing to send current pulses with amplitude as low as 2nA and 50μs width. Magneto resistance measurement were carried out on the single nanowires devices and the effect of current pulses was studied. It was found that distinct resistance states can be achieved by applying a determined current pulse at a constant applied field and that the initial state can be recovered by removing excess charge from the nanowire. Finally, the effect of annealing the nanowires in an air atmosphere at 150°C for 24 hours is studied showing that the nickel sections oxidize and the gold sections remain unchanged.

  10. X-ray characterization of Au-free grown GaAs nanowires on Si

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Biermanns, Andreas; Davydok, Anton; Pietsch, Ullrich [Universitaet Siegen, Festkoerperphysik (Germany); Breuer, Steffen; Geelhaar, Lutz [Paul-Drude-Institut fuer Festkoerperelektronik, Berlin (Germany)

    2011-07-01

    Semiconductor nanowires (NW) are of particular interest due to the ability to synthesize single-crystalline 1D epitaxial structures and heterostructures in the nanometer range. However, many details of the growth mechanism are not well understood. In this contribution we present a x-ray diffraction study of the early stage of Au-free GaAs nanowire growth on Si(111)-substrates with native oxide using the nano-focus setup available at the ID1 beamline of ESRF. The GaAs NWs were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), and their formation was induced by Ga droplets. Using a nanometer-sized x-ray beam, size and lattice parameters of individual wires were measured separately. Using asymmetric x-ray diffraction on particular zinc-blende (ZB) and wurtzite (W) sensitive reflections, we show that under the used conditions the NW growth starts with predominantly WZ phases and continues mainly in ZB phase. In addition we can show that the WZ segments of the NWs exhibit a different vertical lattice parameter compared to the zinc-blende segments. A combination of x-ray diffraction from single wires and grazing incidence diffraction shows that the base of the NW is compressively strained along the inplane direction. This strain is released within 20 nm from the substrate-interface.

  11. Piezoresistive silicon nanowire resonators as embedded building blocks in thick SOI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasr Esfahani, Mohammad; Kilinc, Yasin; Çagatay Karakan, M.; Orhan, Ezgi; Hanay, M. Selim; Leblebici, Yusuf; Erdem Alaca, B.

    2018-04-01

    The use of silicon nanowire resonators in nanoelectromechanical systems for new-generation sensing and communication devices faces integration challenges with higher-order structures. Monolithic and deterministic integration of such nanowires with the surrounding microscale architecture within the same thick crystal is a critical aspect for the improvement of throughput, reliability and device functionality. A monolithic and IC-compatible technology based on a tuned combination of etching and protection processes was recently introduced yielding silicon nanowires within a 10 μ m-thick device layer. Motivated by its success, the implications of the technology regarding the electromechanical resonance are studied within a particular setting, where the resonator is co-fabricated with all terminals and tuning electrodes. Frequency response is measured via piezoresistive readout with frequency down-mixing. Measurements indicate mechanical resonance with frequencies as high as 100 MHz exhibiting a Lorentzian behavior with proper transition to nonlinearity, while Allan deviation on the order of 3-8 ppm is achieved. Enabling the fabrication of silicon nanowires in thick silicon crystals using conventional semiconductor manufacturing, the present study thus demonstrates an alternative pathway to bottom-up and thin silicon-on-insulator approaches for silicon nanowire resonators.

  12. Chemically-modified electrodes in photoelectrochemical cells. [Tin oxide and TiO/sub 2/ semiconductor electrodes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fox, M A; Hohman, J R; Kamat, P V

    1893-01-01

    Tin oxide and titanium dioxide semiconductor electrodes hae been covalently modified by the attachment of functionalized olefins and arenes through surface silanation or via a cyanuric chloride linkage. The excited state and electrochemical properties of the molecules so attached are significantly affected by the semiconductor. Photocurrent measurements and time-resolved laser coulostatic monitoring have been employed to elucidate the mechanism of charge injection on these modified surfaces. 17 references, 7 figures.

  13. Significantly enhanced visible light response in single TiO2 nanowire by nitrogen ion implantation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Pengcheng; Song, Xianyin; Si, Shuyao; Ke, Zunjian; Cheng, Li; Li, Wenqing; Xiao, Xiangheng; Jiang, Changzhong

    2018-05-01

    The metal-oxide semiconductor TiO2 shows enormous potential in the field of photoelectric detection; however, UV-light absorption only restricts its widespread application. It is considered that nitrogen doping can improve the visible light absorption of TiO2, but the effect of traditional chemical doping is far from being used for visible light detection. Herein, we dramatically broadened the absorption spectrum of the TiO2 nanowire (NW) by nitrogen ion implantation and apply the N-doped single TiO2 NW to visible light detection for the first time. Moreover, this novel strategy effectively modifies the surface states and thus regulates the height of Schottky barriers at the metal/semiconductor interface, which is crucial to realizing high responsivity and a fast response rate. Under the illumination of a laser with a wavelength of 457 nm, our fabricated photodetector exhibits favorable responsivity (8 A W-1) and a short response time (0.5 s). These results indicate that ion implantation is a promising method in exploring the visible light detection of TiO2.

  14. High-resolution TEM characterization of ZnO core-shell nanowires for dye-sensitized solar cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Divitini, G; Ducati, C [Department of Materials Science, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ (United Kingdom); Plank, N O V; Welland, M E [Nanoscience Centre, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, CB3 0FF (United Kingdom); Snaith, H J, E-mail: gd322@cam.ac.u [Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, OX1 3PU (United Kingdom)

    2010-07-01

    Recently ZnO nanowire films have been used in very promising and inexpensive dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). It was found that the performance of the devices can be enhanced by functionalising the nanowires with a thin metal oxide coating. This nm-scale shell is believed to tailor the electronic structure of the nanowire, and help the absorption of the dye. Core-shell ZnO nanowire structures are synthesised at low temperature (below 120{sup 0}C) by consecutive hydrothermal growth steps. Different materials are investigated for the coating, including Mg, Al, Cs and Zr oxides. High resolution TEM is used to characterise the quality of both the nanowire core and the shell, and to monitor the thickness and the degree of crystallisation of the oxide coating. The interface between the nanowire core and the outer shell is investigated in order to understand the adhesion of the coating, and give valuable feedback for the synthesis process. Nanowire films are packaged into dye-sensitised solar cell prototypes; samples coated with ZrO{sub 2} and MgO show the largest enhancement in the photocurrent and open-circuit voltage and look very promising for further improvement.

  15. Ethylene Gas Sensing Properties of Tin Oxide Nanowires Synthesized via CVD Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akhir, Maisara A. M.; Mohamed, Khairudin; Rezan, Sheikh A.; Arafat, M. M.; Haseeb, A. S. M. A.; Uda, M. N. A.; Nuradibah, M. A.

    2018-03-01

    This paper studies ethylene gas sensing performance of tin oxide (SnO2) nanowires (NWs) as sensing material synthesized using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique. The effect of NWs diameter on ethylene gas sensing characteristics were investigated. SnO2 NWs with diameter of ∼40 and ∼240 nm were deposited onto the alumina substrate with printed gold electrodes and tested for sensing characteristic toward ethylene gas. From the finding, the smallest diameter of NWs (42 nm) exhibit fast response and recovery time and higher sensitivity compared to largest diameter of NWs (∼240 nm). Both sensor show good reversibility features for ethylene gas sensor.

  16. DC electrodeposition of NiGa alloy nanowires in AAO template

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maleki, K. [Nanomaterials Group, Department of Materials Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran, P.O. Box: 14115-143, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Sanjabi, S., E-mail: sanjabi@modares.ac.ir [Nanomaterials Group, Department of Materials Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran, P.O. Box: 14115-143, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Alemipour, Z. [Department of Physics, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2015-12-01

    NiGa alloy nanowires were electrodeposited from an acidic sulfate bath into nanoporous anodized alumina oxide (AAO). This template was fabricated by two-step anodizing. The effects of bath composition and current density were explored on the Ga content of electrodeposited nanowires. The Ga content in the deposits was increased by increasing both Ga in the bath composition and electrodepositing current density. The NiGa alloy nanowires were synthesized for Ga content up to 2–4% without significant improving the magnetic properties. Above this threshold Ga clusters were formed and decreased the magnetic properties of the nanowires. For Ga content of the alloy above 30%, the wires were too short and incomplete. X-ray diffraction patterns reveal that the significant increase of Ga content in the nanowires, changes the FCC crystal structure of Ni to an amorphous phase. It also causes a sizeable increase in the Ga cluster size; these both lead to a significant reduction in the coercivity and the magnetization respectively. - Highlights: • NiGa alloy nanowires were electrodeposited from acidic sulphate baths into nanoporous anodized alumina oxide (AAO) template. • The Ga content was increased by increasing the Ga in the bath composition and electrodeposition current density. • The magnetic parameters such as coercivity and magnetization were not changed for the alloy nanowire with Ga content less than 4%.

  17. Fabrication and Synthesis of Highly Ordered Nickel Cobalt Sulfide Nanowire-Grown Woven Kevlar Fiber/Reduced Graphene Oxide/Polyester Composites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hazarika, Ankita; Deka, Biplab K; Kim, DoYoung; Roh, Hyung Doh; Park, Young-Bin; Park, Hyung Wook

    2017-10-18

    Well-aligned NiCo 2 S 4 nanowires, synthesized hydrothermally on the surface of woven Kevlar fiber (WKF), were used to fabricate composites with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) dispersed in polyester resin (PES) by means of vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding. The NiCo 2 S 4 nanowires were synthesized with three precursor concentrations. Nanowire growth was characterized using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Hierarchical and high growth density of the nanowires led to exceptional mechanical properties of the composites. Compared with bare WKF/PES, the tensile strength and absorbed impact energy were enhanced by 96.2% and 92.3%, respectively, for WKF/NiCo 2 S 4 /rGO (1.5%)/PES. The synergistic effect of NiCo 2 S 4 nanowires and rGO in the fabricated composites improved the electrical conductivity of insulating WKF/PES composites, reducing the resistance to ∼10 3 Ω. Joule heating performance depended strongly on the precursor concentration of the nanowires and the presence of rGO in the composite. A maximum surface temperature of 163 °C was obtained under low-voltage (5 V) application. The Joule heating performance of the composites was demonstrated in a surface deicing experiment; we observed that 17 g of ice melted from the surface of the composite in 14 min under an applied voltage of 5 V at -28 °C. The excellent performance of WKF/NiCo 2 S 4 /rGO/PES composites shows great potential for aerospace structural applications requiring outstanding mechanical properties and Joule heating capability for deicing of surfaces.

  18. Effect of Silicon Nanowire on Crystalline Silicon Solar Cell Characteristics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zahra Ostadmahmoodi Do

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Nanowires (NWs are recently used in several sensor or actuator devices to improve their ordered characteristics. Silicon nanowire (Si NW is one of the most attractive one-dimensional nanostructures semiconductors because of its unique electrical and optical properties. In this paper, silicon nanowire (Si NW, is synthesized and characterized for application in photovoltaic device. Si NWs are prepared using wet chemical etching method which is commonly used as a simple and low cost method for producing nanowires of the same substrate material. The process conditions are adjusted to find the best quality of Si NWs. Morphology of Si NWs is studied using a field emission scanning electron microscopic technique. An energy dispersive X-Ray analyzer is also used to provide elemental identification and quantitative compositional information. Subsequently, Schottky type solar cell samples are fabricated on Si and Si NWs using ITO and Ag contacts. The junction properties are calculated using I-V curves in dark condition and the solar cell I-V characteristics are obtained under incident of the standardized light of AM1.5. The results for the two mentioned Schottky solar cell samples are compared and discussed. An improvement in short circuit current and efficiency of Schottky solar cell is found when Si nanowires are employed.

  19. Surfactant-assisted carbon doping in ZnO nanowires using Poly Ethylene Glycol (PEG)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amanullah, Malik; Javed, Qurat-ul-Ain, E-mail: Quratulain@sns.nust.edu.pk; Rizwan, Syed

    2016-09-01

    Zinc Oxide (ZnO) provides unique properties owing to its wide bandgap, large resistivity range and possibility to tune the physical properties. The surfactant assisted carbon doping was made possible due to the lowering of surface energy. The ZnO and carbon doped ZnO (C-ZnO) nanowires fabricated by hydrothermal process, Poly Ethylene Glycol (PEG) is used as surfactant in hydrothermal synthesis followed by post growth annealing treatment at 600 °C–700 °C. At 5%–10% of diluted PEG carbon is doped in ZnO. The crystallinity, structural morphology and elemental composition analysis for ZnO and C-ZnO nanowires were carried out using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy techniques respectively. Carbon doping in ZnO nanowires in the presence of different percentage of surfactant is explained by calculating the change in surface energy with respect to change in PEG molecule concentration. It was found that the surface energy per molecule modulates from 3.92 × 10{sup −8} J/m{sup 2} to 8.16 × 10{sup −7} J/m{sup 2} in the PEG concentration range between 5% and 10%. Our results provides a new theoretical calculations, implemented on real system, to observe the details of PEG-assisted Carbon doping in II-VI semiconductor nanowires. - Highlights: • ZnO and C-ZnO was synthesized by PEG assisted post growth annealing process. • At 5% and 10% of PEG successful synthesis of C-ZnO was found. • XRD, SEM and EDX characterizations confirm the successful synthesis of ZnO and C-ZnO. • Change in surface energy with respect to PEG molecule concentration was calculated.

  20. Unveiling the Formation Pathway of Single Crystalline Porous Silicon Nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Xing; Qu, Yongquan; Lin, Yung-Chen; Liao, Lei; Duan, Xiangfeng

    2011-01-01

    Porous silicon nanowire is emerging as an interesting material system due to its unique combination of structural, chemical, electronic, and optical properties. To fully understand their formation mechanism is of great importance for controlling the fundamental physical properties and enabling potential applications. Here we present a systematic study to elucidate the mechanism responsible for the formation of porous silicon nanowires in a two-step silver-assisted electroless chemical etching method. It is shown that silicon nanowire arrays with various porosities can be prepared by varying multiple experimental parameters such as the resistivity of the starting silicon wafer, the concentration of oxidant (H2O2) and the amount of silver catalyst. Our study shows a consistent trend that the porosity increases with the increasing wafer conductivity (dopant concentration) and oxidant (H2O2) concentration. We further demonstrate that silver ions, formed by the oxidation of silver, can diffuse upwards and re-nucleate on the sidewalls of nanowires to initiate new etching pathways to produce porous structure. The elucidation of this fundamental formation mechanism opens a rational pathway to the production of wafer-scale single crystalline porous silicon nanowires with tunable surface areas ranging from 370 m2·g−1 to 30 m2·g−1, and can enable exciting opportunities in catalysis, energy harvesting, conversion, storage, as well as biomedical imaging and therapy. PMID:21244020

  1. Vapor Phase Synthesis of Organometal Halide Perovskite Nanowires for Tunable Room-Temperature Nanolasers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xing, Jun; Liu, Xin Feng; Zhang, Qing; Ha, Son Tung; Yuan, Yan Wen; Shen, Chao; Sum, Tze Chien; Xiong, Qihua

    2015-07-08

    Semiconductor nanowires have received considerable attention in the past decade driven by both unprecedented physics derived from the quantum size effect and strong isotropy and advanced applications as potential building blocks for nanoscale electronics and optoelectronic devices. Recently, organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites have been shown to exhibit high optical absorption coefficient, optimal direct band gap, and long electron/hole diffusion lengths, leading to high-performance photovoltaic devices. Herein, we present the vapor phase synthesis free-standing CH3NH3PbI3, CH3NH3PbBr3, and CH3NH3PbIxCl3(-x) perovskite nanowires with high crystallinity. These rectangular cross-sectional perovskite nanowires have good optical properties and long electron hole diffusion length, which ensure adequate gain and efficient optical feedback. Indeed, we have demonstrated optical-pumped room-temperature CH3NH3PbI3 nanowire lasers with near-infrared wavelength of 777 nm, low threshold of 11 μJ/cm(2), and a quality factor as high as 405. Our research advocates the promise of optoelectronic devices based on organic-inorganic perovskite nanowires.

  2. A Ge/Si heterostructure nanowire-based double quantum dot with integrated charge sensor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hu, Yongjie; Churchill, Hugh; Reilly, David

    2007-01-01

    Coupled electron spins in semiconductor double quantum dots hold promise as the basis for solid-state qubits. To date, most experiments have used III-V materials, in which coherence is limited by hyperfine interactions. Ge/Si heterostructure nanowires seem ideally suited to overcome this limitati...

  3. P-type Oxide Semiconductors for Transparent & Energy Efficient Electronics

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Zhenwei

    2018-03-11

    Emerging transparent semiconducting oxide (TSO) materials have achieved their initial commercial success in the display industry. Due to the advanced electrical performance, TSOs have been adopted either to improve the performance of traditional displays or to demonstrate the novel transparent and flexible displays. However, due to the lack of feasible p-type TSOs, the applications of TSOs is limited to unipolar (n-type TSOs) based devices. Compared with the prosperous n-type TSOs, the performance of p-type counterparts is lag behind. However, after years of discovery, several p-type TSOs are confirmed with promising performance, for example, tin monoxide (SnO). By using p-type SnO, excellent transistor field-effect mobility of 6.7 cm2 V-1 s-1 has been achieved. Motivated by this encouraging performance, this dissertation is devoted to further evaluate the feasibility of integrating p-type SnO in p-n junctions and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices. CMOS inverters are fabricated using p-type SnO and in-situ formed n-type tin dioxide (SnO2). The semiconductors are simultaneously sputtered, which simplifies the process of CMOS inverters. The in-situ formation of SnO2 phase is achieved by selectively sputtering additional capping layer, which serves as oxygen source and helps to balance the process temperature for both types of semiconductors. Oxides based p-n junctions are demonstrated between p-type SnO and n-type SnO2 by magnetron sputtering method. Diode operating ideality factor of 3.4 and rectification ratio of 103 are achieved. A large temperature induced knee voltage shift of 20 mV oC-1 is observed, and explained by the large band gap and shallow states in SnO, which allows minor adjustment of band structure in response to the temperature change. Finally, p-type SnO is used to demonstrating the hybrid van der Waals heterojunctions (vdWHs) with two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide (2D MoS2) by mechanical exfoliation. The hybrid vdWHs show

  4. n-Type Doping and Morphology of GaAs Nanowires in Aerotaxy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Metaferia, Wondwosen [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Sivakumar, Sudhakar [Lund University; Persson, Axel R. [Lund University; Geijselaers, Irene [Lund University; Wallenberg, L. Reine [Lund University; Deppert, Knut [Lund University; Samuelson, Lars [Lund University; Magnusson, Martin [Lund University

    2018-04-17

    Controlled doping in semiconductor nanowires modifies their electrical and optical properties, which are important for high efficiency optoelectronic devices. We have grown n-type (Sn) doped GaAs nanowires in Aerotaxy, a new continuous gas phase mass production technique. The morphology of Sn doped nanowires is found to be a strong function of dopant, tetraethyltin to trimethylgallium flow ratio, Au-Ga-Sn alloying, and nanowire growth temperatures. High temperature and high flow ratios result in low morphological quality nanowires and in parasitic growth on the wire base and surface. Alloying and growth temperatures of 400 and 530 degrees C, respectively, resulted in good morphological quality nanowires for a flow ratio of TESn to TMGa up to 2.25 x 10-3. The wires are pure Zinc-blende for all investigated growth conditions, whereas nanowires grown by MOVPE with the same growth conditions are usually mainly Wurtzite. The growth rate of the doped wires is found to be dependent more on the TESn flow fraction than on alloying and nanowire growth temperatures. Our photoluminescence measurements, supported by four-point probe resistivity measurements, reveal that the carrier concentration in the doped wires varies only slightly (1- 3) x 1019 cm-3 with TESn flow fraction and both alloying and growth temperatures, indicating that good morphological quality wires with high carrier density can be grown with low TESn flow. Carrier concentrations lower than 1019 cm-3 can be grown by further reducing the flow fraction of TESn, which may give better morphology wires.

  5. Emission channeling with short-lived isotopes lattice location of impurities in semiconductors and oxides

    CERN Multimedia

    We propose to perform emission channeling lattice location experiments in a number of semiconductor and oxide systems of technological relevance: \\\\- The lattice location of the transition metal probes $^{56}$Mn ($\\textit{t}_{1/2}$=2.6 h), $^{59}$Fe (45 d), $^{61}$Co (1.6 h) and $^{65}$Ni (2.5 h) is to be investigated in materials of interest as dilute magnetic semiconductors, such as GaMnAs, GaMnN, GaFeN, AlGaN, SiC, and in a number of oxides that are candidates for “single ion ferromagnetism”, in particular SrTiO$_3$ and LiNbO$_3$.\\\\- The topic of $\\textit{p}$-type doping of nitride semiconductors shall be addressed by studying the lattice sites of the acceptor dopants Mg and Be in GaN and AlN using the short-lived probes $^{27}$Mg (9.5 min) and $^{11}$Be (13.8 s). The aim is to reach a lattice location precision around 0.05 Å in order to provide critical tests for recent theoretical models which e.g. have predicted displacements of the Mg atom from the ideal substitutional Ga and Al sites of the order...

  6. ZrTiO4 nanowire growth using membrane-assisted Pechini route

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. R. de Lucena

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The high surface-to-volume ratio of nanowires makes them natural competitors as new device components. In this regard, a current major challenge is to produce quasi-one-dimensional nanostructures composed of well established oxide-based materials. This article reports the synthesis of ZrTiO4 nanowires on a silicon (100 wafer in a single-step deposition/thermal treatment. The template-directed membrane synthesis strategy was associated with the Pechini route and spin-coating deposition technique. ZrTiO4 nanowires were obtained at 700 ˚C with diameters in the range of 80-100 nm. FEG- SEM images were obtained to investigate ZrTiO4 nanowire formation on the silicon surface and energy dispersive x-ray detection (EDS and x-ray diffraction (XRD analyses were performed to confirm the oxide composition and structure.

  7. ZrTiO4 Nanowire Growth Using Membrane-assisted Pechini Route

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Poty Rodrigues de Lucena

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The high surface-to-volume ratio of nanowires makes them natural competitors as newer device components. In this regard, a current major challenge is to produce quasi-one-dimensional nanostructures composed of well-established oxide-based materials. This article reports the synthesis of ZrTiO4 nanowires on a silicon (100 wafer in a single-step deposition/thermal treatment. The template-directed membrane synthesis strategy was associated with the Pechini route and spin-coating deposition technique. ZrTiO4 nanowires were obtained at 700 °C with diameters in the range of 80-100 nm. FEGSEM images were obtained to investigate ZrTiO4 nanowire formation on the silicon surface and energy dispersive X-ray detection (EDS and X-ray diffraction (XRD analyses were performed to confirm the oxide composition and structure. 

  8. Penetration length-dependent hot electrons in the field emission from ZnO nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yicong; Song, Xiaomeng; Li, Zhibing; She, Juncong; Deng, Shaozhi; Xu, Ningsheng; Chen, Jun

    2018-01-01

    In the framework of field emission, whether or not hot electrons can form in the semiconductor emitters under a surface penetration field is of great concern, which will provide not only a comprehensive physical picture of field emission from semiconductor but also guidance on how to improve device performance. However, apart from some theoretical work, its experimental evidence has not been reported yet. In this article, the field penetration length-dependent hot electrons were observed in the field emission of ZnO nanowires through the in-situ study of its electrical and field emission characteristic before and after NH3 plasma treatment in an ultrahigh vacuum system. After the treatment, most of the nanowires have an increased carrier density but reduced field emission current. The raised carrier density was caused by the increased content of oxygen vacancies, while the degraded field emission current was attributed to the lower kinetic energy of hot electrons caused by the shorter penetration length. All of these results suggest that the field emission properties of ZnO nanowires can be optimized by modifying their carrier density to balance both the kinetic energy of field induced hot electrons and the limitation of saturated current under a given field.

  9. Theoretical interpretation of the electron mobility behavior in InAs nanowires

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marin, E. G.; Ruiz, F. G.; Godoy, A.; Tienda-Luna, I. M.; Martínez-Blanque, C.; Gámiz, F.

    2014-01-01

    This work studies the electron mobility in InAs nanowires (NWs), by solving the Boltzmann Transport Equation under the Momentum Relaxation Time approximation. The numerical solver takes into account the contribution of the main scattering mechanisms present in III-V compound semiconductors. It is validated against experimental field effect-mobility results, showing a very good agreement. The mobility dependence on the nanowire diameter and carrier density is analyzed. It is found that surface roughness and polar optical phonons are the scattering mechanisms that mainly limit the mobility behavior. Finally, we explain the origin of the oscillations observed in the mobility of small NWs at high electric fields.

  10. Theoretical interpretation of the electron mobility behavior in InAs nanowires

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marin, E. G., E-mail: egmarin@ugr.es; Ruiz, F. G., E-mail: franruiz@ugr.es; Godoy, A.; Tienda-Luna, I. M.; Martínez-Blanque, C.; Gámiz, F. [Departamento de Electrónica y Tecnología de los Computadores, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Av. Fuentenueva S/N, 18071 Granada (Spain)

    2014-11-07

    This work studies the electron mobility in InAs nanowires (NWs), by solving the Boltzmann Transport Equation under the Momentum Relaxation Time approximation. The numerical solver takes into account the contribution of the main scattering mechanisms present in III-V compound semiconductors. It is validated against experimental field effect-mobility results, showing a very good agreement. The mobility dependence on the nanowire diameter and carrier density is analyzed. It is found that surface roughness and polar optical phonons are the scattering mechanisms that mainly limit the mobility behavior. Finally, we explain the origin of the oscillations observed in the mobility of small NWs at high electric fields.

  11. Signatures of Quantized Energy States in Solution-Processed Ultrathin Layers of Metal-Oxide Semiconductors and Their Devices

    KAUST Repository

    Labram, John G.

    2015-02-13

    Physical phenomena such as energy quantization have to-date been overlooked in solution-processed inorganic semiconducting layers, owing to heterogeneity in layer thickness uniformity unlike some of their vacuum-deposited counterparts. Recent reports of the growth of uniform, ultrathin (<5 nm) metal-oxide semiconductors from solution, however, have potentially opened the door to such phenomena manifesting themselves. Here, a theoretical framework is developed for energy quantization in inorganic semiconductor layers with appreciable surface roughness, as compared to the mean layer thickness, and present experimental evidence of the existence of quantized energy states in spin-cast layers of zinc oxide (ZnO). As-grown ZnO layers are found to be remarkably continuous and uniform with controllable thicknesses in the range 2-24 nm and exhibit a characteristic widening of the energy bandgap with reducing thickness in agreement with theoretical predictions. Using sequentially spin-cast layers of ZnO as the bulk semiconductor and quantum well materials, and gallium oxide or organic self-assembled monolayers as the barrier materials, two terminal electronic devices are demonstrated, the current-voltage characteristics of which resemble closely those of double-barrier resonant-tunneling diodes. As-fabricated all-oxide/hybrid devices exhibit a characteristic negative-differential conductance region with peak-to-valley ratios in the range 2-7.

  12. Copper Nanowire Production for Interconnect Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Jin-Woo (Inventor); Meyyappan, Meyya (Inventor)

    2014-01-01

    A method of fabricating metallic Cu nanowires with lengths up to about 25 micrometers and diameters in a range 20-100 nanometers, or greater if desired. Vertically oriented or laterally oriented copper oxide structures (CuO and/or Cu2O) are grown on a Cu substrate. The copper oxide structures are reduced with 99+ percent H or H2, and in this reduction process the lengths decrease (to no more than about 25 micrometers), the density of surviving nanostructures on a substrate decreases, and the diameters of the surviving nanostructures have a range, of about 20-100 nanometers. The resulting nanowires are substantially pure Cu and can be oriented laterally (for local or global interconnects) or can be oriented vertically (for standard vertical interconnects).

  13. Interpreting anomalies observed in oxide semiconductor TFTs under negative and positive bias stress

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jin, J.W.; Nathan, A.; Barquinha, P.; Pereira, L.; Fortunato, E.; Martins, R.; Cobb, B.

    2016-01-01

    Oxide semiconductor thin-film transistors can show anomalous behavior under bias stress. Two types of anomalies are discussed in this paper. The first is the shift in threshold voltage (VTH) in a direction opposite to the applied bias stress, and highly dependent on gate dielectric material. We

  14. Magnetic properties of ZnO nanowires with Li dopants and Zn vacancies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guan, Xinhong; Cai, Ningning [Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications (Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications), Ministry of Education, P.O. Box 72, Beijing 100876 (China); Yang, Chuanghua [School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, Shanxi University of Technology (SNUT), Hanzhong 723001, Shanxi (China); Chen, Jun [Beijing Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, Beijing 100088 (China); Lu, Pengfei, E-mail: photon.bupt@gmail.com [Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications (Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications), Ministry of Education, P.O. Box 72, Beijing 100876 (China)

    2016-04-30

    The electronic and magnetic properties of ZnO nanowire with Li dopants and vacancies have been investigated using first-principles density functional theory. It is found that the Zn vacancy can induce magnetism while increasing the formation energy of the system. However, the calculated results indicate that the introduction of Li-dopants will reduce the formation energy of system. We also have studied the magnetic couplings with vacancies as well as their corresponding configurations with Li-dopants for four configurations of ZnO nanowires. The results show that ferromagnetic properties can be improved/reversed after the introduction of Li-dopants. Ferromagnetic mechanism is originated from the fierce p–p hybridization of O near the Fermi level. We find that ferromagnetism of Li-doped ZnO nanowires with Zn vacancies can be realized at room temperature and they are promising spintronic materials. - Highlights: • Li-dopants will reduce the formation energy of ZnO nanowires with Zn vacancy. • The fierce p–p hybridization of O near Fermi level is responsible for FM properties. • Li-doped ZnO–V{sub Zn} nanowire is a promising FM semiconductor material.

  15. A facile and efficient approach for pore-opening detection of anodic aluminum oxide membranes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Jiewu; Wu, Yucheng; Wang, Yan; Zheng, Hongmei; Xu, Guangqing; Zhang, Xinyi

    2012-05-01

    The well aligned porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane is fabricated by a two-step anodization method. The oxide barrier layer of AAO membrane must be removed to get through-hole membrane for synthesizing nanowires and nanotubes of metals, semiconductors and conducting polymers. Removal of the barrier layer of oxide and pore-extending is of significant importance for the preparation of AAO membrane with through-hole pore morphology and desired pore diameter. The conventional method for pore opening is that AAO membrane after removing of aluminum substrate is immersed in chemical etching solution, which is completely empirical and results in catastrophic damage for AAO membrane frequently. A very simple and efficient approach based on capillary action for detecting pore opening of AAO membrane is introduced in this paper, this method can achieve the detection for pore opening visually and control the pore diameter precisely to get desired morphology and the pore diameter of AAO membrane. Two kinds of AAO membranes with different pore shape were obtained by different pore opening methods. In addition, one-dimensional gradient gold nanowires are also fabricated by electrodeposition based on AAO membranes.

  16. Trap state passivation improved hot-carrier instability by zirconium-doping in hafnium oxide in a nanoscale n-metal-oxide semiconductor-field effect transistors with high-k/metal gate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Hsi-Wen; Tsai, Jyun-Yu; Liu, Kuan-Ju; Lu, Ying-Hsin; Chang, Ting-Chang; Chen, Ching-En; Tseng, Tseung-Yuen; Lin, Chien-Yu; Cheng, Osbert; Huang, Cheng-Tung; Ye, Yi-Han

    2016-01-01

    This work investigates the effect on hot carrier degradation (HCD) of doping zirconium into the hafnium oxide high-k layer in the nanoscale high-k/metal gate n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect-transistors. Previous n-metal-oxide semiconductor-field effect transistor studies demonstrated that zirconium-doped hafnium oxide reduces charge trapping and improves positive bias temperature instability. In this work, a clear reduction in HCD is observed with zirconium-doped hafnium oxide because channel hot electron (CHE) trapping in pre-existing high-k bulk defects is the main degradation mechanism. However, this reduced HCD became ineffective at ultra-low temperature, since CHE traps in the deeper bulk defects at ultra-low temperature, while zirconium-doping only passivates shallow bulk defects.

  17. Smooth Nanowire/Polymer Composite Transparent Electrodes

    KAUST Repository

    Gaynor, Whitney; Burkhard, George F.; McGehee, Michael D.; Peumans, Peter

    2011-01-01

    Smooth composite transparent electrodes are fabricated via lamination of silver nanowires into the polymer poly-(4,3-ethylene dioxythiophene): poly(styrene-sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). The surface roughness is dramatically reduced compared to bare nanowires. High-efficiency P3HT:PCBM organic photovoltaic cells can be fabricated using these composites, reproducing the performance of cells on indium tin oxide (ITO) on glass and improving the performance of cells on ITO on plastic. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Smooth Nanowire/Polymer Composite Transparent Electrodes

    KAUST Repository

    Gaynor, Whitney

    2011-04-29

    Smooth composite transparent electrodes are fabricated via lamination of silver nanowires into the polymer poly-(4,3-ethylene dioxythiophene): poly(styrene-sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). The surface roughness is dramatically reduced compared to bare nanowires. High-efficiency P3HT:PCBM organic photovoltaic cells can be fabricated using these composites, reproducing the performance of cells on indium tin oxide (ITO) on glass and improving the performance of cells on ITO on plastic. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  19. Unipolar resistive switching in metal oxide/organic semiconductor non-volatile memories as a critical phenomenon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bory, Benjamin F.; Meskers, Stefan C. J.; Rocha, Paulo R. F.; Gomes, Henrique L.; Leeuw, Dago M. de

    2015-01-01

    Diodes incorporating a bilayer of an organic semiconductor and a wide bandgap metal oxide can show unipolar, non-volatile memory behavior after electroforming. The prolonged bias voltage stress induces defects in the metal oxide with an areal density exceeding 10 17  m −2 . We explain the electrical bistability by the coexistence of two thermodynamically stable phases at the interface between an organic semiconductor and metal oxide. One phase contains mainly ionized defects and has a low work function, while the other phase has mainly neutral defects and a high work function. In the diodes, domains of the phase with a low work function constitute current filaments. The phase composition and critical temperature are derived from a 2D Ising model as a function of chemical potential. The model predicts filamentary conduction exhibiting a negative differential resistance and nonvolatile memory behavior. The model is expected to be generally applicable to any bilayer system that shows unipolar resistive switching

  20. Polymer-electrolyte-gated nanowire synaptic transistors for neuromorphic applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, Can; Sun, Jia; Gou, Guangyang; Kong, Ling-An; Qian, Chuan; Dai, Guozhang; Yang, Junliang; Guo, Guang-hua

    2017-09-01

    Polymer-electrolytes are formed by dissolving a salt in polymer instead of water, the conducting mechanism involves the segmental motion-assisted diffusion of ion in the polymer matrix. Here, we report on the fabrication of tin oxide (SnO2) nanowire synaptic transistors using polymer-electrolyte gating. A thin layer of poly(ethylene oxide) and lithium perchlorate (PEO/LiClO4) was deposited on top of the devices, which was used to boost device performances. A voltage spike applied on the in-plane gate attracts ions toward the polymer-electrolyte/SnO2 nanowire interface and the ions are gradually returned after the pulse is removed, which can induce a dynamic excitatory postsynaptic current in the nanowire channel. The SnO2 synaptic transistors exhibit the behavior of short-term plasticity like the paired-pulse facilitation and self-adaptation, which is related to the electric double-effect regulation. In addition, the synaptic logic functions and the logical function transformation are also discussed. Such single SnO2 nanowire-based synaptic transistors are of great importance for future neuromorphic devices.