Silver Nanowire Transparent Conductive Films with High Uniformity Fabricated via a Dynamic Heating Method.

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Yonggao; Chen, Chao; Jia, Dan; Li, Shuxin; Ji, Shulin; Ye, Changhui

2016-04-20

The uniformity of the sheet resistance of transparent conductive films is one of the most important quality factors for touch panel applications. However, the uniformity of silver nanowire transparent conductive films is far inferior to that of indium-doped tin oxide (ITO). Herein, we report a dynamic heating method using infrared light to achieve silver nanowire transparent conductive films with high uniformity. This method can overcome the coffee ring effect during the drying process and suppress the aggregation of silver nanowires in the film. A nonuniformity factor of the sheet resistance of the as-prepared silver nanowire transparent conductive films could be as low as 6.7% at an average sheet resistance of 35 Ω/sq and a light transmittance of 95% (at 550 nm), comparable to that of high-quality ITO film in the market. In addition, a mechanical study shows that the sheet resistance of the films has little change after 5000 bending cycles, and the film could be used in touch panels for human-machine interactive input. The highly uniform and mechanically stable silver nanowire transparent conductive films meet the requirement for many significant applications and could play a key role in the display market in a near future.

Analysis of an anti-reflecting nanowire transparent electrode for solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Zhexin; Wang, Ken Xingze; Fan, Shanhui

2017-03-01

Transparent electrodes are an important component in many optoelectronic devices, especially solar cells. In this paper, we investigate a nanowire transparent electrode that also functions as an anti-reflection coating for silicon solar cells, taking into account the practical constraints that the electrode is typically encapsulated and needs to be in electric contact with the semiconductor. Numerical simulations show that the electrode can provide near-perfect broadband anti-reflection over much of the frequency range above the silicon band gap for both polarizations while keeping the sheet resistance sufficiently low. To provide insights into the physics mechanism of this broadband anti-reflection, we introduce a generalized Fabry-Perot model, which captures the effects of the higher order diffraction channels as well as the modification of the reflection coefficient of the interface introduced by the nanowires. This model is validated using frequency-domain electromagnetic simulations. Our work here provides design guidelines for nanowire transparent electrode in a device configuration that is relevant for solar cell applications.

Improvements in purification of silver nanowires by decantation and fabrication of flexible transparent electrodes. Application to capacitive touch sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mayousse, Céline; Celle, Caroline; Moreau, Eléonore; Carella, Alexandre; Simonato, Jean-Pierre; Mainguet, Jean-François

2013-01-01

Transparent flexible electrodes made of metallic nanowires, and in particular silver nanowires (AgNWs), appear as an extremely promising alternative to transparent conductive oxides for future optoelectronic devices. Though significant progresses have been made the last few years, there is still some room for improvement regarding the synthesis of high quality silver nanowire solutions and fabrication process of high performance electrodes. We show that the commonly used purification process can be greatly simplified through decantation. Using this process it is possible to fabricate flexible electrodes by spray coating with sheet resistance lower than 25 Ω sq −1 at 90% transparency in the visible spectrum. These electrodes were used to fabricate an operative transparent flexible touch screen. To our knowledge this is the first reported AgNW based touch sensor relying on capacitive technology. (paper)

Ag/Au/Polypyrrole Core-shell Nanowire Network for Transparent, Stretchable and Flexible Supercapacitor in Wearable Energy Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Moon, Hyunjin; Lee, Habeom; Kwon, Jinhyeong; Suh, Young Duk; Kim, Dong Kwan; Ha, Inho; Yeo, Junyeob; Hong, Sukjoon; Ko, Seung Hwan

2017-02-01

Transparent and stretchable energy storage devices have attracted significant interest due to their potential to be applied to biocompatible and wearable electronics. Supercapacitors that use the reversible faradaic redox reaction of conducting polymer have a higher specific capacitance as compared with electrical double-layer capacitors. Typically, the conducting polymer electrode is fabricated through direct electropolymerization on the current collector. However, no research have been conducted on metal nanowires as current collectors for the direct electropolymerization, even though the metal nanowire network structure has proven to be superior as a transparent, flexible, and stretchable electrode platform because the conducting polymer’s redox potential for polymerization is higher than that of widely studied metal nanowires such as silver and copper. In this study, we demonstrated a highly transparent and stretchable supercapacitor by developing Ag/Au/Polypyrrole core-shell nanowire networks as electrode by coating the surface of Ag NWs with a thin layer of gold, which provide higher redox potential than the electropolymerizable monomer. The Ag/Au/Polypyrrole core-shell nanowire networks demonstrated superior mechanical stability under various mechanical bending and stretching. In addition, proposed supercapacitors showed fine optical transmittance together with fivefold improved areal capacitance compared to pristine Ag/Au core-shell nanowire mesh-based supercapacitors.

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

Spray-Deposited Large-Area Copper Nanowire Transparent Conductive Electrodes and Their Uses for Touch Screen Applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Hsun-Chen; Chang, Yen-Chen; Lin, Yow; Chang, Shu-Hao; Chang, Wei-Chung; Li, Guo-An; Tuan, Hsing-Yu

2016-05-25

Large-area conducting transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) were prepared by a fast, scalable, and low-cost spray deposition of copper nanowire (CuNW) dispersions. Thin, long, and pure copper nanowires were obtained via the seed-mediated growth in an organic solvent-based synthesis. The mean length and diameter of nanowires are, respectively, 37.7 μm and 46 nm, corresponding to a high-mean-aspect ratio of 790. These wires were spray-deposited onto a glass substrate to form a nanowire conducting network which function as a TCE. CuNW TCEs exhibit high-transparency and high-conductivity since their relatively long lengths are advantageous in lowering in the sheet resistance. For example, a 2 × 2 cm(2) transparent nanowire electrode exhibits transmittance of T = 90% with a sheet resistance as low as 52.7 Ω sq(-1). Large-area sizes (>50 cm(2)) of CuNW TCEs were also prepared by the spray coating method and assembled as resistive touch screens that can be integrated with a variety of devices, including LED lighting array, a computer, electric motors, and audio electronic devices, showing the capability to make diverse sizes and functionalities of CuNW TCEs by the reported method.

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.

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.

A ZnO nanowire-based photo-inverter with pulse-induced fast recovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Raza, Syed Raza Ali; Lee, Young Tack; Hosseini Shokouh, Seyed Hossein; Ha, Ryong; Choi, Heon-Jin; Im, Seongil

2013-11-21

We demonstrate a fast response photo-inverter comprised of one transparent gated ZnO nanowire field-effect transistor (FET) and one opaque FET respectively as the driver and load. Under ultraviolet (UV) light the transfer curve of the transparent gate FET shifts to the negative side and so does the voltage transfer curve (VTC) of the inverter. After termination of UV exposure the recovery of photo-induced current takes a long time in general. This persistent photoconductivity (PPC) is due to hole trapping on the surface of ZnO NWs. Here, we used a positive voltage short pulse after UV exposure, for the first time resolving the PPC issue in nanowire-based photo-detectors by accumulating electrons at the ZnO/dielectric interface. We found that a pulse duration as small as 200 ns was sufficient to reach a full recovery to the dark state from the UV induced state, realizing a fast UV detector with a voltage output.

Critical Role of Diels-Adler Adducts to Realise Stretchable Transparent Electrodes Based on Silver Nanowires and Silicone Elastomer

Science.gov (United States)

Heo, Gaeun; Pyo, Kyoung-Hee; Lee, Da Hee; Kim, Youngmin; Kim, Jong-Woong

2016-05-01

This paper presents the successful fabrication of a transparent electrode comprising a sandwich structure of silicone/Ag nanowires (AgNWs)/silicone equipped with Diels-Alder (DA) adducts as crosslinkers to realise highly stable stretchability. Because of the reversible DA reaction, the crosslinked silicone successfully bonds with the silicone overcoat, which should completely seal the electrode. Thus, any surrounding liquid cannot leak through the interfaces among the constituents. Furthermore, the nanowires are protected by the silicone cover when they are stressed by mechanical loads such as bending, folding, and stretching. After delicate optimisation of the layered silicone/AgNW/silicone sandwich structure, a stretchable transparent electrode which can withstand 1000 cycles of 50% stretching-releasing with an exceptionally high stability and reversibility was fabricated. This structure can be used as a transparent strain sensor; it possesses a strong piezoresistivity with a gauge factor greater than 11.

Stable and Controllable Synthesis of Silver Nanowires for Transparent Conducting Film

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Bitao; Yan, Hengqing; Chen, Shanyong; Guan, Youwei; Wu, Guoguo; Jin, Rong; Li, Lu

2017-03-01

Silver nanowires without particles are synthesized by a solvothermal method at temperature 150 °C. Silver nanowires are prepared via a reducing agent of glycerol and a capping agent of polyvinylpyrrolidone ( M w ≈ 1,300,000). Both of them can improve the purity of the as-prepared silver nanowires. With controllable shapes and sizes, silver nanowires are grown continuously up to 10-20 μm in length with 40-50 nm in diameter. To improve the yield of silver nanowires, the different concentrations of AgNO3 synthesis silver nanowires are discussed. The characterizations of the synthesized silver nanowires are analyzed by UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscope (AFM), and silver nanowires are pumped on the cellulose membrane and heated stress on the PET. Then, the cellulose membrane is dissolved by the steam of acetone to prepare flexible transparent conducting thin film, which is detected 89.9 of transmittance and 58 Ω/□. Additionally, there is a close loop connected by the thin film, a blue LED, a pair of batteries, and a number of wires, to determinate directly the film if conductive or not.

High performance flexible metal oxide/silver nanowire based transparent conductive films by a scalable lamination-assisted solution method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hua Yu

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Flexible MoO3/silver nanowire (AgNW/MoO3/TiO2/Epoxy electrodes with comparable performance to ITO were fabricated by a scalable solution-processed method with lamination assistance for transparent and conductive applications. Silver nanoparticle-based electrodes were also prepared for comparison. Using a simple spin-coating and lamination-assisted planarization method, a full solution-based approach allows preparation of AgNW-based composite electrodes at temperatures as low as 140 °C. The resulting flexible AgNW-based electrodes exhibit higher transmittance of 82% at 550 nm and lower sheet resistance about 12–15 Ω sq−1, in comparison with the values of 68% and 22–25 Ω sq−1 separately for AgNP based electrodes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM and Atomic force microscopy (AFM reveals that the multi-stacked metal-oxide layers embedded with the AgNWs possess lower surface roughness (<15 nm. The AgNW/MoO3 composite network could enhance the charge transport and collection efficiency by broadening the lateral conduction range due to the built of an efficient charge transport network with long-sized nanowire. In consideration of the manufacturing cost, the lamination-assisted solution-processed method is cost-effective and scalable, which is desire for large-area fabrication. While in view of the materials cost and comparable performance, this AgNW-based transparent and conductive electrodes is potential as an alternative to ITO for various optoelectronic applications.

Improved Flexible Transparent Conductive Electrodes based on Silver Nanowire Networks by a Simple Sunlight Illumination Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Kou, Pengfei; Yang, Liu; Chang, Cheng; He, Sailing

2017-01-01

Silver nanowire (Ag NW) networks have attracted wide attention as transparent electrodes for emerging flexible optoelectronics. However, the sheet resistance is greatly limited by large wire-to-wire contact resistances. Here, we propose a simple sunlight illumination approach to remarkably improve their electrical conductivity without any significant degradation of the light transmittance. Because the power density is extremely low (0.1 W/cm2, 1-Sun), only slight welding between Ag NWs has been observed. Despite this, a sheet resistance of solar concentrations. Due to the reduced resistance, high-performance transparent film heaters as well as efficient defrosters have been demonstrated, which are superior to the previously-reported Ag NW based film heaters. Since the sunlight is environmentally friendly and easily available, sophisticated or expensive facilities are not necessary. Our findings are particularly meaningful and show enormous potential for outdoor applications. PMID:28169343

Highly flexible transparent thin film heaters based on silver nanowires and aluminum zinc oxides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheong, Hahn-Gil; Kim, Jin-Hoon; Song, Jun-Hyuk; Jeong, Unyong; Park, Jin-Woo, E-mail: jwpark09@yonsei.ac.kr

2015-08-31

In this work, we developed highly flexible transparent film heaters (f-TFHs) composed of Ag nanowire networks (AgNWs) and aluminum zinc oxide (AZO). Uniform AgNWs were roll-to-roll coated on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates using the Mayer rod method, and AZO was sputter-deposited atop the AgNWs at room temperature. The sheet resistance (R{sub s}) and transparency (T{sub opt}) of the AZO-coated AgNWs changed only slightly compared with the uncoated AgNWs. AZO is thermally less conductive than the heat pipes, but increases the thermal efficiency of the heaters blocking the heat convection through the air. Based on Joule heating, a higher average film temperature (T{sub ave}) is attained at a fixed electric potential drop between electrodes (ϕ) as the R{sub s} of the film decreases. Our experimental results revealed that T{sub ave} of the hybrid f-TFH is higher than AgNWs when the ratio of the area coverage of AgNWs to AZO is over a certain value. When a ϕ as low as 3 V/cm was applied to 5 cm × 5 cm f-TFHs, the maximum temperature of the hybrid film was over 100 °C, which is greater than that of AgNWs by more than 30 °C. Furthermore, uniform heating throughout the surfaces is achieved in the hybrid films while heating begins in small areas where densities of the nanowires (NWs) are the highest in the bare network. The non-uniform heating decreases the lifetime of f-TFHs by forming hot spots. Cyclic bending test results indicated that the hybrid films were as flexible as the AgNWs, and the R{sub s} of the hybrid films changes only slightly until 5000 cycles. Combined with the high-throughput coating technology presented here, the hybrid films will provide a robust and scalable strategy for large-area f-TFHs with highly enhanced performance. - Highlights: • We developed highly efficient flexible thin film heaters based on Ag nanowires and AZO composites. • In the composite, AZO plays an important role as an insulation blanket to block heat loss to

Novel epoxy-silicone thermolytic transparent packaging adhesives chemical modified by ZnO nanowires for HB LEDs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Ying; Wang Junan; Pei Changlong; Song Jizhong; Zhu Di; Chen Jie

2010-01-01

A novel high transparent thermolytic epoxy-silicone for high-brightness light-emitting diode (HB-LED) is introduced, which was synthesized by polymerization using silicone matrix via diglycidyl ether bisphenol-A epoxy resin (DGEBA) as reinforcing agent, and filling ZnO nanowires to modify thermal conductivity and control refractive index of the hybrid material. The interactions of ZnO nanowires with polymers are mediated by the ligands attached to the nanoparticles. Thus, the ligands markedly influence the properties of ZnO nanowires/epoxy-silicone composites. The refractive indices of the prepared hybrid adhesives can be tuned by the ZnO nanowires from 1.4711 to 1.5605. Light transmittance can be increased by 20% from 80 to 95%. The thermal conductivity of the transparent packaging adhesives is 0.89-0.90 W/mK.

Smooth-surface silver nanowire electrode with high conductivity and transparency on functional layer coated flexible film

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, So Hee; Lim, Sooman; Kim, Haekyoung, E-mail: hkkim@ynu.ac.kr

2015-08-31

Transparent conductive electrode (TCE) with silver nanowires has been widely studied as an alternative of indium tin oxide for flexible electronic or optical devices such as organic light-emitting diodes, and solar cells. However, it has an issue of surface roughness due to nanowire's intrinsic properties. Here, to achieve a smooth electrode with high conductivity and transmittance on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates, a functional layer of poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) is utilized with a mechanical transfer process. The silver nanowire electrode on PVP-coated PET with low surface roughness of 9 nm exhibits the low sheet resistance of 18 Ω □{sup −1} and high transmittance of 87.6%. It is produced by transferring the silver nanowire electrode spin-coated on the glass to PVP-coated PET using a pressure of 10 MPa for 10 min. Silver nanowire electrode on PVP-coated PET demonstrates the stable sheet resistance of 18 Ω □{sup −1} after the mechanical taping test due to strong adhesion between PVP functional layer and silver nanowires. Smooth TCE with silver nanowires could be proposed as a transparent electrode for flexible electronic or optical devices, which consist of thin electrical active layers on TCE. - Highlights: • Silver nanowire (Ag NWs) transparent electrodes were fabricated on flexible film. • Flexible film was coated with poly N-vinylpyrrolidone (PVP). • PVP layer plays roles as an adhesive layer and matrix in electrode. • Ag NWs electrode exhibited with low surface roughness of 9 nm. • Ag NWs electrode has a low resistance (18 Ω ☐{sup −1}) and high transmittance (87.6%)

Smooth-surface silver nanowire electrode with high conductivity and transparency on functional layer coated flexible film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, So Hee; Lim, Sooman; Kim, Haekyoung

2015-01-01

Transparent conductive electrode (TCE) with silver nanowires has been widely studied as an alternative of indium tin oxide for flexible electronic or optical devices such as organic light-emitting diodes, and solar cells. However, it has an issue of surface roughness due to nanowire's intrinsic properties. Here, to achieve a smooth electrode with high conductivity and transmittance on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates, a functional layer of poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) is utilized with a mechanical transfer process. The silver nanowire electrode on PVP-coated PET with low surface roughness of 9 nm exhibits the low sheet resistance of 18 Ω □ −1 and high transmittance of 87.6%. It is produced by transferring the silver nanowire electrode spin-coated on the glass to PVP-coated PET using a pressure of 10 MPa for 10 min. Silver nanowire electrode on PVP-coated PET demonstrates the stable sheet resistance of 18 Ω □ −1 after the mechanical taping test due to strong adhesion between PVP functional layer and silver nanowires. Smooth TCE with silver nanowires could be proposed as a transparent electrode for flexible electronic or optical devices, which consist of thin electrical active layers on TCE. - Highlights: • Silver nanowire (Ag NWs) transparent electrodes were fabricated on flexible film. • Flexible film was coated with poly N-vinylpyrrolidone (PVP). • PVP layer plays roles as an adhesive layer and matrix in electrode. • Ag NWs electrode exhibited with low surface roughness of 9 nm. • Ag NWs electrode has a low resistance (18 Ω ☐ −1 ) and high transmittance (87.6%)

Inkjet-printed transparent nanowire thin film features for UV photodetectors

KAUST Repository

Chen, Shih Pin

2015-01-01

In this study, a simple and effective direct printing method was developed to print patterned nanowire thin films for UV detection. Inks containing silver or titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanowires were first formulated adequately to form stable suspension for inkjet printing applications. Sedimentation tests were also carried out to characterize the terminal velocity and dispersion stability of nanowires to avoid potential nozzle clogging problems. The well-dispersed silver nanowire ink was then inkjet printed on PET films to form patterned electrodes. Above the electrodes, another layer of TiO2 nanowires was also printed to create a highly transparent photodetector with >80% visible transmittance. The printed photodetector showed a fairly low dark current of 10-12-10-14 A with a high on/off ratio of 2000 to UV radiation. Under a bias voltage of 2 V, the detector showed fast responses to UV illumination with a rise time of 0.4 s and a recovery time of 0.1 s. More photo currents can also be collected with a larger printed electrode area. In summary, this study shows the feasibility of applying inkjet printing technology to create nanowire thin films with specific patterns, and can be further employed for photoelectric applications. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015.

High Efficiency, Transparent, Reusable, and Active PM2.5 Filters by Hierarchical Ag Nanowire Percolation Network.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeong, Seongmin; Cho, Hyunmin; Han, Seonggeun; Won, Phillip; Lee, Habeom; Hong, Sukjoon; Yeo, Junyeob; Kwon, Jinhyeong; Ko, Seung Hwan

2017-07-12

Air quality has become a major public health issue in Asia including China, Korea, and India. Particulate matters are the major concern in air quality. We present the first environmental application demonstration of Ag nanowire percolation network for a novel, electrical type transparent, reusable, and active PM2.5 air filter although the Ag nanowire percolation network has been studied as a very promising transparent conductor in optoelectronics. Compared with previous particulate matter air filter study using relatively weaker short-range intermolecular force in polar polymeric nanofiber, Ag nanowire percolation network filters use stronger long-range electrostatic force to capture PM2.5, and they are highly efficient (>99.99%), transparent, working on an active mode, low power consumption, antibacterial, and reusable after simple washing. The proposed new particulate matter filter can be applied for a highly efficient, reusable, active and energy efficient filter for wearable electronics application.

Silver-Nanowire-Embedded Transparent Metal-Oxide Heterojunction Schottky Photodetector.

Science.gov (United States)

Abbas, Sohail; Kumar, Mohit; Kim, Hong-Sik; Kim, Joondong; Lee, Jung-Ho

2018-05-02

We report a self-biased and transparent Cu 4 O 3 /TiO 2 heterojunction for ultraviolet photodetection. The dynamic photoresponse improved 8.5 × 10 4 % by adding silver nanowires (AgNWs) Schottky contact and maintaining 39% transparency. The current density-voltage characteristics revealed a strong interfacial electric field, responsible for zero-bias operation. In addition, the dynamic photoresponse measurement endorsed the effective holes collection by embedded-AgNWs network, leading to fast rise and fall time of 0.439 and 0.423 ms, respectively. Similarly, a drastic improvement in responsivity and detectivity of 187.5 mAW -1 and of 5.13 × 10 9 Jones, is observed, respectively. The AgNWs employed as contact electrode can ensure high-performance for transparent and flexible optoelectronic applications.

Electrostatic spray deposition of highly transparent silver nanowire electrode on flexible substrate.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Taegeon; Canlier, Ali; Kim, Geun Hong; Choi, Jaeho; Park, Minkyu; Han, Seung Min

2013-02-01

In this work, a modified polyol synthesis by adding KBr and by replacing the AgCl with NaCl seed was used to obtain high quality silver nanowires with long aspect ratios with an average length of 13.5 μm in length and 62.5 nm in diameter. The Ag nanowires suspended in methanol solution after removing any unwanted particles using a glass filter system were then deposited on a flexible polycarbonate substrate using an electrostatic spray system. Transmittance of 92.1% at wavelength of 550 nm with sheet resistance of 20 Ω/sq and haze of 4.9% were measured for the electrostatic sprayed Ag nanowire transparent electrode.

Large-size, high-uniformity, random silver nanowire networks as transparent electrodes for crystalline silicon wafer solar cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Shouyi; Ouyang, Zi; Jia, Baohua; Gu, Min

2013-05-06

Metal nanowire networks are emerging as next generation transparent electrodes for photovoltaic devices. We demonstrate the application of random silver nanowire networks as the top electrode on crystalline silicon wafer solar cells. The dependence of transmittance and sheet resistance on the surface coverage is measured. Superior optical and electrical properties are observed due to the large-size, highly-uniform nature of these networks. When applying the nanowire networks on the solar cells with an optimized two-step annealing process, we achieved as large as 19% enhancement on the energy conversion efficiency. The detailed analysis reveals that the enhancement is mainly caused by the improved electrical properties of the solar cells due to the silver nanowire networks. Our result reveals that this technology is a promising alternative transparent electrode technology for crystalline silicon wafer solar cells.

Transparent arrays of silver nanowire rings driven by evaporation of sessile droplets

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiaofeng; Kang, Giho; Seong, Baekhoon; Chae, Illkyeong; Teguh Yudistira, Hadi; Lee, Hyungdong; Kim, Hyunggun; Byun, Doyoung

2017-11-01

A coffee-ring pattern can be yielded on the three-phase contact line following evaporation of sessile droplets with suspended insoluble solutes, such as particles, DNA molecules, and mammalian cells. The formation of such coffee-ring, together with their suppression has been applied in printing and coating technologies. We present here an experimental study on the assembly of silver nanowires inside an evaporating droplet of a colloidal suspension. The effects of nanowire length and concentration on coffee-ring formation of the colloidal suspension were investigated. Several sizes of NWs with an aspect ratio between 50 and 1000 were systematically investigated to fabricate coffee-ring patterns. Larger droplets containing shorter nanowires formed clearer ring deposits after evaporation. An order-to-disorder transition of the nanowires’ alignment was found inside the rings. A printing technique with the evaporation process enabled fabrication of arrays of silver nanowire rings. We could manipulate the patterns silver nanowire rings, which might be applied to the transparent and flexible electrode.

Transparent arrays of silver nanowire rings driven by evaporation of sessile droplets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Xiaofeng; Kang, Giho; Seong, Baekhoon; Chae, Illkyeong; Yudistira, Hadi Teguh; Lee, Hyungdong; Byun, Doyoung; Kim, Hyunggun

2017-01-01

A coffee-ring pattern can be yielded on the three-phase contact line following evaporation of sessile droplets with suspended insoluble solutes, such as particles, DNA molecules, and mammalian cells. The formation of such coffee-ring, together with their suppression has been applied in printing and coating technologies. We present here an experimental study on the assembly of silver nanowires inside an evaporating droplet of a colloidal suspension. The effects of nanowire length and concentration on coffee-ring formation of the colloidal suspension were investigated. Several sizes of NWs with an aspect ratio between 50 and 1000 were systematically investigated to fabricate coffee-ring patterns. Larger droplets containing shorter nanowires formed clearer ring deposits after evaporation. An order-to-disorder transition of the nanowires’ alignment was found inside the rings. A printing technique with the evaporation process enabled fabrication of arrays of silver nanowire rings. We could manipulate the patterns silver nanowire rings, which might be applied to the transparent and flexible electrode. (paper)

Scalable Coating and Properties of Transparent, Flexible, Silver Nanowire Electrodes

KAUST Repository

Hu, Liangbing

2010-05-25

We report a comprehensive study of transparent and conductive silver nanowire (Ag NW) electrodes, including a scalable fabrication process, morphologies, and optical, mechanical adhesion, and flexibility properties, and various routes to improve the performance. We utilized a synthesis specifically designed for long and thin wires for improved performance in terms of sheet resistance and optical transmittance. Twenty Ω/sq and ∼ 80% specular transmittance, and 8 ohms/sq and 80% diffusive transmittance in the visible range are achieved, which fall in the same range as the best indium tin oxide (ITO) samples on plastic substrates for flexible electronics and solar cells. The Ag NW electrodes show optical transparencies superior to ITO for near-infrared wavelengths (2-fold higher transmission). Owing to light scattering effects, the Ag NW network has the largest difference between diffusive transmittance and specular transmittance when compared with ITO and carbon nanotube electrodes, a property which could greatly enhance solar cell performance. A mechanical study shows that Ag NW electrodes on flexible substrates show excellent robustness when subjected to bending. We also study the electrical conductance of Ag nanowires and their junctions and report a facile electrochemical method for a Au coating to reduce the wire-to-wire junction resistance for better overall film conductance. Simple mechanical pressing was also found to increase the NW film conductance due to the reduction of junction resistance. The overall properties of transparent Ag NW electrodes meet the requirements of transparent electrodes for many applications and could be an immediate ITO replacement for flexible electronics and solar cells. © 2010 American Chemical Society.

Scalable Coating and Properties of Transparent, Flexible, Silver Nanowire Electrodes

KAUST Repository

Hu, Liangbing; Kim, Han Sun; Lee, Jung-Yong; Peumans, Peter; Cui, Yi

2010-01-01

We report a comprehensive study of transparent and conductive silver nanowire (Ag NW) electrodes, including a scalable fabrication process, morphologies, and optical, mechanical adhesion, and flexibility properties, and various routes to improve the performance. We utilized a synthesis specifically designed for long and thin wires for improved performance in terms of sheet resistance and optical transmittance. Twenty Ω/sq and ∼ 80% specular transmittance, and 8 ohms/sq and 80% diffusive transmittance in the visible range are achieved, which fall in the same range as the best indium tin oxide (ITO) samples on plastic substrates for flexible electronics and solar cells. The Ag NW electrodes show optical transparencies superior to ITO for near-infrared wavelengths (2-fold higher transmission). Owing to light scattering effects, the Ag NW network has the largest difference between diffusive transmittance and specular transmittance when compared with ITO and carbon nanotube electrodes, a property which could greatly enhance solar cell performance. A mechanical study shows that Ag NW electrodes on flexible substrates show excellent robustness when subjected to bending. We also study the electrical conductance of Ag nanowires and their junctions and report a facile electrochemical method for a Au coating to reduce the wire-to-wire junction resistance for better overall film conductance. Simple mechanical pressing was also found to increase the NW film conductance due to the reduction of junction resistance. The overall properties of transparent Ag NW electrodes meet the requirements of transparent electrodes for many applications and could be an immediate ITO replacement for flexible electronics and solar cells. © 2010 American Chemical Society.

Large scale, highly conductive and patterned transparent films of silver nanowires on arbitrary substrates and their application in touch screens

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madaria, Anuj R; Kumar, Akshay; Zhou Chongwu

2011-01-01

The application of silver nanowire films as transparent conductive electrodes has shown promising results recently. In this paper, we demonstrate the application of a simple spray coating technique to obtain large scale, highly uniform and conductive silver nanowire films on arbitrary substrates. We also integrated a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-assisted contact transfer technique with spray coating, which allowed us to obtain large scale high quality patterned films of silver nanowires. The transparency and conductivity of the films was controlled by the volume of the dispersion used in spraying and the substrate area. We note that the optoelectrical property, σ DC /σ Op , for various films fabricated was in the range 75-350, which is extremely high for transparent thin film compared to other candidate alternatives to doped metal oxide film. Using this method, we obtain silver nanowire films on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate with a transparency of 85% and sheet resistance of 33 Ω/sq, which is comparable to that of tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) on flexible substrates. In-depth analysis of the film shows a high performance using another commonly used figure-of-merit, Φ TE . Also, Ag nanowire film/PET shows good mechanical flexibility and the application of such a conductive silver nanowire film as an electrode in a touch panel has been demonstrated.

Large scale, highly conductive and patterned transparent films of silver nanowires on arbitrary substrates and their application in touch screens.

Science.gov (United States)

Madaria, Anuj R; Kumar, Akshay; Zhou, Chongwu

2011-06-17

The application of silver nanowire films as transparent conductive electrodes has shown promising results recently. In this paper, we demonstrate the application of a simple spray coating technique to obtain large scale, highly uniform and conductive silver nanowire films on arbitrary substrates. We also integrated a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-assisted contact transfer technique with spray coating, which allowed us to obtain large scale high quality patterned films of silver nanowires. The transparency and conductivity of the films was controlled by the volume of the dispersion used in spraying and the substrate area. We note that the optoelectrical property, σ(DC)/σ(Op), for various films fabricated was in the range 75-350, which is extremely high for transparent thin film compared to other candidate alternatives to doped metal oxide film. Using this method, we obtain silver nanowire films on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate with a transparency of 85% and sheet resistance of 33 Ω/sq, which is comparable to that of tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) on flexible substrates. In-depth analysis of the film shows a high performance using another commonly used figure-of-merit, Φ(TE). Also, Ag nanowire film/PET shows good mechanical flexibility and the application of such a conductive silver nanowire film as an electrode in a touch panel has been demonstrated.

Transparent and stretchable strain sensors based on metal nanowire microgrids for human motion monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Ji Hwan; Ha, Sung-Hun; Kim, Jong-Man

2018-04-01

Optical transparency is increasingly considered as one of the most important characteristics required in advanced stretchable strain sensors for application in body-attachable systems. In this paper, we present an entirely solution-processed fabrication route to highly transparent and stretchable resistive strain sensors based on silver nanowire microgrids (AgNW-MGs). The AgNW-MG strain sensors are readily prepared by patterning the AgNWs on a stretchable substrate into a MG geometry via a mesh-template-assisted contact-transfer printing. The MG has a unique architecture comprising the AgNWs and can be stretched to ɛ = 35%, with high gauge factors of ˜6.9 for ɛ = 0%-30% and ˜41.1 for ɛ = 30%-35%. The sensor also shows a high optical transmittance of 77.1% ± 1.5% (at 550 nm) and stably maintains the remarkable optical performance even at high strains. In addition, the sensor responses are found to be highly reversible with negligible hysteresis and are reliable even under repetitive stretching-releasing cycles (1000 cycles at ɛ = 10%). The practicality of the AgNW-MG strain sensor is confirmed by successfully monitoring a wide range of human motions in real time after firmly laminating the device onto various body parts.

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.)

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.)

Transfer printed silver nanowire transparent conductors for PbS-ZnO heterojunction quantum dot solar cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Hjerrild, Natasha E; Neo, Darren C J; Kasdi, Assia; Assender, Hazel E; Warner, Jamie H; Watt, Andrew A R

2015-04-01

Transfer-printed silver nanowire transparent conducting electrodes are demonstrated in lead sulfide-zinc oxide quantum dot solar cells. Advantages of using this transparent conductor technology are increased junction surface energy, solution processing, and the potential cost reduction of low temperature processing. Joule heating, device aging, and film thickness effects are investigated to understand shunt pathways created by nanowires protruding perpendicular to the film. A V(oc) of 0.39 ± 0.07 V, J(sc) of 16.2 ± 0.2 mA/cm(2), and power conversion efficiencies of 2.8 ± 0.4% are presented.

Modified silver nanowire transparent electrodes with exceptional stability against oxidation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Idier, J; Neri, W; Ly, I; Poulin, P; Backov, R; Labrugère, C

2016-01-01

We report an easy method to prepare thin, flexible and transparent electrodes that show enhanced inertness toward oxidation using modified silver nanowires (Ag NWs). Stabilization is achieved through the adsorption of triphenylphosphine (PPh 3 ) onto the Ag NW hybrid dispersions prior to their 2D organization as transparent electrodes on polyethylene terephtalate (PET) films. After 110 days in air (20 °C) under atmospheric conditions, the transmittance of the PET/Ag NW/PPh 3 based films is nearly unchanged, while the transmittance of the PET/Ag NW-based films decreases by about 5%. The sheet resistance increases for both materials as time elapses, but the rate of increase is more than four times slower for films stabilized by PPh 3 . The improved transmittance and conductivity results in a significantly enhanced stability for the figure of merit σ dc /σ op . This phenomenon is highlighted in highly oxidative nitric acid vapor. The tested stabilized films in such conditions exhibit a decrease to σ dc /σ op of only 38% after 75 min, whereas conventional materials exhibit a relative loss of 71%. In addition, by contrast to other classes of stabilizers, such as polymer or graphene-based encapsulants, PPh 3 does not alter the transparency or conductivity of the modified films. While the present films are made by membrane filtration, the stabilization method could be implemented directly in other liquid processes, including industrially scalable ones. (paper)

Ultrasmooth, extremely deformable and shape recoverable Ag nanowire embedded transparent electrode.

Science.gov (United States)

Nam, Sanggil; Song, Myungkwan; Kim, Dong-Ho; Cho, Byungjin; Lee, Hye Moon; Kwon, Jung-Dae; Park, Sung-Gyu; Nam, Kee-Seok; Jeong, Yongsoo; Kwon, Se-Hun; Park, Yun Chang; Jin, Sung-Ho; Kang, Jae-Wook; Jo, Sungjin; Kim, Chang Su

2014-04-25

Transparent electrodes have been widely used in electronic devices such as solar cells, displays, and touch screens. Highly flexible transparent electrodes are especially desired for the development of next generation flexible electronic devices. Although indium tin oxide (ITO) is the most commonly used material for the fabrication of transparent electrodes, its brittleness and growing cost limit its utility for flexible electronic devices. Therefore, the need for new transparent conductive materials with superior mechanical properties is clear and urgent. Ag nanowire (AgNW) has been attracting increasing attention because of its effective combination of electrical and optical properties. However, it still suffers from several drawbacks, including large surface roughness, instability against oxidation and moisture, and poor adhesion to substrates. These issues need to be addressed before wide spread use of metallic NW as transparent electrodes can be realized. In this study, we demonstrated the fabrication of a flexible transparent electrode with superior mechanical, electrical and optical properties by embedding a AgNW film into a transparent polymer matrix. This technique can produce electrodes with an ultrasmooth and extremely deformable transparent electrode that have sheet resistance and transmittance comparable to those of an ITO electrode.

Applications of Silver Nanowires on Transparent Conducting Film and Electrode of Electrochemical Capacitor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuan-Jun Song

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Silver nanowire has potential applications on transparent conducting film and electrode of electrochemical capacitor due to its excellent conductivity. Transparent conducting film (G-film was prepared by coating silver nanowires on glass substrate using Meyer rod method, which exhibited better performance than carbon nanotube and graphene. The conductivity of G-film can be improved by increasing sintering temperature. Electrode of electrochemical capacitor (I-film was fabricated through the same method with G-film on indium tin oxide (ITO. CV curves of I-film under different scanning rates had obvious redox peaks, which indicated that I-film exhibited excellent electrochemical pseudocapacitance performance and good reversibility during charge/discharge process. In addition, the specific capacitance of I-film was measured by galvanostatic charge/discharge experiments, indicating that I-film exhibits high special capacitance and excellent electrochemical stability.

Highly conductive interwoven carbon nanotube and silver nanowire transparent electrodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew J Stapleton, Rakesh A Afre, Amanda V Ellis, Joe G Shapter, Gunther G Andersson, Jamie S Quinton and David A Lewis

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Electrodes fabricated using commercially available silver nanowires (AgNWs and single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs produced sheet resistances in the range 4–24 Ω squ−1 with specular transparencies up to 82 %. Increasing the aqueous dispersibility of SWCNTs decreased the bundle size present in the film resulting in improved SWCNT surface dispersion in the films without compromising transparency or sheet resistance. In addition to providing conduction pathways between the AgNW network, the SWCNTs also provide structural support, creating stable self-supporting films. Entanglement of the AgNWs and SWCNTs was demonstrated to occur in solution prior to deposition by monitoring the transverse plasmon resonance mode of the AgNWs during processing. The interwoven AgNW/SWCNT structures show potential for use in optoelectronic applications as transparent electrodes and as an ITO replacement.

Silver nanowires network encapsulated by low temperature sol-gel ZnO for transparent flexible electrodes with ambient stability

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Wonjung; Cho, Wonki; Baik, Seung Jae

2018-01-01

As a geometrically engineered realization of transparent electrode, Ag nanowires network is promising for its superior characteristics both on electrical conductivity and optical transmittance. However, for a potential commercialization of Ag nanowires network, further investigations on encapsulation materials are necessary to prevent degradation caused by ambient aging. In addition, the temperature range of the coating process for the encapsulation material needs to be low enough to prevent degradation of polymer substrates during the film coating processes, when considering emerging flexible device application of transparent electrodes. We present experimental results showing that low temperature sol-gel ZnO processed under 130 °C is an effective encapsulation material preventing ambient oxidation of Ag nanowires network without degrading electrical, optical, and mechanical properties.

All-solution processed semi-transparent perovskite solar cells with silver nanowires electrode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Kaiyu; Li, Fushan; Zhang, Jianhua; Veeramalai, Chandrasekar Perumal; Guo, Tailiang

2016-01-01

In this work, we report an all-solution route to produce semi-transparent high efficiency perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Instead of an energy-consuming vacuum process with metal deposition, the top electrode is simply deposited by spray-coating silver nanowires (AgNWs) under room temperature using fabrication conditions and solvents that do not damage or dissolve the underlying PSC. The as-fabricated semi-transparent perovskite solar cell shows a photovoltaic output with dual side illuminations due to the transparency of the AgNWs. With a back cover electrode, the open circuit voltage increases significantly from 1.01 to 1.16 V, yielding high power conversion efficiency from 7.98 to 10.64%. (paper)

Silver nanowire/polyaniline composite transparent electrode with improved surface properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, A.B.V. Kiran; Jiang, Jianwei; Bae, Chang Wan; Seo, Dong Min; Piao, Longhai; Kim, Sang-Ho

2014-01-01

Highlights: • AgNWs/PANI transparent electrode was prepared by layer-by-layer coating method. • The surface roughness of the electrode reached to 6.5 nm (root mean square). • The electrode had reasonable sheet resistance (25 Ω/□) and transmittance (83.5%). - Abstract: Silver nanowires (AgNWs) are as potential candidates to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) in transparent electrodes because of their preferred conducting and optical properties. However, their rough surface properties are not favorable for the fabrication of optoelectronic devices, such as displays and thin-film solar cells. In the present investigation, AgNWs/polyaniline composite transparent electrodes with better surface properties were successfully prepared. AgNWs were incorporated into polyaniline:polystyrene sulfonate (PANI:PSS) by layer-by-layer coating and mechanical pressing. PANI:PSS decreased the surface roughness of the AgNWs electrode by filling the gap of the random AgNWs network. The transparent composite electrode had decreased surface roughness (root mean square 6.5 nm) with reasonable sheet resistance (25 Ω/□) and transmittance (83.5%)

Engineering Silver Nanowire Networks: From Transparent Electrodes to Resistive Switching Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Haiwei; Wan, Tao; Qu, Bo; Cao, Fuyang; Lin, Qianru; Chen, Nan; Lin, Xi; Chu, Dewei

2017-06-21

Metal nanowires (NWs) networks with high conductance have shown potential applications in modern electronic components, especially the transparent electrodes over the past decade. In metal NW networks, the electrical connectivity of nanoscale NW junction can be modulated for various applications. In this work, silver nanowire (Ag NW) networks were selected to achieve the desired functions. The Ag NWs were first synthesized by a classic polyol process, and spin-coated on glass to fabricate transparent electrodes. The as-fabricated electrode showed a sheet resistance of 7.158 Ω □ -1 with an optical transmittance of 79.19% at 550 nm, indicating a comparable figure of merit (FOM, or Φ TC ) (13.55 × 10 -3 Ω -1 ). Then, two different post-treatments were designed to tune the Ag NWs for not only transparent electrode but also for threshold resistive switching (RS) application. On the one hand, the Ag NW film was mechanically pressed to significantly improve the conductance by reducing the junction resistance. On the other hand, an Ag@AgO x core-shell structure was deliberately designed by partial oxidation of Ag NWs through simple ultraviolet (UV)-ozone treatment. The Ag core can act as metallic interconnect and the insulating AgO x shell acts as a switching medium to provide a conductive pathway for Ag filament migration. By fabricating Ag/Ag@AgO x /Ag planar structure, a volatile threshold switching characteristic was observed and an on/off ratio of ∼100 was achieved. This work showed that through different post-treatments, Ag NW network can be engineered for diverse functions, transforming from transparent electrodes to RS devices.

Stark shift and g-factor tuning in nanowires with Rashba effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alhaddad, Iman; Habanjar, Khulud; Sakr, M.R.

2015-01-01

We report on the Stark shift of the energy subbands and the possibility of tuning the g-factor of electrons in nanowires subjected to external magnetic field. The electric field is applied along the direction of quantum confinement. Our analysis is based on numerical and perturbation calculations in the weak Rashba regime. For in-plane magnetic fields, the Stark shift is rigid and depends on the square of the electric field. Such rigid shift results in a field independent g-factor. Perpendicular magnetic fields induce a similar Stark shift accompanied by a lateral displacement of the energy spectra that is linear in the electric field. In this case, the g-factor shows square dependence on weak electric fields that varies with the subband index. However, in strong electric fields, the g-factor becomes subband independent and varies linearly with the field. - Highlights: • Energy spectra of electrons in nanowires are calculated in the weak Rashba regime. • For in-plane magnetic field, the Stark shift is rigid and the g-factor cannot be tuned. • Perpendicular magnetic fields add lateral displacement to the Stark shift. • The g-factor can be tuned by external electric field in this case. • The tuning of the g-factor is linear and unique for all subbands at high fields

Stark shift and g-factor tuning in nanowires with Rashba effect

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alhaddad, Iman; Habanjar, Khulud [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Beirut Arab University, P.O. Box 11, 5020 Riad El Solh, 11072809 - Beirut (Lebanon); Sakr, M.R., E-mail: msakr@alexu.edu.eg [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Beirut Arab University, P.O. Box 11, 5020 Riad El Solh, 11072809 - Beirut (Lebanon); Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Moharram Bek, Alexandria 21511 (Egypt)

2015-10-15

We report on the Stark shift of the energy subbands and the possibility of tuning the g-factor of electrons in nanowires subjected to external magnetic field. The electric field is applied along the direction of quantum confinement. Our analysis is based on numerical and perturbation calculations in the weak Rashba regime. For in-plane magnetic fields, the Stark shift is rigid and depends on the square of the electric field. Such rigid shift results in a field independent g-factor. Perpendicular magnetic fields induce a similar Stark shift accompanied by a lateral displacement of the energy spectra that is linear in the electric field. In this case, the g-factor shows square dependence on weak electric fields that varies with the subband index. However, in strong electric fields, the g-factor becomes subband independent and varies linearly with the field. - Highlights: • Energy spectra of electrons in nanowires are calculated in the weak Rashba regime. • For in-plane magnetic field, the Stark shift is rigid and the g-factor cannot be tuned. • Perpendicular magnetic fields add lateral displacement to the Stark shift. • The g-factor can be tuned by external electric field in this case. • The tuning of the g-factor is linear and unique for all subbands at high fields.

Wearable, wireless gas sensors using highly stretchable and transparent structures of nanowires and graphene

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jihun; Kim, Joohee; Kim, Kukjoo; Kim, So-Yun; Cheong, Woon Hyung; Park, Kyeongmin; Song, Joo Hyeb; Namgoong, Gyeongho; Kim, Jae Joon; Heo, Jaeyeong; Bien, Franklin; Park, Jang-Ung

2016-05-01

Herein, we report the fabrication of a highly stretchable, transparent gas sensor based on silver nanowire-graphene hybrid nanostructures. Due to its superb mechanical and optical characteristics, the fabricated sensor demonstrates outstanding and stable performances even under extreme mechanical deformation (stable until 20% of strain). The integration of a Bluetooth system or an inductive antenna enables the wireless operation of the sensor. In addition, the mechanical robustness of the materials allows the device to be transferred onto various nonplanar substrates, including a watch, a bicycle light, and the leaves of live plants, thereby achieving next-generation sensing electronics for the `Internet of Things' area.Herein, we report the fabrication of a highly stretchable, transparent gas sensor based on silver nanowire-graphene hybrid nanostructures. Due to its superb mechanical and optical characteristics, the fabricated sensor demonstrates outstanding and stable performances even under extreme mechanical deformation (stable until 20% of strain). The integration of a Bluetooth system or an inductive antenna enables the wireless operation of the sensor. In addition, the mechanical robustness of the materials allows the device to be transferred onto various nonplanar substrates, including a watch, a bicycle light, and the leaves of live plants, thereby achieving next-generation sensing electronics for the `Internet of Things' area. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c6nr01468b

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.

A transparent electrode based on a metal nanotrough network.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Hui; Kong, Desheng; Ruan, Zhichao; Hsu, Po-Chun; Wang, Shuang; Yu, Zongfu; Carney, Thomas J; Hu, Liangbing; Fan, Shanhui; Cui, Yi

2013-06-01

Transparent conducting electrodes are essential components for numerous flexible optoelectronic devices, including touch screens and interactive electronics. Thin films of indium tin oxide-the prototypical transparent electrode material-demonstrate excellent electronic performances, but film brittleness, low infrared transmittance and low abundance limit suitability for certain industrial applications. Alternatives to indium tin oxide have recently been reported and include conducting polymers, carbon nanotubes and graphene. However, although flexibility is greatly improved, the optoelectronic performance of these carbon-based materials is limited by low conductivity. Other examples include metal nanowire-based electrodes, which can achieve sheet resistances of less than 10Ω □(-1) at 90% transmission because of the high conductivity of the metals. To achieve these performances, however, metal nanowires must be defect-free, have conductivities close to their values in bulk, be as long as possible to minimize the number of wire-to-wire junctions, and exhibit small junction resistance. Here, we present a facile fabrication process that allows us to satisfy all these requirements and fabricate a new kind of transparent conducting electrode that exhibits both superior optoelectronic performances (sheet resistance of ~2Ω □(-1) at 90% transmission) and remarkable mechanical flexibility under both stretching and bending stresses. The electrode is composed of a free-standing metallic nanotrough network and is produced with a process involving electrospinning and metal deposition. We demonstrate the practical suitability of our transparent conducting electrode by fabricating a flexible touch-screen device and a transparent conducting tape.

Exploiting both optical and electrical anisotropy in nanowire electrodes for higher transparency.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Jianjin; Goldthorpe, Irene A

2018-01-26

Transparent electrodes such as indium tin oxide and random meshes of silver nanowires (AgNWs) have isotropic in-plane properties. However, we show that imparting some alignment to AgNWs can create anisotropic transparency and electrical conductivity characteristics that may benefit many applications. For example, liquid crystal displays and the touch sensors on top of them often only need to be transparent to one type of polarized light as well as predominantly conductive in only one direction. Herein, AgNWs are slightly preferentially aligned during their deposition by rod coating. Compared to randomly oriented AgNW films, the alignment boosts the transparency to perpendicularly polarized light, as well as achieves a higher transparency for a given sheet resistance in one direction compared to randomly oriented AgNWs films. These factors together increase the transparency of a 16 Ω/sq electrode by 7.3 percentage points. The alignment technique is cheap and scalable, compatible with roll-to-roll processes, and most importantly does not require extra processing steps, as rod coating is already a standard process for AgNW electrode fabrication.

Copper Nanowires and Their Applications for Flexible, Transparent Conducting Films: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vu Binh Nam

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Cu nanowires (NWs are attracting considerable attention as alternatives to Ag NWs for next-generation transparent conductors, replacing indium tin oxide (ITO and micro metal grids. Cu NWs hold great promise for low-cost fabrication via a solution-processed route and show preponderant optical, electrical, and mechanical properties. In this study, we report a summary of recent advances in research on Cu NWs, covering the optoelectronic properties, synthesis routes, deposition methods to fabricate flexible transparent conducting films, and their potential applications. This review also examines the approaches on protecting Cu NWs from oxidation in air environments.

Transparent Electrode Based on Silver Nanowires and Polyimide for Film Heater and Flexible Solar Cell.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Xin; Duan, Feng; Liu, Junyan; Lan, Qiuming; Wu, Jianhao; Yang, Chengyan; Yang, Weijia; Zeng, Qingguang; Wang, Huafang

2017-11-29

Transparent, conductive, and flexible Ag nanowire (NW)-polyimide (PI) composite films were fabricated by a facile solution method. Well-dispersed Ag NWs result in percolation networks on the PI supporting layer. A series of films with transmittance values of 53-80% and sheet resistances of 2.8-16.5 Ω/sq were investigated. To further verify the practicability of the Ag NWs-PI film in optoelectronic devices, we utilized it in a film heater and a flexible solar cell. The film heater was able to generate a temperature of 58 °C at a driving voltage of 3.5 V within 20 s, indicating its potential application in heating devices that require low power consumption and fast response. The flexible solar cell based on the composite film with a transmittance value of 71% presented a power conversion efficiency of 3.53%. These successful applications proved that the fabricated Ag NWs-PI composite film is a good candidate for application in flexible optoelectronic devices.

Roll-to-roll-compatible, flexible, transparent electrodes based on self-nanoembedded Cu nanowires using intense pulsed light irradiation

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Zhaoyang; Woo, Kyoohee; Kim, Inhyuk; Hwang, Hyewon; Kwon, Sin; Choi, Young-Man; Lee, Youngu; Lee, Taik-Min; Kim, Kwangyoung; Moon, Jooho

2016-04-01

Copper nanowire (Cu NW)-based flexible transparent conductive electrodes (FTCEs) have been investigated in detail for use in various applications such as flexible touch screens, organic photovoltaics and organic light-emitting diodes. In this study, hexadecylamine (HDA) adsorbed onto the surface of NWs is changed into polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) via a ligand exchange process; the high-molecular-weight PVP enables high dispersion stability. Intense pulsed light (IPL) irradiation is used to remove organic species present on the surface of the NWs and to form direct connections between the NWs rapidly without any atmospheric control. NWs are self-nanoembedded into a plastic substrate after IPL irradiation, which results in a smooth surface, strong NW/substrate adhesion, excellent mechanical flexibility and enhanced oxidation stability. Moreover, Cu NW FTCEs with high uniformities are successfully fabricated on a large area (150 mm × 200 mm) via successive IPL irradiation that is synchronized with the motion of the sample stage. This study demonstrates the possibility of roll-to-roll-based, large-scale production of low-cost, high-performance Cu NW-based FTCEs.Copper nanowire (Cu NW)-based flexible transparent conductive electrodes (FTCEs) have been investigated in detail for use in various applications such as flexible touch screens, organic photovoltaics and organic light-emitting diodes. In this study, hexadecylamine (HDA) adsorbed onto the surface of NWs is changed into polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) via a ligand exchange process; the high-molecular-weight PVP enables high dispersion stability. Intense pulsed light (IPL) irradiation is used to remove organic species present on the surface of the NWs and to form direct connections between the NWs rapidly without any atmospheric control. NWs are self-nanoembedded into a plastic substrate after IPL irradiation, which results in a smooth surface, strong NW/substrate adhesion, excellent mechanical flexibility and enhanced

Transparent capacitors with hybrid ZnO:Al and Ag nanowires as electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Guozhen; Wu, Hao; Wang, Xiao; Wang, Ti; Liu, Chang

2016-01-01

Transparent conducting films with a composite structure of AlZnO–Ag nanowires (AgNWs) have been prepared by atomic layer deposition. The sheet resistance was reduced from 120 to 9 Ω when the AgNW networks were involved. Transparent capacitors with Al_2O_3–TiO_2–Al_2O_3 dielectrics were fabricated on the composite electrodes and demonstrated a capacitance density of 10.1 fF μm"−"2, which was significantly higher than that of capacitors with AlZnO electrodes (8.8 fF μm"−"1). The capacitance density remained almost unchanged in a broad frequency range from 3 kHz to 1 MHz. Moreover, a low leakage current density of 2.4 × 10"−"7 A cm"−"2 at 1 V was achieved. Transparent and flexible capacitors were also fabricated using the composite electrodes, and demonstrated an improved bendability. The transparent capacitors showed an average optical transmittance over 70% in the visible range, and thus open the door to practical applications in transparent integrated circuits. (paper)

Highly flexible peeled-off silver nanowire transparent anode using in organic light-emitting devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duan, Ya-Hui; Duan, Yu, E-mail: duanyu@jlu.edu.cn; Wang, Xiao; Yang, Dan; Yang, Yong-Qiang; Chen, Ping; Sun, Feng-Bo; Xue, Kai-Wen; Zhao, Yi

2015-10-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • An ultra-smooth AgNW film on a flexible photopolymer substrate has been fabricated. • The AgNW film has a low sheet resistance with high transparency and flexibility. • OLEDs based on AgNW:NOA63 substrate can be bent at a radius of curvature of 2 mm. - Abstract: Materials to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) for high transmittance and electrical conductivity are urgently needed. In this paper, we adopted a silver nanowire (AgNW)-photopolymer (NOA63) film as a new platform for flexible optoelectronic devices. This design combined a transparent electrode and a flexible substrate. We utilized this application to obtain flexible organic light-emitting devices (FOLEDs). A peel-off process combined with a spin-coating process created an ultra-smooth silver nanowire anode on a photopolymer substrate. The performance of the device was achieved via the perfect morphology of the AgNW anode, the optimal 5 mg/ml concentration of AgNW solution, and the 45.7 Ω/□ sheet resistance of the AgNW film. The maximum current efficiency of the FOLED is 13 cd/A with stable mechanical flexibility even when bent to a radius of curvature of 2 mm. The outstanding performance of the FOLED with peeled off AgNW anode shows that this approach is a promising alternative to ITO for FOLEDs.

Wave-mixing-induced transparency with zero phase shift in atomic vapors

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, F.; Zhu, C. J.; Li, Y.

2017-12-01

We present a wave-mixing induced transparency that can lead to a hyper-Raman gain-clamping effect. This new type of transparency is originated from a dynamic gain cancellation effect in a multiphoton process where a highly efficient light field of new frequency is generated and amplified. We further show that this novel dynamic gain cancellation effect not only makes the medium transparent to a probe light field at appropriate frequency but also eliminates the probe field propagation phase shift. This gain-cancellation-based induced transparency holds for many potential applications on optical communication and may lead to effective suppression of parasitic Raman/hyper-Raman noise field generated in high intensity optical fiber transmissions.

Aerosol jet printed silver nanowire transparent electrode for flexible electronic application

Science.gov (United States)

Tu, Li; Yuan, Sijian; Zhang, Huotian; Wang, Pengfei; Cui, Xiaolei; Wang, Jiao; Zhan, Yi-Qiang; Zheng, Li-Rong

2018-05-01

Aerosol jet printing technology enables fine feature deposition of electronic materials onto low-temperature, non-planar substrates without masks. In this work, silver nanowires (AgNWs) are proposed to be printed into transparent flexible electrodes using a Maskless Mesoscale Material Deposition Aerosol Jet® printing system on a glass substrate. The influence of the most significant process parameters, including printing cycles, printing speed, and nozzle size, on the performance of AgNW electrodes was systematically studied. The morphologies of printed patterns were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, and the transmittance was evaluated using an ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer. Under optimum conditions, high transparent AgNW electrodes with a sheet resistance of 57.68 Ω/sq and a linewidth of 50.9 μm were obtained, which is an important step towards a higher performance goal for flexible electronic applications.

Towards Flexible Transparent Electrodes Based on Carbon and Metallic Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minghui Luo

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Flexible transparent electrodes (FTEs with high stability and scalability are in high demand for the extremely widespread applications in flexible optoelectronic devices. Traditionally, thin films of indium thin oxide (ITO served the role of FTEs, but film brittleness and scarcity of materials limit its further application. This review provides a summary of recent advances in emerging transparent electrodes and related flexible devices (e.g., touch panels, organic light-emitting diodes, sensors, supercapacitors, and solar cells. Mainly focusing on the FTEs based on carbon nanomaterials (e.g., carbon nanotubes and graphene and metal materials (e.g., metal grid and metal nanowires, we discuss the fabrication techniques, the performance improvement, and the representative applications of these highly transparent and flexible electrodes. Finally, the challenges and prospects of flexible transparent electrodes will be summarized.

Features of Random Metal Nanowire Networks with Application in Transparent Conducting Electrodes

KAUST Repository

Maloth, Thirupathi

2017-05-01

Among the alternatives to conventional Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) used in making transparent conducting electrodes, the random metal nanowire (NW) networks are considered to be superior offering performance at par with ITO. The performance is measured in terms of sheet resistance and optical transmittance. However, as the electrical properties of such random networks are achieved thanks to a percolation network, a minimum size of the electrodes is needed so it actually exceeds the representative volume element (RVE) of the material and the macroscopic electrical properties are achieved. There is not much information about the compatibility of this minimum RVE size with the resolution actually needed in electronic devices. Furthermore, the efficiency of NWs in terms of electrical conduction is overlooked. In this work, we address the above industrially relevant questions - 1) The minimum size of electrodes that can be made based on the dimensions of NWs and the material coverage. For this, we propose a morphology based classification in defining the RVE size and we also compare the same with that is based on macroscopic electrical properties stabilization. 2) The amount of NWs that do not participate in electrical conduction, hence of no practical use. The results presented in this thesis are a design guide to experimentalists to design transparent electrodes with more optimal usage of the material.

Transparent TiO2 nanowire networks via wet corrosion of Ti thin films for dye-sensitized solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Eunhye; Jin, Saera; Hong, Jongin

2017-09-01

Transparent TiO2 nanowire networks were prepared by corrosion of Ti thin films on F-doped SnO2 glass substrates in an alkaline (potassium hydroxide: KOH) solution. The formation of the porous TiO2 nanostructures from the Ti thin films was thoroughly investigated. Dye-sensitized solar cells with a photoanode of 1.2-μm-thick nanowire networks exhibit an average optical transmittance of 40% in the visible light region and a power conversion efficiency of 1.0% under one sun illumination.

Fabrication of a transparent ultraviolet detector by using n-type Ga2O3 and p-type Ga-doped SnO2 core-shell nanowires.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Cheng-Liang; Lu, Ying-Ching

2012-09-21

This study investigates the feasibility of synthesizing high-density transparent Ga(2)O(3)/SnO(2):Ga core-shell nanowires on a sapphire substrate at 1000 °C by VLS. The doping Ga concentrations are 0.46, 1.07, 2.30 and 17.53 atomic%. The XRD spectrum and HR-TEM reveal Ga(2)O(3) and SnO(2) as having monoclinic and tetragonal rutile structures, respectively. Experimental results indicate that the XRD peak shift of SnO(2) to a larger angle increases with the increasing amount of Ga doping. According to the CL spectrum, SnO(2) and Ga(2)O(3) peak at approximately 528-568 nm and 422-424 nm, respectively. The maximum quantum efficiency of Ga(2)O(3)/SnO(2):Ga core-shell nanowires is around 0.362%. The UV light on-off current contrast ratio of Ga(2)O(3)/SnO(2):Ga core-shell nanowires is around 1066.7 at a bias of 5 V. Moreover, the dynamic response of Ga(2)O(3)/SnO(2):Ga core-shell nanowires has an on-off current contrast ratio of around 16. Furthermore, the Ga(2)O(3) region functions similar to a capacitor and continues to accumulate SnO(2):Ga excited electrons under UV light exposure.

An Overview of Metallic Nanowire Networks, Promising Building Blocks for Next Generation Transparent Conductors: Emergence, Fundamentals and Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Pirsalami, Sedigheh; Zebarjad, Seyed Mojtaba; Daneshmanesh, Habib

2017-08-01

Transparent conductors (TCs) have a wide range of applications in numerous electronic and optoelectronic devices. This review provides an overview of the emergence of metallic nanowire networks (MNNs) as promising building blocks for the next generation transparent conductors. The fundamental aspects, structure-property relations, fabrication techniques and the corresponding challenges are reviewed. Theoretical and experimental researches suggest that nanowires with smaller diameter, longer length and higher aspect ratio have higher performance. Yet, the development of an efficient synthesis technique for the production of MNNs has remained a challenge. The synthesis method is also crucial to the scalability and the commercial potential of these emerging TCs. The most promising techniques for the synthesis together with their advantages, limitations and the recent findings are here discussed. Finally, we will try to show the promising future research trends in MNNs to have an approach to design the next generation TCs.

Highly transparent and thermal-stable silver nanowire conductive film covered with ZnMgO by atomic-layer-deposition

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lei; Huang, Dongchen; Li, Min; Xu, Hua; Zou, Jianhua; Tao, Hong; Peng, Junbiao; Xu, Miao

2017-12-01

Solution-processed silver nanowires (AgNWs) have been considered as a promising material for next generation flexible transparent conductive electrodes. However AgNWs films have several intrinsic drawbacks, such as thermal stability and storage stability. Herein, we demonstrate a laminated ZnO/MgO (ZnMgO, ZMO) as a protective layer on the AgNWs films using atomic layer deposition (ALD). The fabricated films exhibited a low sheet resistance of 16 Ω/sq with high transmittance of 91% at 550 nm, an excellent thermal stability and bending property. The ZMO film grows perpendicularly on the surface of the AgNWs, making a perfect coverage of bulk silver nanowires and junction, which can effectively prompt the electrical transport behavior and enhance stability of the silver nanowires network.

Copercolating Networks: An Approach for Realizing High-Performance Transparent Conductors using Multicomponent Nanostructured Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Das Suprem R.

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Although transparent conductive oxides such as indium tin oxide (ITO are widely employed as transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs for applications such as touch screens and displays, new nanostructured TCEs are of interest for future applications, including emerging transparent and flexible electronics. A number of twodimensional networks of nanostructured elements have been reported, including metallic nanowire networks consisting of silver nanowires, metallic carbon nanotubes (m-CNTs, copper nanowires or gold nanowires, and metallic mesh structures. In these single-component systems, it has generally been difficult to achieve sheet resistances that are comparable to ITO at a given broadband optical transparency. A relatively new third category of TCEs consisting of networks of 1D-1D and 1D-2D nanocomposites (such as silver nanowires and CNTs, silver nanowires and polycrystalline graphene, silver nanowires and reduced graphene oxide have demonstrated TCE performance comparable to, or better than, ITO. In such hybrid networks, copercolation between the two components can lead to relatively low sheet resistances at nanowire densities corresponding to high optical transmittance. This review provides an overview of reported hybrid networks, including a comparison of the performance regimes achievable with those of ITO and single-component nanostructured networks. The performance is compared to that expected from bulk thin films and analyzed in terms of the copercolation model. In addition, performance characteristics relevant for flexible and transparent applications are discussed. The new TCEs are promising, but significant work must be done to ensure earth abundance, stability, and reliability so that they can eventually replace traditional ITO-based transparent conductors.

Large-Area Cross-Aligned Silver Nanowire Electrodes for Flexible, Transparent, and Force-Sensitive Mechanochromic Touch Screens.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Seungse; Kang, Saewon; Pandya, Ashish; Shanker, Ravi; Khan, Ziyauddin; Lee, Youngsu; Park, Jonghwa; Craig, Stephen L; Ko, Hyunhyub

2017-04-25

Silver nanowire (AgNW) networks are considered to be promising structures for use as flexible transparent electrodes for various optoelectronic devices. One important application of AgNW transparent electrodes is the flexible touch screens. However, the performances of flexible touch screens are still limited by the large surface roughness and low electrical to optical conductivity ratio of random network AgNW electrodes. In addition, although the perception of writing force on the touch screen enables a variety of different functions, the current technology still relies on the complicated capacitive force touch sensors. This paper demonstrates a simple and high-throughput bar-coating assembly technique for the fabrication of large-area (>20 × 20 cm 2 ), highly cross-aligned AgNW networks for transparent electrodes with the sheet resistance of 21.0 Ω sq -1 at 95.0% of optical transmittance, which compares favorably with that of random AgNW networks (sheet resistance of 21.0 Ω sq -1 at 90.4% of optical transmittance). As a proof of concept demonstration, we fabricate flexible, transparent, and force-sensitive touch screens using cross-aligned AgNW electrodes integrated with mechanochromic spiropyran-polydimethylsiloxane composite film. Our force-sensitive touch screens enable the precise monitoring of dynamic writings, tracing and drawing of underneath pictures, and perception of handwriting patterns with locally different writing forces. The suggested technique provides a robust and powerful platform for the controllable assembly of nanowires beyond the scale of conventional fabrication techniques, which can find diverse applications in multifunctional flexible electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Spontaneous and Selective Nanowelding of Silver Nanowires by Electrochemical Ostwald Ripening and High Electrostatic Potential at the Junctions for High-Performance Stretchable Transparent Electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hyo-Ju; Oh, Semi; Cho, Ki-Yeop; Jeong, Woo-Lim; Lee, Dong-Seon; Park, Seong-Ju

2018-04-25

Metal nanowires have been gaining increasing attention as the most promising stretchable transparent electrodes for emerging field of stretchable optoelectronic devices. Nanowelding technology is a major challenge in the fabrication of metal nanowire networks because the optoelectronic performances of metal nanowire networks are mostly limited by the high junction resistance between nanowires. We demonstrate the spontaneous and selective welding of Ag nanowires (AgNWs) by Ag solders via an electrochemical Ostwald ripening process and high electrostatic potential at the junctions of AgNWs. The AgNWs were welded by depositing Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) on the conducting substrate and then exposing them to water at room temperature. The AgNPs were spontaneously dissolved in water to form Ag + ions, which were then reduced to single-crystal Ag solders selectively at the junctions of the AgNWs. Hence, the welded AgNWs showed higher optoelectronic and stretchable performance compared to that of as-formed AgNWs. These results indicate that electrochemical Ostwald ripening-based welding can be used as a promising method for high-performance metal nanowire electrodes in various next-generation devices such as stretchable solar cells, stretchable displays, organic light-emitting diodes, and skin sensors.

Improve the surface of silver nanowire transparent electrode using a double-layer structure for the quantum-dot light-emitting diodes

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Seok Hyeon; Been Heo, Su; Kang, Seong Jun

2018-03-01

We developed a double-layer structured transparent electrode for use in flexible quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs). Silver nanowires (AgNWs) and highly conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) were coated on a transparent substrate to obtain a highly conductive and flexible transparent electrode. The highly conductive PEDOT:PSS improved the surface roughness of the AgNWs transparent electrode film as well as the surface coverage area of the film. The double-layer structured transparent electrode showed superior mechanical properties than conventional indium-tin oxide (ITO) and AgNWs transparent electrodes. QLEDs with the double-layer structured transparent electrode also showed good reliability under cyclic bending conditions. These results indicate that the double-layer structured AgNWs/PEDOT:PSS transparent electrode described here is a feasible alternative to ITO transparent electrodes for flexible QLEDs.

Rapid synthesis of ultra-long silver nanowires for tailor-made transparent conductive electrodes: proof of concept in organic solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

José Andrés, Luis; Fe Menéndez, María; Gómez, David; Luisa Martínez, Ana; Menéndez, Armando; Bristow, Noel; Paul Kettle, Jeffrey; Ruiz, Bernardino

2015-01-01

Rapid synthesis of ultralong silver nanowires (AgNWs) has been obtained using a one-pot polyol-mediated synthetic procedure. The AgNWs have been prepared from the base materials in less than one hour with nanowire lengths reaching 195 μm, which represents the quickest synthesis and one of the highest reported aspect ratios to date. These results have been achieved through a joint analysis of all reaction parameters, which represents a clear progress beyond the state of the art. Dispersions of the AgNWs have been used to prepare thin, flexible, transparent and conducting films using spray coating. Due to the higher aspect ratio, an improved electrical percolation network is observed. This allows a low sheet resistance (R_S = 20.2 Ω/sq), whilst maintaining high optical film transparency (T = 94.7%), driving to the highest reported figure-of-merit (FoM = 338). Owing to the light-scattering influence of the AgNWs, the density of the AgNW network can also be varied to enable controllability of the optical haze through the sample. Based on the identification of the optimal haze value, organic photovoltaics (OPVs) have been fabricated using the AgNWs as the transparent electrode and have been benchmarked against indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes. Overall, the performance of OPVs made using AgNWs sees a small decrease in power conversion efficiency (PCE), primarily due to a fall in open-circuit voltage (50 mV). This work indicates that AgNWs can provide a low cost, rapid and roll-to-roll compatible alternative to ITO in OPVs, with only a small compromise in PCE needed. (paper)

Rapid synthesis of ultra-long silver nanowires for tailor-made transparent conductive electrodes: proof of concept in organic solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

José Andrés, Luis; Menéndez, María Fe; Gómez, David; Martínez, Ana Luisa; Bristow, Noel; Kettle, Jeffrey Paul; Menéndez, Armando; Ruiz, Bernardino

2015-07-01

Rapid synthesis of ultralong silver nanowires (AgNWs) has been obtained using a one-pot polyol-mediated synthetic procedure. The AgNWs have been prepared from the base materials in less than one hour with nanowire lengths reaching 195 μm, which represents the quickest synthesis and one of the highest reported aspect ratios to date. These results have been achieved through a joint analysis of all reaction parameters, which represents a clear progress beyond the state of the art. Dispersions of the AgNWs have been used to prepare thin, flexible, transparent and conducting films using spray coating. Due to the higher aspect ratio, an improved electrical percolation network is observed. This allows a low sheet resistance (RS = 20.2 Ω/sq), whilst maintaining high optical film transparency (T = 94.7%), driving to the highest reported figure-of-merit (FoM = 338). Owing to the light-scattering influence of the AgNWs, the density of the AgNW network can also be varied to enable controllability of the optical haze through the sample. Based on the identification of the optimal haze value, organic photovoltaics (OPVs) have been fabricated using the AgNWs as the transparent electrode and have been benchmarked against indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes. Overall, the performance of OPVs made using AgNWs sees a small decrease in power conversion efficiency (PCE), primarily due to a fall in open-circuit voltage (50 mV). This work indicates that AgNWs can provide a low cost, rapid and roll-to-roll compatible alternative to ITO in OPVs, with only a small compromise in PCE needed.

Flexible Transparent Supercapacitors Based on Hierarchical Nanocomposite Films.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Fanhong; Wan, Pengbo; Xu, Haijun; Sun, Xiaoming

2017-05-31

Flexible transparent electronic devices have recently gained immense popularity in smart wearable electronics and touch screen devices, which accelerates the development of the portable power sources with reliable flexibility, robust transparency and integration to couple these electronic devices. For potentially coupled as energy storage modules in various flexible, transparent and portable electronics, the flexible transparent supercapacitors are developed and assembled from hierarchical nanocomposite films of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and aligned polyaniline (PANI) nanoarrays upon their synergistic advantages. The nanocomposite films are fabricated from in situ PANI nanoarrays preparation in a blended solution of aniline monomers and rGO onto the flexible, transparent, and stably conducting film (FTCF) substrate, which is obtained by coating silver nanowires (Ag NWs) layer with Meyer rod and then coating of rGO layer on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. Optimization of the transparency, the specific capacitance, and the flexibility resulted in the obtained all-solid state nanocomposite supercapacitors exhibiting enhanced capacitance performance, good cycling stability, excellent flexibility, and superior transparency. It provides promising application prospects for exploiting flexible, low-cost, transparent, and high-performance energy storage devices to be coupled into various flexible, transparent, and wearable electronic devices.

Transparent, double-sided, ITO-free, flexible dye-sensitized solar cells based on metal wire/ZnO nanowire arrays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Wei; Zhao, Qing; Li, Heng; Yu, Dapeng [State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Electron Microscopy Laboratory, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Wu, Hongwei; Zou, Dechun [Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)

2012-07-10

Transparent, double-sided, flexible, ITO-free dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are fabricated in a simple, facile, and controllable way. Highly ordered, high-crystal-quality, high-density ZnO nanowire arrays are radially grown on stainless steel, Au, Ag, and Cu microwires, which serve as working electrodes. Pt wires serve as the counter electrodes. Two metal wires are encased in electrolyte between two poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) films (or polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films) to render the device both flexible and highly transparent. The effect of the dye thickness on the photovoltaic performance of the DSSCs as a function of dye-loading time is investigated systematically. Shorter dye-loading times lead to thinner dye layers and better device performance. A dye-loading time of 20 min results in the best device performance. An oxidation treatment of the metal wires is developed effectively to avoid the galvanic-battery effect found in the experiment, which is crucial for real applications of double-metal-wire DSSC configurations. The device shows very good transparency and can increase sunlight use efficiency through two-sided illumination. The double-wire DSSCs remain stable for a long period of time and can be bent at large angles, up to 107 , reversibly, without any loss of performance. The double-wire-PET, planar solar-cell configuration can be used as window stickers and can be readily realized for large-area-weave roll-to-roll processing. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Preparation and cold welding of silver nanowire based transparent electrodes with optical transmittances >90% and sheet resistances ohm/sq.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Feng; Xu, Wei; Mao, Bingxin; Shen, Wenfeng; Yu, Yan; Tan, Ruiqin; Song, Weijie

2018-02-15

In this article, silver nanowires (AgNWs) with aspect ratios of 1000 and lengths up to 200 μm are obtained by a modified polyol approach. These very long AgNWs are then utilized to prepare transparent electrodes (TEs) displaying a transmittance of 91.3% at a sheet resistance of 8.6 ohm/sq without any post-treatment. Furthermore, we also demonstrate a process for the cold welding of Ag NWs by simply dipping the AgNWs films into CTAB solutions, resulting in a further improvement for the optoelectronic performance. After the post-treatment, the AgNW-based TEs can achieve a transmittance of 93% at a sheet resistance of 9.5 ohm/sq. In addition, the electric behaviors of AgNW-based TEs are investigated. In the bulk-like regime, for the as-prepared AgNW-based TEs, the Figure of merit (FOM), DC to optical conductivity ratio reaches up to 566.8. After the cold welding process, the DC to optical conductivity ratio can reach even higher values (631.6). In the percolative regime, the as-prepared and welded AgNW-based TEs can achieve Π (FOM with percolative-like behavior) values of 166.8 and 242.1, respectively. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Yellow Emitting InGaN/GaN Nanowires-based Light Emitting Diode Grown on Scalable Quartz Substrate

KAUST Repository

Prabaswara, Aditya

2017-05-08

The first InGaN/GaN nanowires-based yellow (λ = 590 nm) light-emitting diodes on scalable quartz substrates are demonstrated, by utilizing a thin Ti/TiN interlayer to achieve simultaneous substrate conductivity and transparency.

A Yellow Emitting InGaN/GaN Nanowires-based Light Emitting Diode Grown on Scalable Quartz Substrate

KAUST Repository

Prabaswara, Aditya; Ng, Tien Khee; Zhao, Chao; Janjua, Bilal; Alyamani, Ahmed; El-desouki, Munir; Ooi, Boon S.

2017-01-01

The first InGaN/GaN nanowires-based yellow (λ = 590 nm) light-emitting diodes on scalable quartz substrates are demonstrated, by utilizing a thin Ti/TiN interlayer to achieve simultaneous substrate conductivity and transparency.

Planar silver nanowire, carbon nanotube and PEDOT:PSS nanocomposite transparent electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Stapleton, Andrew J.; Yambem, Soniya D.; Johns, Ashley H.; Afre, Rakesh A.; Ellis, Amanda V.; Shapter, Joe G.; Andersson, Gunther G.; Quinton, Jamie S.; Burn, Paul L.; Meredith, Paul; Lewis, David A.

2015-04-01

Highly conductive, transparent and flexible planar electrodes were fabricated using interwoven silver nanowires and single-walled carbon nanotubes (AgNW:SWCNT) in a PEDOT:PSS matrix via an epoxy transfer method from a silicon template. The planar electrodes achieved a sheet resistance of 6.6 ± 0.0 Ω/□ and an average transmission of 86% between 400 and 800 nm. A high figure of merit of 367 Ω-1 is reported for the electrodes, which is much higher than that measured for indium tin oxide and reported for other AgNW composites. The AgNW:SWCNT:PEDOT:PSS electrode was used to fabricate low temperature (annealing free) devices demonstrating their potential to function with a range of organic semiconducting polymer:fullerene bulk heterojunction blend systems.

Transparent Electrodes for Efficient Optoelectronics

KAUST Repository

Morales-Masis, Monica

2017-03-30

With the development of new generations of optoelectronic devices that combine high performance and novel functionalities (e.g., flexibility/bendability, adaptability, semi or full transparency), several classes of transparent electrodes have been developed in recent years. These range from optimized transparent conductive oxides (TCOs), which are historically the most commonly used transparent electrodes, to new electrodes made from nano- and 2D materials (e.g., metal nanowire networks and graphene), and to hybrid electrodes that integrate TCOs or dielectrics with nanowires, metal grids, or ultrathin metal films. Here, the most relevant transparent electrodes developed to date are introduced, their fundamental properties are described, and their materials are classified according to specific application requirements in high efficiency solar cells and flexible organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). This information serves as a guideline for selecting and developing appropriate transparent electrodes according to intended application requirements and functionality.

Transparent Electrodes for Efficient Optoelectronics

KAUST Repository

Morales-Masis, Monica; De Wolf, Stefaan; Woods-Robinson, Rachel; Ager, Joel W.; Ballif, Christophe

2017-01-01

With the development of new generations of optoelectronic devices that combine high performance and novel functionalities (e.g., flexibility/bendability, adaptability, semi or full transparency), several classes of transparent electrodes have been developed in recent years. These range from optimized transparent conductive oxides (TCOs), which are historically the most commonly used transparent electrodes, to new electrodes made from nano- and 2D materials (e.g., metal nanowire networks and graphene), and to hybrid electrodes that integrate TCOs or dielectrics with nanowires, metal grids, or ultrathin metal films. Here, the most relevant transparent electrodes developed to date are introduced, their fundamental properties are described, and their materials are classified according to specific application requirements in high efficiency solar cells and flexible organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). This information serves as a guideline for selecting and developing appropriate transparent electrodes according to intended application requirements and functionality.

New transparent conductive metal based on polymer composite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keshavarz Hedayati, Mehdi; Jamali, Mohammad [Nanochemistry and Nanoengineering, Institute for Materials Science, Faculty of Engineering, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel (Germany); Strunkus, Thomas; Zaporochentko, Vladimir; Faupel, Franz [Multicomponent Materials, Institute for Materials Science, Faculty of Engineering, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel (Germany); Elbahri, Mady [Nanochemistry and Nanoengineering, Institute for Materials Science, Faculty of Engineering, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel (Germany); Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht GmbH, Institute of Polymer Research, Nanochemistry and Nanoengineering (Germany)

2011-07-01

Currently great efforts are made to develop new kind of transparent conductors (TCs) to replace ITO. In this regard different materials and composites have been proposed and studied including conductive polymers, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), metal grids, and random networks of metallic nanowires. But so far none of them could be used as a replacing material, since either they are either fragile and brittle or their electrical conductivity is below the typical ITO. Thin metallic films due to their high electrical conductivity could be one of the best replacing materials for ITO, however their poor transparency makes their application as TCs limited. Here we design and fabricate a new polymeric composite coating which enhances the transparency of the thin metal film up to 100% relative to the initial value while having a high electrical conductivity of typical metals. Therefore our proposed device has a great potential to be used as new transparent conductor.

Carbon Nanotube Networks Reinforced by Silver Nanowires with Improved Optical Transparency and Conductivity

Science.gov (United States)

Martine, Patricia; Fakhimi, Azin; Lin, Ling; Jurewicz, Izabela; Dalton, Alan; Zakhidov, Anvar A.; Baughman, Ray H.

2015-03-01

We have fabricated highly transparent and conductive free-standing nanocomposite thin film electrodes by adding silver nanowires (AgNWs) to dry-spun Multiwall Carbon Nanotube (MWNT) aerogels. This nanocomposite exhibits desirable properties such as high optical transmittance, excellent flexibility and enhanced electrical conductivity. The incorporation of the AgNWs to the MWNT aerogels was accomplished by using a spray coating method. The optical transparency and sheet resistance of the nanocomposite was tuned by adjusting the concentration of AgNWs, back pressure and nozzle distance of the spray gun to the MWNT aerogel during deposition. As the solvent evaporated, the aerogel MWNT bundles densified via surface tension which caused the MWNT bundles to collapse. This adjustable process was responsible in forming well defined apertures that increased the nanocomposite's transmittance up to 90 percent. Via AgNWs percolation and random interconnections between separate MWNT bundles in the aerogel matrix, the sheet resistance decreased from 1 K ohm/sq to less than 100 ohm/sq. Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute

Stretchable, Transparent, and Stretch-Unresponsive Capacitive Touch Sensor Array with Selectively Patterned Silver Nanowires/Reduced Graphene Oxide Electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Tae Young; Hwang, Byeong-Ung; Kim, Bo-Yeong; Trung, Tran Quang; Nam, Yun Hyoung; Kim, Do-Nyun; Eom, Kilho; Lee, Nae-Eung

2017-05-31

Stretchable and transparent touch sensors are essential input devices for future stretchable transparent electronics. Capacitive touch sensors with a simple structure of only two electrodes and one dielectric are an established technology in current rigid electronics. However, the development of stretchable and transparent capacitive touch sensors has been limited due to changes in capacitance resulting from dimensional changes in elastomeric dielectrics and difficulty in obtaining stretchable transparent electrodes that are stable under large strains. Herein, a stretch-unresponsive stretchable and transparent capacitive touch sensor array was demonstrated by employing stretchable and transparent electrodes with a simple selective-patterning process and by carefully selecting dielectric and substrate materials with low strain responsivity. A selective-patterning process was used to embed a stretchable and transparent silver nanowires/reduced graphene oxide (AgNWs/rGO) electrode line into a polyurethane (PU) dielectric layer on a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate using oxygen plasma treatment. This method provides the ability to directly fabricate thin film electrode lines on elastomeric substrates and can be used in conventional processes employed in stretchable electronics. We used a dielectric (PU) with a Poisson's ratio smaller than that of the substrate (PDMS), which prevented changes in the capacitance resulting from stretching of the sensor. The stretch-unresponsive touch sensing capability of our transparent and stretchable capacitive touch sensor has great potential in wearable electronics and human-machine interfaces.

Silver nanowire-graphene hybrid transparent conductive electrodes for highly efficient inverted organic solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Neng; Yan, Jielin; Xie, Shuang; Kong, Yuhan; Liang, Tao; Chen, Hongzheng; Xu, Mingsheng

2017-07-01

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) and graphene are both promising candidates as a transparent conductive electrode (TCE) to replace expensive and fragile indium tin oxide (ITO) TCE. A synergistically optimized performance is expected when the advantages of AgNWs and graphene are combined. In this paper, the AgNW-graphene hybrid electrode is constructed by depositing a graphene layer on top of the network of AgNWs. Compared with the pristine AgNWs electrode, the AgNW-graphene TCE exhibits reduced sheet resistance, lower surface roughness, excellent long-term stability, and corrosion resistance in corrosive liquids. The graphene layer covering the AgNWs provides additional conduction pathways for electron transport and collection by the electrode. Benefiting from these advantages of the hybrid electrodes, we achieve a power conversion efficiency of 8.12% of inverted organic solar cells using PTB7:PC71BM as the active layer, which is compared to that of the solar cells based on standard ITO TCE but about 10% higher than that based on AgNWs TCE.

Ag@Ni core-shell nanowire network for robust transparent electrodes against oxidation and sulfurization.

Science.gov (United States)

Eom, Hyeonjin; Lee, Jaemin; Pichitpajongkit, Aekachan; Amjadi, Morteza; Jeong, Jun-Ho; Lee, Eungsug; Lee, Jung-Yong; Park, Inkyu

2014-10-29

Silver nanowire (Ag NW) based transparent electrodes are inherently unstable to moist and chemically reactive environment. A remarkable stability improvement of the Ag NW network film against oxidizing and sulfurizing environment by local electrodeposition of Ni along Ag NWs is reported. The optical transmittance and electrical resistance of the Ni deposited Ag NW network film can be easily controlled by adjusting the morphology and thickness of the Ni shell layer. The electrical conductivity of the Ag NW network film is increased by the Ni coating via welding between Ag NWs as well as additional conductive area for the electron transport by electrodeposited Ni layer. Moreover, the chemical resistance of Ag NWs against oxidation and sulfurization can be dramatically enhanced by the Ni shell layer electrodeposited along the Ag NWs, which provides the physical barrier against chemical reaction and diffusion as well as the cathodic protection from galvanic corrosion. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

High-Performance GaAs Nanowire Solar Cells for Flexible and Transparent Photovoltaics.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Ning; Yang, Zai-xing; Wang, Fengyun; Dong, Guofa; Yip, SenPo; Liang, Xiaoguang; Hung, Tak Fu; Chen, Yunfa; Ho, Johnny C

2015-09-16

Among many available photovoltaic technologies at present, gallium arsenide (GaAs) is one of the recognized leaders for performance and reliability; however, it is still a great challenge to achieve cost-effective GaAs solar cells for smart systems such as transparent and flexible photovoltaics. In this study, highly crystalline long GaAs nanowires (NWs) with minimal crystal defects are synthesized economically by chemical vapor deposition and configured into novel Schottky photovoltaic structures by simply using asymmetric Au-Al contacts. Without any doping profiles such as p-n junction and complicated coaxial junction structures, the single NW Schottky device shows a record high apparent energy conversion efficiency of 16% under air mass 1.5 global illumination by normalizing to the projection area of the NW. The corresponding photovoltaic output can be further enhanced by connecting individual cells in series and in parallel as well as by fabricating NW array solar cells via contact printing showing an overall efficiency of 1.6%. Importantly, these Schottky cells can be easily integrated on the glass and plastic substrates for transparent and flexible photovoltaics, which explicitly demonstrate the outstanding versatility and promising perspective of these GaAs NW Schottky photovoltaics for next-generation smart solar energy harvesting devices.

A Facile Method for Preparing Transparent, Conductive, and Paper-Like Silver Nanowire Films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yajie Wang

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Transparent, conductive, and flexible silver nanowire (AgNW films have been fabricated by a facile two-step method. Firstly, the well-dispersed AgNW suspension is vacuum filtered using mixed esters of cellulose (MCE membranes as filters. Then, the AgNW-MCE films are treated with acetone vapor. After the infiltration of acetone vapor, the white and porous MCE membranes change into transparent and pore-free, and AgNW-MCE films are obtained with extraordinary optical, conductive, and mechanical properties. An optimal result is obtained with transmittance of 85% at 550 nm and sheet resistance about 50 Ohm/sq. The flexibility of AgNW-MCE films is remarkable, which is comparable to that of the AgNW film on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET. More important, AgNW-MCE films show an excellent adhesion to the substrate, which causes a stable electrical conductivity even after scotch tape test and finger friction test. As a result of improved adhesion to the substrate, the sheet resistance of AgNW-MCE films is about 20% smaller than that of AgNW-PET films.

Transparency in nanophotonic quantum wires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singh, Mahi R [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Western Ontario, London N6A 3K7 (Canada)

2009-03-28

We have studied the quantum optics of a photonic quantum nanowire doped with an ensemble of three-level nanoparticles. The wire is made from two photonic crystals A and B. Crystal A is embedded within crystal B and acts as a photonic nanowire. It is considered that the conduction band of crystal A lies below that of crystal B. As a result, photons are confined in crystal A and are reflected from crystal B. The bound states of the confined photons are calculated using the transfer matrix method. It is found that the number of bound states in the wire depends on the size of the wire and the energy difference between the conduction band extrema of crystals A and B. The absorption coefficient of the system has also been calculated using the Schroedinger equation method. It is considered that the nanoparticles interact with the photonic bound states. Numerical simulations show that when one of the resonance energies lies near the bound state, the system becomes transparent. However, when the resonance energy lies away from the bound state the crystal reverts to an absorbing state. Similarly, when the radius of the dielectric spheres is changed the location of the transparency peak is shifted. This means that the present system can be switched between two states by changing the size of the wire and the transition energy. These findings can be used to make new types of optical devices.

Transparency in nanophotonic quantum wires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, Mahi R

2009-01-01

We have studied the quantum optics of a photonic quantum nanowire doped with an ensemble of three-level nanoparticles. The wire is made from two photonic crystals A and B. Crystal A is embedded within crystal B and acts as a photonic nanowire. It is considered that the conduction band of crystal A lies below that of crystal B. As a result, photons are confined in crystal A and are reflected from crystal B. The bound states of the confined photons are calculated using the transfer matrix method. It is found that the number of bound states in the wire depends on the size of the wire and the energy difference between the conduction band extrema of crystals A and B. The absorption coefficient of the system has also been calculated using the Schroedinger equation method. It is considered that the nanoparticles interact with the photonic bound states. Numerical simulations show that when one of the resonance energies lies near the bound state, the system becomes transparent. However, when the resonance energy lies away from the bound state the crystal reverts to an absorbing state. Similarly, when the radius of the dielectric spheres is changed the location of the transparency peak is shifted. This means that the present system can be switched between two states by changing the size of the wire and the transition energy. These findings can be used to make new types of optical devices.

Au nanowire junction breakup through surface atom diffusion

Science.gov (United States)

Vigonski, Simon; Jansson, Ville; Vlassov, Sergei; Polyakov, Boris; Baibuz, Ekaterina; Oras, Sven; Aabloo, Alvo; Djurabekova, Flyura; Zadin, Vahur

2018-01-01

Metallic nanowires are known to break into shorter fragments due to the Rayleigh instability mechanism. This process is strongly accelerated at elevated temperatures and can completely hinder the functioning of nanowire-based devices like e.g. transparent conductive and flexible coatings. At the same time, arranged gold nanodots have important applications in electrochemical sensors. In this paper we perform a series of annealing experiments of gold and silver nanowires and nanowire junctions at fixed temperatures 473, 673, 873 and 973 K (200 °C, 400 °C, 600 °C and 700 °C) during a time period of 10 min. We show that nanowires are especially prone to fragmentation around junctions and crossing points even at comparatively low temperatures. The fragmentation process is highly temperature dependent and the junction region breaks up at a lower temperature than a single nanowire. We develop a gold parametrization for kinetic Monte Carlo simulations and demonstrate the surface diffusion origin of the nanowire junction fragmentation. We show that nanowire fragmentation starts at the junctions with high reliability and propose that aligning nanowires in a regular grid could be used as a technique for fabricating arrays of nanodots.

Large area, low capacitance, GaAs nanowire photodetector with a transparent Schottky collecting junction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seyedi, M. A.; Yao, M.; O'Brien, J.; Dapkus, P. D.; Wang, S. Y.

2013-01-01

We present experimental results on a GaAs/Indium-Tin-Oxide Schottky-like heterojunction photodetector based on a nanowire device geometry. By distributing the active detecting area over an array of nanowires, it is possible to achieve large area detection with low capacitance. Devices with bare GaAs and passivated AlGaAs/GaAs nanowires are fabricated to compare the responsivity with and without surface passivation. We are able to achieve responsivity of >0.5A/W and Signal-Noise-Ratio in excess of 7 dB for 2 V applied reverse bias with passivated nanowire devices. Capacitance-voltage measurement yields 2 , which shows a strong possibility for high-speed applications with a broad area device

Direct Growth of III-Nitride Nanowire-Based Yellow Light-Emitting Diode on Amorphous Quartz Using Thin Ti Interlayer

KAUST Repository

Prabaswara, Aditya

2018-02-06

Consumer electronics have increasingly relied on ultra-thin glass screen due to its transparency, scalability, and cost. In particular, display technology relies on integrating light-emitting diodes with display panel as a source for backlighting. In this study, we undertook the challenge of integrating light emitters onto amorphous quartz by demonstrating the direct growth and fabrication of a III-nitride nanowire-based light-emitting diode. The proof-of-concept device exhibits a low turn-on voltage of 2.6 V, on an amorphous quartz substrate. We achieved ~ 40% transparency across the visible wavelength while maintaining electrical conductivity by employing a TiN/Ti interlayer on quartz as a translucent conducting layer. The nanowire-on-quartz LED emits a broad linewidth spectrum of light centered at true yellow color (~ 590 nm), an important wavelength bridging the green-gap in solid-state lighting technology, with significantly less strain and dislocations compared to conventional planar quantum well nitride structures. Our endeavor highlighted the feasibility of fabricating III-nitride optoelectronic device on a scalable amorphous substrate through facile growth and fabrication steps. For practical demonstration, we demonstrated tunable correlated color temperature white light, leveraging on the broadly tunable nanowire spectral characteristics across red-amber-yellow color regime.

Large area, low capacitance, GaAs nanowire photodetector with a transparent Schottky collecting junction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seyedi, M. A., E-mail: seyedi@usc.edu; Yao, M.; O' Brien, J.; Dapkus, P. D. [Center for Energy Nanoscience, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089 (United States); Wang, S. Y. [Center for Energy Nanoscience, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089 (United States); Nanostructured Energy Conversion Technology and Research (NECTAR), Advanced Studies Laboratories, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA and NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California 94035 (United States)

2013-12-16

We present experimental results on a GaAs/Indium-Tin-Oxide Schottky-like heterojunction photodetector based on a nanowire device geometry. By distributing the active detecting area over an array of nanowires, it is possible to achieve large area detection with low capacitance. Devices with bare GaAs and passivated AlGaAs/GaAs nanowires are fabricated to compare the responsivity with and without surface passivation. We are able to achieve responsivity of >0.5A/W and Signal-Noise-Ratio in excess of 7 dB for 2 V applied reverse bias with passivated nanowire devices. Capacitance-voltage measurement yields <5 nF/cm{sup 2}, which shows a strong possibility for high-speed applications with a broad area device.

Inkjet-printed transparent nanowire thin film features for UV photodetectors

KAUST Repository

Chen, Shih Pin; Duran Retamal, Jose Ramon; Lien, Der Hsien; He, Jr-Hau; Liao, Ying Chih

2015-01-01

In this study, a simple and effective direct printing method was developed to print patterned nanowire thin films for UV detection. Inks containing silver or titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanowires were first formulated adequately to form stable

Preparation of smooth, flexible and stable silver nanowires- polyurethane composite transparent conductive films by transfer method

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Shengchi; Wang, Haifeng; Yang, Hui; Zhang, He; Guo, Xingzhong

2018-02-01

Silver nanowires (AgNWs)-polyurethane (PU) composite transparent conductive films were fabricated via transfer method using AgNWs conductive inks and polyurethane as starting materials, and the effects of post-treatments including heat treatment, NaCl solution bath and HCl solution bath for AgNWs film on the sheet resistance and transmittance of the composite films were respectively investigated in detail. AgNWs networks are uniformly embedded in the PU layer to improve the adhesion and reduce the surface roughness of AgNWs-PU composite films. Heat treatment can melt and weld the nanowires, and NaCl and HCl solution baths promote the dissolution and re-deposition of silver and the dissolving of the polymer, both which form conduction pathways and improve contact of AgNWs for reducing the sheet resistance. Smooth and flexible AgNWs-PU composite film with a transmittance of 85% and a sheet resistance of 15 Ω · sq‑1 is obtained after treated in 0.5 wt% HCl solution bath for 60 s, and the optoelectronic properties of the resultant composite film can maintain after 1000 cycles of bending and 100 days.

Semi-transparent perovskite solar cells for tandems with silicon and CIGS

KAUST Repository

Bailie, Colin D.; Christoforo, M. Greyson; Mailoa, Jonathan P.; Bowring, Andrea R.; Unger, Eva L.; Nguyen, William H.; Burschka, Julian; Pellet, Norman; Lee, Jungwoo Z.; Grä tzel, Michael; Noufi, Rommel; Buonassisi, Tonio; Salleo, Alberto; McGehee, Michael D.

2015-01-01

solar cell. We use a transparent silver nanowire electrode on perovskite solar cells to achieve a semi-transparent device. We place the semi-transparent cell in a mechanically-stacked tandem configuration onto copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS

Comparing the fundamental physics and device performance of transparent, conductive nanostructured networks with conventional transparent conducting oxides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barnes, Teresa M.; Reese, Matthew O.; Bergeson, Jeremy D.; Larsen, Brian A.; Blackburn, Jeffrey L.; Beard, Matthew C.; Bult, Justin; Van de Lagemaat, Jao [NREL, 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden, CO 80401 (United States)

2012-03-15

Networks made of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and metallic nanowire networks, graphene, and ultra-thin metal films have all been proposed as replacements for transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) in photovoltaic and other applications. However, only limited comparisons of nanostructured networks and TCOs are available. Several common figures of merit that are often used to compare the electrical and optical performance of the transparent contacts are evaluated here, and the merits of each method of comparison are discussed. Calculating the current loss due to absorption in the TCO is the most useful metric for evaluating new materials for use in solar cells with well-defined sheet resistance requirements and known quantum efficiencies. The 'Haacke' figure of merit, {phi}{sub H}, correlates fairly well with current loss and is a good metric for evaluating electro-optical performance for more general applications. The analyses presented here demonstrate that silver nanowire networks are much closer to achieving optimal electrical and optical properties than carbon-based networks. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

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

Ultraflexible Transparent Film Heater Made of Ag Nanowire/PVA Composite for Rapid-Response Thermotherapy Pads.

Science.gov (United States)

Lan, Wei; Chen, Youxin; Yang, Zhiwei; Han, Weihua; Zhou, Jinyuan; Zhang, Yue; Wang, Junya; Tang, Guomei; Wei, Yupeng; Dou, Wei; Su, Qing; Xie, Erqing

2017-02-22

Ultraflexible transparent film heaters have been fabricated by embedding conductive silver (Ag) nanowires into a thin poly(vinyl alcohol) film (AgNW/PVA). A cold-pressing method was used to rationally adjust the sheet resistance of the composite films and thus the heating powers of the AgNW/PVA film heaters at certain biases. The film heaters have a favorable optical transmittance (93.1% at 26 Ω/sq) and an outstanding mechanical flexibility (no visible change in sheet resistance after 10 000 bending cycles and at a radius of curvature ≤1 mm). The film heaters have an environmental endurance, and there is no significant performance degradation after being kept at high temperature (80 °C) and high humidity (45 °C, 80% humidity) for half a year. The efficient Joule heating can increase the temperature of the film heaters (20 Ω/sq) to 74 °C in ∼20 s at a bias of 5 V. The fast-heating characteristics at low voltages (a few volts) associated with its transparent and flexibility properties make the poly(dimethylsiloxane)/AgNW/PVA composite film a potential candidate in medical thermotherapy pads.

Silicon nanowire-based solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stelzner, Th; Pietsch, M; Andrae, G; Falk, F; Ose, E; Christiansen, S [Institute of Photonic Technology, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 9, D-07745 Jena (Germany)], E-mail: thomas.stelzner@ipht-jena.de

2008-07-23

The fabrication of silicon nanowire-based solar cells on silicon wafers and on multicrystalline silicon thin films on glass is described. The nanowires show a strong broadband optical absorption, which makes them an interesting candidate to serve as an absorber in solar cells. The operation of a solar cell is demonstrated with n-doped nanowires grown on a p-doped silicon wafer. From a partially illuminated area of 0.6 cm{sup 2} open-circuit voltages in the range of 230-280 mV and a short-circuit current density of 2 mA cm{sup -2} were obtained.

Silicon nanowire-based solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stelzner, Th; Pietsch, M; Andrae, G; Falk, F; Ose, E; Christiansen, S

2008-01-01

The fabrication of silicon nanowire-based solar cells on silicon wafers and on multicrystalline silicon thin films on glass is described. The nanowires show a strong broadband optical absorption, which makes them an interesting candidate to serve as an absorber in solar cells. The operation of a solar cell is demonstrated with n-doped nanowires grown on a p-doped silicon wafer. From a partially illuminated area of 0.6 cm 2 open-circuit voltages in the range of 230-280 mV and a short-circuit current density of 2 mA cm -2 were obtained

One-Step Process for High-Performance, Adhesive, Flexible Transparent Conductive Films Based on p-Type Reduced Graphene Oxides and Silver Nanowires.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Yi-Ting; Tai, Nyan-Hwa

2015-08-26

This work demonstrates a one-step process to synthesize uniformly dispersed hybrid nanomaterial containing silver nanowires (AgNWs) and p-type reduced graphene (p-rGO). The hybrid nanomaterial was coated onto a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate for preparing high-performance flexible transparent conductive films (TCFs). The p-rGO plays the role of bridging discrete AgNWs, providing more electron holes and lowering the resistance of the contacted AgNWs; therefore, enhancing the electrical conductivity without sacrificing too much transparence of the TCFs. Additionally, the p-rGO also improves the adhesion between AgNWs and substrate by covering the AgNWs on the substrate tightly. The study shows that coating of the hybrid nanomaterials on the PET substrate demonstrates exceptional optoelectronic properties with a transmittance of 94.68% (at a wavelength of 550 nm) and a sheet resistance of 25.0 ± 0.8 Ω/sq. No significant variation in electric resistance can be detected even when the film was subjected to a bend loading with a radius of curvature of 5.0 mm or the film was loaded with a reciprocal tension or compression for 1000 cycles. Furthermore, both chemical corrosion resistance and haze effect were improved when p-rGO was introduced. The study shows that the fabricated flexible TCFs have the potential to replace indium tin oxide film in the optoelectronic industry.

Solar heating of GaAs nanowire solar cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Shao-Hua; Povinelli, Michelle L

2015-11-30

We use a coupled thermal-optical approach to model the operating temperature rise in GaAs nanowire solar cells. We find that despite more highly concentrated light absorption and lower thermal conductivity, the overall temperature rise in a nanowire structure is no higher than in a planar structure. Moreover, coating the nanowires with a transparent polymer can increase the radiative cooling power by 2.2 times, lowering the operating temperature by nearly 7 K.

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

Patterning of self-assembled monolayers by phase-shifting mask and its applications in large-scale assembly of nanowires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gao, Fan; Zhang, Dakuan; Wang, Jianyu; Sheng, Yun; Wang, Xinran; Chen, Kunji; Zhou, Minmin [Key Laboratory of Advanced Photonic and Electronic Materials and School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Yan, Shancheng [Key Laboratory of Advanced Photonic and Electronic Materials and School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); School of Geography and Biological Information, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210046 (China); Shen, Jiancang; Pan, Lijia; Shi, Yi, E-mail: yshi@nju.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Advanced Photonic and Electronic Materials and School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Micro-structures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China)

2015-01-26

A nonselective micropatterning method of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) based on laser and phase-shifting mask (PSM) is demonstrated. Laser beam is spatially modulated by a PSM, and periodic SAM patterns are generated sequentially through thermal desorption. Patterned wettability is achieved with alternating hydrophilic/hydrophobic stripes on octadecyltrichlorosilane monolayers. The substrate is then used to assemble CdS semiconductor nanowires (NWs) from a solution, obtaining well-aligned NWs in one step. Our results show valuably the application potential of this technique in engineering SAMs for integration of functional devices.

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.

Growth and characterization of InGaAs based nanowire-heterostructures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Treu, Julian Pascal

2017-01-01

tunability covering the technologically relevant telecommunication wavelengths. However, given their high surface-to-volume ratio, nanowire structures are especially prone to detrimental surface states, deteriorating in particular radiative efficiencies. Probing surfacestate related Fermi level pinning via detailed photoluminescence spectroscopy, we evaluate the influence of Ga-content on band bending and dominant recombination mechanism by studying as-grown nanowires covered by native oxide in comparison with nanowires free of oxide after wet-chemical treatment. In conjunction with complementary X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we identify a cross-over between surface electron accumulation for In-rich InGaAs nanowires to electron depletion for a gallium content between ∼ 20-30%. For stable passivation of deteriorating surface states higher bandgap materials are applied in radial core-shell geometry. Exploiting low surface recombination velocity and existing doping proficiency of InAsP, we establish a hybrid process combining MBE grown InAs core structures surrounded by metal organic vapor deposited (MOCVD) InAsP layers. This directly induces an increase in emission intensity by up to two orders of magnitude that can be related to high interface quality, as further corroborated by detailed TEM analysis of cross-sectional lamella structures. By systematically tuning thickness and phosphorus content we tune core-emission energies via strain-induced peak shifts and elucidate detrimental effects of plastic relaxation upon too high lattice mismatch. Introducing fully latticematched InGaAs-InAlAs heterostructures, such undesired strain accumulation and accompanied defect formation can be avoided, reflected by the absence of any strain-induced spectral shifts in peak emission energy and confirmed by high-resolution X-ray reciprocal space maps (strain ε core < 0.1%). As entirely in-situ based MBE process, exposure to ambient conditions is no longer required, further enhancing

Optical Sensing with Simultaneous Electrochemical Control in Metal Nanowire Arrays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janos Vörös

2010-11-01

Full Text Available This work explores the alternative use of noble metal nanowire systems in large-scale array configurations to exploit both the nanowires’ conductive nature and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR. The first known nanowire-based system has been constructed, with which optical signals are influenced by the simultaneous application of electrochemical potentials. Optical characterization of nanowire arrays was performed by measuring the bulk refractive index sensitivity and the limit of detection. The formation of an electrical double layer was controlled in NaCl solutions to study the effect of local refractive index changes on the spectral response. Resonance peak shifts of over 4 nm, a bulk refractive index sensitivity up to 115 nm/RIU and a limit of detection as low as 4.5 × 10−4 RIU were obtained for gold nanowire arrays. Simulations with the Multiple Multipole Program (MMP confirm such bulk refractive index sensitivities. Initial experiments demonstrated successful optical biosensing using a novel form of particle-based nanowire arrays. In addition, the formation of an ionic layer (Stern-layer upon applying an electrochemical potential was also monitored by the shift of the plasmon resonance.

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.

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

Electrospun Metal Nanofiber Webs as High-Performance Transparent Electrode

KAUST Repository

Wu, Hui

2010-10-13

Transparent electrodes, indespensible in displays and solar cells, are currently dominated by indium tin oxide (ITO) films although the high price of indium, brittleness of films, and high vacuum deposition are limiting their applications. Recently, solution-processed networks of nanostructures such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene, and silver nanowires have attracted great attention as replacements. A low junction resistance between nanostructures is important for decreasing the sheet resistance. However, the junction resistances between CNTs and boundry resistances between graphene nanostructures are too high. The aspect ratios of silver nanowires are limited to ∼100, and silver is relatively expensive. Here, we show high-performance transparent electrodes with copper nanofiber networks by a low-cost and scalable electrospinning process. Copper nanofibers have ultrahigh aspect ratios of up to 100000 and fused crossing points with ultralow junction resistances, which result in high transmitance at low sheet resistance, e.g., 90% at 50 Ω/sq. The copper nanofiber networks also show great flexibility and stretchabilty. Organic solar cells using copper nanowire networks as transparent electrodes have a power efficiency of 3.0%, comparable to devices made with ITO electrodes. © 2010 American Chemical Society.

Electrospun Metal Nanofiber Webs as High-Performance Transparent Electrode

KAUST Repository

Wu, Hui; Hu, Liangbing; Rowell, Michael W.; Kong, Desheng; Cha, Judy J.; McDonough, James R.; Zhu, Jia; Yang, Yuan; McGehee, Michael D.; Cui, Yi

2010-01-01

Transparent electrodes, indespensible in displays and solar cells, are currently dominated by indium tin oxide (ITO) films although the high price of indium, brittleness of films, and high vacuum deposition are limiting their applications. Recently, solution-processed networks of nanostructures such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene, and silver nanowires have attracted great attention as replacements. A low junction resistance between nanostructures is important for decreasing the sheet resistance. However, the junction resistances between CNTs and boundry resistances between graphene nanostructures are too high. The aspect ratios of silver nanowires are limited to ∼100, and silver is relatively expensive. Here, we show high-performance transparent electrodes with copper nanofiber networks by a low-cost and scalable electrospinning process. Copper nanofibers have ultrahigh aspect ratios of up to 100000 and fused crossing points with ultralow junction resistances, which result in high transmitance at low sheet resistance, e.g., 90% at 50 Ω/sq. The copper nanofiber networks also show great flexibility and stretchabilty. Organic solar cells using copper nanowire networks as transparent electrodes have a power efficiency of 3.0%, comparable to devices made with ITO electrodes. © 2010 American Chemical Society.

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.

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.

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

Direct Growth of III-Nitride Nanowire-Based Yellow Light-Emitting Diode on Amorphous Quartz Using Thin Ti Interlayer

KAUST Repository

Prabaswara, Aditya; Min, Jung-Wook; Zhao, Chao; Janjua, Bilal; Zhang, Daliang; Albadri, Abdulrahman M.; Alyamani, Ahmed Y.; Ng, Tien Khee; Ooi, Boon S.

2018-01-01

.6 V, on an amorphous quartz substrate. We achieved ~ 40% transparency across the visible wavelength while maintaining electrical conductivity by employing a TiN/Ti interlayer on quartz as a translucent conducting layer. The nanowire-on-quartz LED emits

Thermal residual stress evaluation based on phase-shift lateral shearing interferometry

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Xiangjun; Yun, Hai; Shao, Xinxing; Wang, Yanxia; Zhang, Donghuan; Yang, Fujun; He, Xiaoyuan

2018-06-01

An interesting phase-shift lateral shearing interferometry system was proposed to evaluate the thermal residual stress distribution in transparent specimen. The phase-shift interferograms was generated by moving a parallel plane plate. Based on analyzing the fringes deflected by deformation and refractive index change, the stress distribution can be obtained. To verify the validity of the proposed method, a typical experiment was elaborately designed to determine thermal residual stresses of a transparent PMMA plate subjected to the flame of a lighter. The sum of in-plane stress distribution was demonstrated. The experimental data were compared with values measured by digital gradient sensing method. Comparison of the results reveals the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method.

Transparent conductive oxides and alternative transparent electrodes for organic photovoltaics and OLEDs; Transparente leitfaehige Elektroden. Oxide und alternative Materialien fuer die organische Photovoltaik und OLEDs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mueller-Meskamp, Lars; Sachse, Christoph; Kim, Yong Hyun; Furno, Mauro [Technische Univ. Dresden (DE). Inst. fuer Angewandte Photophysik (IAPP); May, Christian [Fraunhofer Institut fuer Photonische Mikrosysteme (IPMS), Dresden (Germany); Leo, Karl [Technische Univ. Dresden (DE). Inst. fuer Angewandte Photophysik (IAPP); Fraunhofer Institut fuer Photonische Mikrosysteme (IPMS), Dresden (Germany)

2012-08-15

Organic, photoactive devices, such as OLEDs or organic solar cells, currently use indium tin oxide (ITO) as transparent electrode. Whereas ITO is industry-proven for many years and shows very good electrical and optical properties, its application for low-cost and flexible devices might not be optimal. For such applications innovative technologies such as network-based metal nanowire or carbon nanotube electrodes, graphene, conductive polymers, metal thin-films and alternative transparent conductive oxides emerge. Although some of these technologies are rather experimental and far from application, some of them have the potential to replace ITO in selected applications. (orig.)

Controlling the exciton energy of a nanowire quantum dot by strain fields

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Yan; Zhang, Jiaxiang; Ding, Fei, E-mail: f.ding@ifw-dresden.de [Institute for Integrative Nanosciences, IFW Dresden, Helmholtz Strasse 20, 01069 Dresden (Germany); Zadeh, Iman Esmaeil; Jöns, Klaus D.; Fognini, Andreas; Zwiller, Val [Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, 2600 GA Delft (Netherlands); Reimer, Michael E. [Institute for Quantum Computing and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, N2L 3G1 (Canada); Dalacu, Dan; Poole, Philip J. [National Research Council, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6 (Canada); Schmidt, Oliver G. [Institute for Integrative Nanosciences, IFW Dresden, Helmholtz Strasse 20, 01069 Dresden (Germany); Material Systems for Nanoelectronics, Chemnitz University of Technology, Reichenhainer Strasse 70, 09107 Chemnitz (Germany)

2016-05-02

We present an experimental route to engineer the exciton energies of single quantum dots in nanowires. By integrating the nanowires onto a piezoelectric crystal, we controllably apply strain fields to the nanowire quantum dots. Consequently, the exciton energy of a single quantum dot in the nanowire is shifted by several meVs without degrading its optical intensity and single-photon purity. Second-order autocorrelation measurements are performed at different strain fields on the same nanowire quantum dot. The suppressed multi-photon events at zero time delay clearly verify that the quantum nature of single-photon emission is well preserved under external strain fields. The work presented here could facilitate on-chip optical quantum information processing with the nanowire based single photon emitters.

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.

Silicon-on-Insulator Nanowire Based Optical Waveguide Biosensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Mingyu; Liu, Yong; Chen, Yangqing; He, Jian-Jun

2016-01-01

Optical waveguide biosensors based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) nanowire have been developed for label free molecular detection. This paper reviews our work on the design, fabrication and measurement of SOI nanowire based high-sensitivity biosensors employing Vernier effect. Biosensing experiments using cascaded double-ring sensor and Mach-Zehnder- ring sensor integrated with microfluidic channels are demonstrated (paper)

Laser-induced single point nanowelding of silver nanowires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dai, Shuowei; Li, Qiang, E-mail: qiangli@zju.edu.cn; Liu, Guoping; Yang, Hangbo; Yang, Yuanqing; Zhao, Ding; Wang, Wei; Qiu, Min, E-mail: minqiu@zju.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027 (China)

2016-03-21

Nanowelding of nanomaterials opens up an emerging set of applications in transparent conductors, thin-film solar cells, nanocatalysis, cancer therapy, and nanoscale patterning. Single point nanowelding (SPNW) is highly demanded for building complex nanostructures. In this letter, the precise control of SPNW of silver nanowires is explored in depth, where the nanowelding is laser-induced through the plasmonic resonance enhanced photothermal effect. It is shown that the illumination position is a critical factor for the nanowelding process. As an example of performance enhancement, output at wire end can be increased by 65% after welding for a plasmonic nanocoupler. Thus, single point nanowelding technique shows great potentials for high-performance electronic and photonic devices based on nanowires, such as nanoelectronic circuits and plasmonic nanodevices.

Laser-induced single point nanowelding of silver nanowires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dai, Shuowei; Li, Qiang; Liu, Guoping; Yang, Hangbo; Yang, Yuanqing; Zhao, Ding; Wang, Wei; Qiu, Min

2016-01-01

Nanowelding of nanomaterials opens up an emerging set of applications in transparent conductors, thin-film solar cells, nanocatalysis, cancer therapy, and nanoscale patterning. Single point nanowelding (SPNW) is highly demanded for building complex nanostructures. In this letter, the precise control of SPNW of silver nanowires is explored in depth, where the nanowelding is laser-induced through the plasmonic resonance enhanced photothermal effect. It is shown that the illumination position is a critical factor for the nanowelding process. As an example of performance enhancement, output at wire end can be increased by 65% after welding for a plasmonic nanocoupler. Thus, single point nanowelding technique shows great potentials for high-performance electronic and photonic devices based on nanowires, such as nanoelectronic circuits and plasmonic nanodevices.

Moessbauer study of Fe-Co nanowires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen Ziyu [Key Laboratory for Magnetism and Magnetic Materials of the Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou (China)]. E-mail: chenzy@lzu.edu.cn; Zhan Qingfeng; Xue Desheng; Li Fashen [Key Laboratory for Magnetism and Magnetic Materials of the Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou (China); Zhou Xuezhi; Kunkel, Henry; Williams, Gwyn [Department of Physics and Astronomy, the University of Manitoba (Canada)

2002-01-28

Arrays of Fe{sub 1-x}Co{sub x} (0.0{<=}x{<=}0.92) nanowires have been prepared by an electrochemical process, co-depositing Fe and Co atoms into the pores of anodic aluminium; their compositions were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Transmission electron microscope results show that the nanowires are regularly spaced and uniform in shape with lengths of about 7.5 {mu}m and diameters of 20 nm. The x-ray diffraction indicates a texture in the deposited nanowires. For the composition below 82 at.% cobalt, the nanowires had a body-centred-cubic structure with a [110] preferred orientation. For the 92 at.% cobalt sample, the alloy exhibited a mixture of bcc and face-centred-cubic structure. The room temperature {sup 57}Fe Moessbauer spectra of the arrays of Fe{sub 1-x}Co{sub x} nanowires have second and fifth absorption lines of the six-line pattern with almost zero intensity, indicating that the internal magnetic field in the nanowires lies along the long axis of the nanowire. The maximum values of the hyperfine field (B{sub hf} 36.6{+-}0.1 T) and isomer shift (IS=0.06{+-}0.01 mm s-1) occur for 44 at.% cobalt. The variations of the isomer shift and the linewidths with composition indicate that the Fe{sub 1-x}Co{sub x} alloy nanowires around the equiatomic composition are in an atomistic disordered state. (author)

Printable Transparent Conductive Films for Flexible Electronics.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Dongdong; Lai, Wen-Yong; Zhang, Yi-Zhou; Huang, Wei

2018-03-01

Printed electronics are an important enabling technology for the development of low-cost, large-area, and flexible optoelectronic devices. Transparent conductive films (TCFs) made from solution-processable transparent conductive materials, such as metal nanoparticles/nanowires, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and conductive polymers, can simultaneously exhibit high mechanical flexibility, low cost, and better photoelectric properties compared to the commonly used sputtered indium-tin-oxide-based TCFs, and are thus receiving great attention. This Review summarizes recent advances of large-area flexible TCFs enabled by several roll-to-roll-compatible printed techniques including inkjet printing, screen printing, offset printing, and gravure printing using the emerging transparent conductive materials. The preparation of TCFs including ink formulation, substrate treatment, patterning, and postprocessing, and their potential applications in solar cells, organic light-emitting diodes, and touch panels are discussed in detail. The rational combination of a variety of printed techniques with emerging transparent conductive materials is believed to extend the opportunities for the development of printed electronics within the realm of flexible electronics and beyond. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Facile Synthesis of Ultralong and Thin Copper Nanowires and Its Application to High-Performance Flexible Transparent Conductive Electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yaxiong; Liu, Ping; Zeng, Baoqing; Liu, Liming; Yang, Jianjun

2018-03-01

A hydrothermal method for synthesizing ultralong and thin copper nanowires (CuNWs) with average diameter of 35 nm and average length of 100 μm is demonstrated in this paper. The concerning raw materials include copric (II) chloride dihydrate (CuCl2·2H2O), octadecylamine (ODA), and ascorbic acid, which are all very cheap and nontoxic. The effect of different reaction time and different molar ratios to the reaction products were researched. The CuNWs prepared by the hydrothermal method were applied to fabricate CuNW transparent conductive electrode (TCE), which exhibited excellent conductivity-transmittance performance with low sheet resistance of 26.23 Ω /\\square and high transparency at 550 nm of 89.06% (excluding Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate). The electrode fabrication process was carried out at room temperature, and there was no need for post-treatment. In order to decrease roughness and protect CuNW TCEs against being oxidized, we fabricated CuNW/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) hybrid TCEs (HTCEs) using PMMA solution. The CuNW/PMMA HTCEs exhibited low surface roughness and chemical stability as compared with CuNW TCEs.

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.

Tuning electronic properties of In2O3 nanowires by doping control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lei, B.; Li, C.; Zhang, D.; Tang, D.; Zhou, C.

2004-01-01

We present two effective routes to tune the electronic properties of single-crystalline In 2 O 3 nanowires by controlling the doping. The first method involves using different O 2 concentrations during the synthesis. Lightly (heavily) doped nanowires were produced by using high (low) O 2 concentrations, respectively, as revealed by the conductances and threshold voltages of nanowire-based field-effect transistors. Our second method exploits post-synthesis baking, as baking heavily doped nanowires in ambient air led to suppressed conduction and a positive shift of the threshold voltage, whereas baking lightly doped nanowires in vacuum displayed the opposite behavior. Our approaches offer viable ways to tune the electronic properties of many nonstoichiometric metal oxide systems such as In 2 O 3 , SnO 2 , and ZnO nanowires for various applications

Analogue of electromagnetically-induced-transparency based on graphene nanotube waveguide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei, Buzheng; Jian, Shuisheng

2017-01-01

A graphene-based nanotube waveguide system is proposed and designed to realize the analogue of electromagnetically-induced-transparency. The two nanotubes act as side coupled cavity rings which can be treated as the bright and dark resonators. By mimicking the quantum nonlinear optical interference, the light at resonant frequency makes the opaque system transparent. Conveniently, the working transparency window can be dynamically controlled by shifting the Fermi energy level of graphene without refabricating the device. Furthermore, the shape of the transmission spectrum can be tuned either by adjusting the waveguide coupling distance or by the cavity ring coupling distance. If the ring radius gets bigger, higher order of modes are excited in the dark resonator consequently. Meaningfully, the light travels at resonant frequency can be efficiently slowed down and the highest group delay reaches 25 ps. In the end, some concerns about the practical realization of such device are discussed. The structure may find potential applications in nano technology or light storage field. (paper)

Nanowire FET Based Neural Element for Robotic Tactile Sensing Skin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William Taube Navaraj

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This paper presents novel Neural Nanowire Field Effect Transistors (υ-NWFETs based hardware-implementable neural network (HNN approach for tactile data processing in electronic skin (e-skin. The viability of Si nanowires (NWs as the active material for υ-NWFETs in HNN is explored through modeling and demonstrated by fabricating the first device. Using υ-NWFETs to realize HNNs is an interesting approach as by printing NWs on large area flexible substrates it will be possible to develop a bendable tactile skin with distributed neural elements (for local data processing, as in biological skin in the backplane. The modeling and simulation of υ-NWFET based devices show that the overlapping areas between individual gates and the floating gate determines the initial synaptic weights of the neural network - thus validating the working of υ-NWFETs as the building block for HNN. The simulation has been further extended to υ-NWFET based circuits and neuronal computation system and this has been validated by interfacing it with a transparent tactile skin prototype (comprising of 6 × 6 ITO based capacitive tactile sensors array integrated on the palm of a 3D printed robotic hand. In this regard, a tactile data coding system is presented to detect touch gesture and the direction of touch. Following these simulation studies, a four-gated υ-NWFET is fabricated with Pt/Ti metal stack for gates, source and drain, Ni floating gate, and Al2O3 high-k dielectric layer. The current-voltage characteristics of fabricated υ-NWFET devices confirm the dependence of turn-off voltages on the (synaptic weight of each gate. The presented υ-NWFET approach is promising for a neuro-robotic tactile sensory system with distributed computing as well as numerous futuristic applications such as prosthetics, and electroceuticals.

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

ZnO nanowire-based glucose biosensors with different coupling agents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jung, Juneui [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of); Lim, Sangwoo, E-mail: swlim@yonsei.ac.kr [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of)

2013-01-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Fabrication of ZnO nanowire-based glucose biosensors using different coupling agents. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Highest sensitivity for (3-aminopropyl)methyldiethoxysilane-treated biosensor. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Larger amount of glucose oxidase and lower electron transfer resistance for (3-aminopropyl)methyldiethoxysilane-treated biosensor. - Abstract: ZnO-nanowire-based glucose biosensors were fabricated by immobilizing glucose oxidase (GOx) onto a linker attached to ZnO nanowires. Different coupling agents were used, namely (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (APTMS), (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES), and (3-aminopropyl)methyldiethoxysilane (APS), to increase the affinity of GOx binding to ZnO nanowires. The amount of GOx immobilized on the ZnO nanowires, the performance, sensitivity, and Michaelis-Menten constant of each biosensor, and the electron transfer resistance through the biosensor were all measured in order to investigate the effect of the coupling agent on the ZnO nanowire-based biosensor. Among the different biosensors, the APS-treated biosensor had the highest sensitivity (17.72 {mu}A cm{sup -2} mM{sup -1}) and the lowest Michaelis-Menten constant (1.37 mM). Since APS-treated ZnO nanowires showed the largest number of C-N groups and the lowest electron transfer resistance through the biosensor, we concluded that these properties were the key factors in the performance of APS-treated glucose biosensors.

ZnO nanowire-based glucose biosensors with different coupling agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Juneui; Lim, Sangwoo

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Fabrication of ZnO nanowire-based glucose biosensors using different coupling agents. ► Highest sensitivity for (3-aminopropyl)methyldiethoxysilane-treated biosensor. ► Larger amount of glucose oxidase and lower electron transfer resistance for (3-aminopropyl)methyldiethoxysilane-treated biosensor. - Abstract: ZnO-nanowire-based glucose biosensors were fabricated by immobilizing glucose oxidase (GOx) onto a linker attached to ZnO nanowires. Different coupling agents were used, namely (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (APTMS), (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES), and (3-aminopropyl)methyldiethoxysilane (APS), to increase the affinity of GOx binding to ZnO nanowires. The amount of GOx immobilized on the ZnO nanowires, the performance, sensitivity, and Michaelis–Menten constant of each biosensor, and the electron transfer resistance through the biosensor were all measured in order to investigate the effect of the coupling agent on the ZnO nanowire-based biosensor. Among the different biosensors, the APS-treated biosensor had the highest sensitivity (17.72 μA cm −2 mM −1 ) and the lowest Michaelis–Menten constant (1.37 mM). Since APS-treated ZnO nanowires showed the largest number of C-N groups and the lowest electron transfer resistance through the biosensor, we concluded that these properties were the key factors in the performance of APS-treated glucose biosensors.

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.

Silicon Nanowires for All-Optical Signal Processing in Optical Communication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pu, Minhao; Hu, Hao; Ji, Hua

2012-01-01

Silicon (Si), the second most abundant element on earth, has dominated in microelectronics for many decades. It can also be used for photonic devices due to its transparency in the range of optical telecom wavelengths which will enable a platform for a monolithic integration of optics...... and microelectronics. Silicon photonic nanowire waveguides fabricated on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates are crucial elements in nano-photonic integrated circuits. The strong light confinement in nanowires induced by high index contrast SOI material enhances the nonlinear effects in the silicon nanowire core...... such as four-wave mixing (FWM) which is an imperative process for optical signal processing. Since the current mature silicon fabrication technology enables a precise dimension control on nanowires, dispersion engineering can be performed by tailoring nanowire dimensions to realize an efficient nonlinear...

Designing and building nanowires: directed nanocrystal self-assembly into radically branched and zigzag PbS nanowires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Fan; Ma Xin; Gerlein, L Felipe; Cloutier, Sylvain G

2011-01-01

Lead sulfide nanowires with controllable optoelectronic properties would be promising building blocks for various applications. Here, we report the hot colloidal synthesis of radically branched and zigzag nanowires through self-attachment of star-shaped and octahedral nanocrystals in the presence of multiple surfactants. We obtained high-quality single-crystal nanowires with uniform diameter along the entire length, and the size of the nanowire can be tuned by tailoring the reaction parameters. This slow oriented attachment provides a better understanding of the intricacies of this complex nanocrystal assembly process. Meanwhile, these self-assembled nanowire structures have appealing lateral conformations with narrow side arms or highly faceted edges, where strong quantum confinement can occur. Consequently, the single-crystal nanowire structures exhibit strong photoluminescence in the near-infrared region with a large blue-shift compared to the bulk material.

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.

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

Modeling of surface stress effects on bending behavior of nanowires: Incremental deformation theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, F.; Huang, G.L.

2009-01-01

The surface stress effects on bending behavior of nanowires have recently attracted a lot of attention. In this letter, the incremental deformation theory is first applied to study the surface stress effects upon the bending behavior of the nanowires. Different from other linear continuum approaches, the local geometrical nonlinearity of the Lagrangian strain is considered, therefore, the contribution of the surface stresses is naturally derived by applying the Hamilton's principle, and influence of the surface stresses along all surfaces of the nanowires is captured. It is first shown that the surface stresses along all surfaces have contribution not only on the effective Young's modulus of the nanowires but also on the loading term in the governing equation. The predictions of the effective Young's modulus and the resonance shift of the nanowires from the current method are compared with those from the experimental measurement and other existing approaches. The difference with other models is discussed. Finally, based on the current theory, the resonant shift predictions by using both the modified Euler-Bernoulli beam and the modified Timoshenko beam theories of the nanowires are investigated and compared. It is noticed that the higher vibration modes are less sensitive to the surface stresses than the lower vibration modes.

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.

Transparency in port-Hamiltonian based telemanipulation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Secchi, C; Stramigioli, Stefano; Fantuzzi, C.

2005-01-01

After stability, transparency is the major issue in the design of a telemanipulation system. In this paper we exploit a behavioral approach in order to provide an index for the evaluation of transparency in port-Hamiltonian based teleoperators. Furthermore we provide a transparency analysis of

Transparency in Port-Hamiltonian-Based Telemanipulation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Secchi, Cristian; Stramigioli, Stefano; Fantuzzi, Cesare

After stability, transparency is the major issue in the design of a telemanipulation system. In this paper, we exploit the behavioral approach in order to provide an index for the evaluation of transparency in port-Hamiltonian-based teleoperators. Furthermore, we provide a transparency analysis of

Bend, stretch, and touch: Locating a finger on an actively deformed transparent sensor array.

Science.gov (United States)

Sarwar, Mirza Saquib; Dobashi, Yuta; Preston, Claire; Wyss, Justin K M; Mirabbasi, Shahriar; Madden, John David Wyndham

2017-03-01

The development of bendable, stretchable, and transparent touch sensors is an emerging technological goal in a variety of fields, including electronic skin, wearables, and flexible handheld devices. Although transparent tactile sensors based on metal mesh, carbon nanotubes, and silver nanowires demonstrate operation in bent configurations, we present a technology that extends the operation modes to the sensing of finger proximity including light touch during active bending and even stretching. This is accomplished using stretchable and ionically conductive hydrogel electrodes, which project electric field above the sensor to couple with and sense a finger. The polyacrylamide electrodes are embedded in silicone. These two widely available, low-cost, transparent materials are combined in a three-step manufacturing technique that is amenable to large-area fabrication. The approach is demonstrated using a proof-of-concept 4 × 4 cross-grid sensor array with a 5-mm pitch. The approach of a finger hovering a few centimeters above the array is readily detectable. Light touch produces a localized decrease in capacitance of 15%. The movement of a finger can be followed across the array, and the location of multiple fingers can be detected. Touch is detectable during bending and stretch, an important feature of any wearable device. The capacitive sensor design can be made more or less sensitive to bending by shifting it relative to the neutral axis. Ultimately, the approach is adaptable to the detection of proximity, touch, pressure, and even the conformation of the sensor surface.

Fabrication of a Combustion-Reacted High-Performance ZnO Electron Transport Layer with Silver Nanowire Electrodes for Organic Solar Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Minkyu; Lee, Sang-Hoon; Kim, Donghyuk; Kang, Juhoon; Lee, Jung-Yong; Han, Seung Min

2018-02-28

Herein, a new methodology for solution-processed ZnO fabrication on Ag nanowire network electrode via combustion reaction is reported, where the amount of heat emitted during combustion was minimized by controlling the reaction temperature to avoid damaging the underlying Ag nanowires. The degree of participation of acetylacetones, which are volatile fuels in the combustion reaction, was found to vary with the reaction temperature, as revealed by thermogravimetric and compositional analyses. An optimized processing temperature of 180 °C was chosen to successfully fabricate a combustion-reacted ZnO and Ag nanowire hybrid electrode with a sheet resistance of 30 Ω/sq and transmittance of 87%. A combustion-reacted ZnO on Ag nanowire hybrid structure was demonstrated as an efficient transparent electrode and electron transport layer for the PTB7-Th-based polymer solar cells. The superior electrical conductivity of combustion-reacted ZnO, compared to that of conventional sol-gel ZnO, increased the external quantum efficiency over the entire absorption range, whereas a unique light scattering effect due to the presence of nanopores in the combustion-derived ZnO further enhanced the external quantum efficiency in the 450-550 nm wavelength range. A power conversion efficiency of 8.48% was demonstrated for the PTB7-Th-based polymer solar cell with the use of a combustion-reacted ZnO/Ag NW hybrid transparent electrode.

Transparent conductor based on aluminum nanomesh

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kazarkin, B; Mohammed, A S; Stsiapanau, A; Zhuk, S; Satskevich, Y; Smirnov, A

2014-01-01

We report a transparent conductor based on Al nanomesh, which was fabricated through Al anodization and etching processes. The Al anodization was performed at low temperature condition to slow down the anodization rate to achieve the well-controlled thickness of an Al nanomesh. By careful controlling of the anodization process, we can fabricate Al nanomesh transparent conductors with different sheet resistance and optical transparency in the visible spectrum range. We shall show that Al nanomesh transparent conductor is a strong contender for a transparent conductor dominated by ITO

Template-assisted fabrication of tin and antimony based nanowire arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Zaraska, Leszek; Kurowska, Elżbieta; Sulka, Grzegorz D.; Jaskuła, Marian

2012-10-01

Antimony nanowires with diameters ranging from 35 nm to 320 nm were successfully prepared by simple, galvanostatic electrodeposition inside the pores of anodic alumina membranes from a citrate based electrolyte. The use of the potassium antimonyl tartrate electrolyte for electrodeposition results in the formation of Sb/Sb2O3 nanowires. The structural features of the nanowire arrays were investigated by FE-SEM, and the nanowire composition was confirmed by EDS and XRD measurements. A distinct peak at about 27.5° in the XRD pattern recorded for nanowires formed in the tartrate electrolyte was attributed to the presence of co-deposited Sb2O3. Three types of dense arrays of Sn-SnSb nanowires with diameters ranging from 82 nm to 325 nm were also synthesized by DC galvanostatic electrodeposition into the anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes for the first time. Only Sn and SnSb peaks appeared in the XRD pattern and both phases seem to have a relatively high degree of crystallinity. The influence of current density applied during electrodeposition on the composition of nanowires was investigated. It was found that the Sb content in fabricated nanowires decreases with increasing current density. The diameters of all synthesized nanowires roughly correspond to the dimensions of the nanochannels of AAO templates used for electrodeposition.

Wave-function analysis of dynamic cancellation of ac Stark shifts in optical lattice clocks by use of pulsed Raman and electromagnetically-induced-transparency techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoon, Tai Hyun

2007-01-01

We study analytically the dynamic cancellation of ac Stark shift in the recently proposed pulsed electromagnetically-induced-transparency (EIT-)Raman optical lattice clock based on the wave-function formalism. An explicit expression for the time evolution operator corresponding to the effective two-level interaction Hamiltonian has been obtained in order to explain the atomic phase shift cancellation due to the ac Stark shift induced by the time-separated laser pulses. We present how to determine an optimum value of the common detuning of the driving fields at which the atomic phase shift cancels completely with the parameters for the practical realization of the EIT-Raman optical lattice clock with alkaline-earth-metal atoms

Focused ion beam patterning to dielectrophoretically assemble single nanowire based devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

La Ferrara, V; Massera, E; Francia, G Di; Alfano, B

2010-01-01

Direct-write processing is increasingly taking place in nanodevice fabrication. In this work, Focused Ion Beam (FIB), a powerful tool in maskless micromachining, is used for electrode patterning onto a silicon/silicon nitride substrate. Then a single palladium nanowire is assembled between electrodes by means of dielectrophoresis (DEP). The nanowire morphology depends on the electrode pattern when DEP conditions are fixed. FIB/DEP combination overcomes the problem of nanowire electrical contamination due to gallium ion bombardment and the as-grown nanowire retains its basic electrical properties. Single nanowire based devices have been fabricated with this novel approach and have been tested as hydrogen sensors, confirming the reliability of this technology.

Optical Design of Textured Thin-Film CIGS Solar Cells with Nearly-Invisible Nanowire Assisted Front Contacts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Deelen, J. van; Omar, A.; Barink, M.

2017-01-01

The conductivity of transparent front contacts can be improved by patterned metallic nanowires, albeit at the cost of optical loss. The associated optical penalty can be strongly reduced by texturization of the cell stack. Remarkably, the nanowires themselves are not textured and not covered in our

Development of a Novel Transparent Flexible Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Da-Chen Pang

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the world’s first transparent flexible capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT that was fabricated through a roll-lamination technique. This polymer-based CMUT has advantages of transparency, flexibility, and non-contacting detection which provide unique functions in display panel applications. Comprising an indium tin oxide-polyethylene terephthalate (ITO-PET substrate, SU-8 sidewall and vibrating membranes, and silver nanowire transparent electrode, the transducer has visible-light transmittance exceeding 80% and can operate on curved surfaces with a 40 mm radius of curvature. Unlike the traditional silicon-based high temperature process, the CMUT can be fabricated on a flexible substrate at a temperature below 100 °C to reduce residual stress introduced at high temperature. The CMUT on the curved surfaces can detect a flat target and finger at distances up to 50 mm and 40 mm, respectively. The transparent flexible CMUT provides a better human-machine interface than existing touch panels because it can be integrated with a display panel for non-contacting control in a health conscious environment and the flexible feature is critical for curved display and wearable electronics.

Self-catalyzed growth of dilute nitride GaAs/GaAsSbN/GaAs core-shell nanowires by molecular beam epitaxy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kasanaboina, Pavan Kumar [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, North Carolina A& T State University, Greensboro, North Carolina 27411 (United States); Ahmad, Estiak [Nanoengineering, Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, NCA& T State University, Greensboro, North Carolina 27401 (United States); Li, Jia; Iyer, Shanthi [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, North Carolina A& T State University, Greensboro, North Carolina 27411 (United States); Nanoengineering, Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, NCA& T State University, Greensboro, North Carolina 27401 (United States); Reynolds, C. Lewis; Liu, Yang [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States)

2015-09-07

Bandgap tuning up to 1.3 μm in GaAsSb based nanowires by incorporation of dilute amount of N is reported. Highly vertical GaAs/GaAsSbN/GaAs core-shell configured nanowires were grown for different N contents on Si (111) substrates using plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed close lattice matching of GaAsSbN with GaAs. Micro-photoluminescence (μ-PL) revealed red shift as well as broadening of the spectra attesting to N incorporation in the nanowires. Replication of the 4K PL spectra for several different single nanowires compared to the corresponding nanowire array suggests good compositional homogeneity amongst the nanowires. A large red shift of the Raman spectrum and associated symmetric line shape in these nanowires have been attributed to phonon localization at point defects. Transmission electron microscopy reveals the dominance of stacking faults and twins in these nanowires. The lower strain present in these dilute nitride nanowires, as opposed to GaAsSb nanowires having the same PL emission wavelength, and the observation of room temperature PL demonstrate the advantage of the dilute nitride system offers in the nanowire configuration, providing a pathway for realizing nanoscale optoelectronic devices in the telecommunication wavelength region.

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.

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.

Solution-Processable transparent conducting electrodes via the self-assembly of silver nanowires for organic photovoltaic devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Tugba Camic, B; Jeong Shin, Hee; Hasan Aslan, M; Basarir, Fevzihan; Choi, Hyosung

2018-02-15

Solution-processed transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) were fabricated via the self-assembly deposition of silver nanowires (Ag NWs). Glass substrates modified with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) and (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane (MPTES) were coated with Ag NWs for various deposition times, leading to three different Ag NWs samples (APTES-Ag NWs (PVP), MPTES-Ag NWs (PVP), and APTES-Ag NWs (COOH)). Controlling the deposition time produced Ag NWs monolayer thin films with different optical transmittance and sheet resistance. Post-annealing treatment improved their electrical conductivity. The Ag NWs films were successfully characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy and four-point probe. Three Ag NWs films exhibited low sheet resistance of 4-19Ω/sq and high optical transmittance of 65-81% (at 550nm), which are comparable to those of commercial ITO electrode. We fabricated an organic photovoltaic device by using Ag NWs as the anode instead of ITO electrode, and optimized device with Ag NWs exhibited power conversion efficiency of 1.72%. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Synthesis and cathodoluminescence of Sb/P co-doped GaN nanowires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Zaien; Liu, Baodan; Yuan, Fang; Hu, Tao; Zhang, Guifeng; Dierre, Benjamin; Hirosaki, Naoto; Sekiguchi, Takashi; Jiang, Xin

2014-01-01

Sb/P co-doped Gallium Nitride (GaN) nanowires were synthesized via a simple chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process by heating Ga 2 O 3 and Sb powders in NH 3 atmosphere. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) measurements confirmed the as-synthesized products were Sb/P co-doped GaN nanowires with rough morphology and hexagonal wurtzite structure. Room temperature cathodoluminescence (CL) demonstrated that an obvious band shift of GaN nanowires can be observed due to Sb/P co-doping. Possible explanation for the growth and luminescence mechanism of Sb/P co-doped GaN nanowires was discussed. Highlight: • Sb/P co-doped GaN nanowires were synthesized through a well-designed multi-channel chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. • Sb/P co-doping leads to the crystallinity deterioration of GaN nanowires. • Sb/P co-doping caused the red-shift of GaN nanowires band-gap in UV range. • Compared with Sb doping, P atoms are more easy to incorporate into the GaN lattice

Increased short circuit current in organic photovoltaic using high-surface area electrode based on ZnO nanowires decorated with CdTe quantum dots.

Science.gov (United States)

Aga, R S; Gunther, D; Ueda, A; Pan, Z; Collins, W E; Mu, R; Singer, K D

2009-11-18

A photosensitized high-surface area transparent electrode has been employed to increase the short circuit current of a photovoltaic device with a blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and (6,6)-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) as the active layer. This is achieved by directly growing ZnO nanowires on indium tin oxide (ITO) film via a physical vapor method. The nanowire surface is then decorated with CdTe quantum dots by pulsed electron-beam deposition (PED). The nanowires alone provided a 20-fold increase in the short circuit current under visible light illumination. This was further increased by a factor of approximately 1.5 by the photosensitization effect of CdTe, which has an optical absorption of up to 820 nm.

The dependence of the optoelectrical properties of silver nanowire networks on nanowire length and diameter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sorel, Sophie; Lyons, Philip E; De, Sukanta; Coleman, Jonathan N; Dickerson, Janet C

2012-01-01

We have characterized the optoelectrical properties of networks of silver nanowires as a function of nanowire dimension by measuring transmittance (T) and sheet resistance (R s ) for a large number of networks of different thicknesses fabricated from wires of different diameters (D) and lengths (L). We have analysed these data using both bulk-like and percolative models. We find the network DC conductivity to scale linearly with wire length while the optical conductivity is approximately invariant with nanowire length. The ratio of DC to optical conductivity, often taken as a figure of merit for transparent conductors, scales approximately as L/D. Interestingly, the percolative exponent, n, scales empirically as D 2 , while the percolative figure of merit, Π, displays large values at low D. As high T and low R s are associated with low n and high Π, these data are consistent with improved optoelectrical performance for networks of low-D wires. We predict that networks of wires with D = 25 nm could give sheet resistance as low as 25 Ω/□ for T = 90%. (paper)

Fully Solution-Processed Inverted Polymer Solar Cells with Laminated Nanowire Electrodes

KAUST Repository

Gaynor, Whitney

2010-01-26

We demonstrate organic photovoltaic cells in which every layer is deposited by solution processing on opaque metal substrates, with efficiencies similar to those obtained in conventional device structures on transparent substrates. The device architecture is enabled by solution-processed, laminated silver nanowire films serving as the top transparent anode. The cells are based on the regioregular poly(3- hexylthiophene) and C 61 butyric acid methyl ester bulk heterojunction and reach an efficiency of 2.5% under 100 mW/cm 2 of AM 1.5G illumination. The metal substrates are adequate barriers to moisture and oxygen, in contrast to transparent plastics that have previously been used, giving rise to the possibility of roll-to-roll solutionprocessed solar cells that are packaged by lamination to glass substrates, combining the cost advantage of roll-toroll processing with the barrier properties of glass and metal foil. © 2010 American Chemical Society.

Fully Solution-Processed Inverted Polymer Solar Cells with Laminated Nanowire Electrodes

KAUST Repository

Gaynor, Whitney; Lee, Jung-Yong; Peumans, Peter

2010-01-01

We demonstrate organic photovoltaic cells in which every layer is deposited by solution processing on opaque metal substrates, with efficiencies similar to those obtained in conventional device structures on transparent substrates. The device architecture is enabled by solution-processed, laminated silver nanowire films serving as the top transparent anode. The cells are based on the regioregular poly(3- hexylthiophene) and C 61 butyric acid methyl ester bulk heterojunction and reach an efficiency of 2.5% under 100 mW/cm 2 of AM 1.5G illumination. The metal substrates are adequate barriers to moisture and oxygen, in contrast to transparent plastics that have previously been used, giving rise to the possibility of roll-to-roll solutionprocessed solar cells that are packaged by lamination to glass substrates, combining the cost advantage of roll-toroll processing with the barrier properties of glass and metal foil. © 2010 American Chemical Society.

Passive high-frequency devices based on superlattice ferromagnetic nanowires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ye, B.; Li, F.; Cimpoesu, D.; Wiley, J.B.; Jung, J.-S.; Stancu, A.; Spinu, L.

2007-01-01

In this paper we propose to tailor the bandwidth of a microwave filter by exploitation of shape anisotropy of nanowires. In order to achieve this control of shape anisotropy, we considered superlattice wires containing varying-sized ferromagnetic regions separated by nonferromagnetic regions. Superlattice wires of Ni and Au with a nominal diameter of 200 nm were grown using standard electrodeposition techniques. The microwave properties were probed using X-band (9.8 GHz) ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) experiments performed at room temperature. In order to investigate the effectiveness of the shape anisotropy on the superlattice nanowire based filter the FMR spectrum of superlattice structure is compared to the FMR spectra of nanowires samples with constant length

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

New surface plasmon polariton waveguide based on GaN nanowires

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Zhu

Full Text Available Lasers are nowadays widely used in industry, in hospitals and in many devices that we have at home. Random laser development is challenging given its high threshold and low integration. Surface plasmon polariton (SPP can improve random laser characteristics because of its ability to control diffraction. In this study, we establish a random laser structural model with silicon-based parcel GaN nanowires. The GaN nanowire gain and enhanced surface plasmon increase population inversion level. Our laser model is based on random particle scattering feedback mechanism, nanowire use, and surface plasmon enhancement effect, which causes stochastic laser emergence. Analysis shows that the SPP mode and nanowire waveguides coupled in the dielectric layer of low refractive index can store light energy like a capacitor under low refractive index clearance. The waveguide mode field area and limiting factors show that the modeled laser can achieve sub-wavelength constraints of the output light field. We also investigate emergent laser performance for a more limited light field capacity and lower threshold. Keywords: Random laser, Surface plasmon polariton, Feedback mechanism, Low threshold, Subwavelength constraints

Organic Nanowires

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Balzer, Frank; Schiek, Manuela; Al-Shamery, Katharina

Single crystalline nanowires from fluorescing organic molecules like para-phenylenes or thiophenes are supposed to become key elements in future integrated optoelectronic devices [1]. For a sophisticated design of devices based on nanowires the basic principles of the nanowire formation have...... atomic force microscopy and from polarized far-field optical microscopy for various prototypical molecules are reproduced by electrostatic and Monte Carlo calculations. Based on the crystal structure, predictions on the growth habit from other conjugated molecules become in reach....

Understanding the formation process of exceptionally long fullerene-based nanowires

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Solov'yov, Ilia; Geng, Junfeng; Solov'yov, Andrey V.

2009-01-01

solution of C$_60$. We have performed a thorough theoretical analysis, aiming at gaining an in-depth understanding of the exceptionally large aspect ratio of C$_60$-based nanowires. By accounting for different interactions in the system we have calculated the structures of the unit cell and determined...... the role of the fullerene and of the solvent molecules in the crystallization process of the nanowires. We have calculated the adhesion energy of C$_60$ molecules to the nanowire surface, and on the basis of this explained the growth anisotropy of the crystal. To get a more profound understanding...

Valence band variation in Si (110) nanowire induced by a covered insulator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong-Hua, Xu; Xiao-Yan, Liu; Yu-Hui, He; Gang, Du; Ru-Qi, Han; Jin-Feng, Kang; Chun, Fan; Ai-Dong, Sun

2010-01-01

In this work, we investigate strain effects induced by the deposition of gate dielectrics on the valence band structures in Si (110) nanowire via the simulation of strain distribution and the calculation of a generalized 6×6k·p strained valence band. The nanowire is surrounded by the gate dielectric. Our simulation indicates that the strain of the amorphous SiO 2 insulator is negligible without considering temperature factors. On the other hand, the thermal residual strain in a nanowire with amorphous SiO 2 insulator which has negligible lattice misfit strain pushes the valence subbands upwards by chemical vapour deposition and downwards by thermal oxidation treatment. In contrast with the strain of the amorphous SiO 2 insulator, the strain of the HfO 2 gate insulator in Si (110) nanowire pushes the valence subbands upwards remarkably. The thermal residual strain by HfO 2 insulator contributes to the up-shifting tendency. Our simulation results for valence band shifting and warping in Si nanowires can provide useful guidance for further nanowire device design. (classical areas of phenomenology)

Surface sensitization mechanism on negative electron affinity p-GaN nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Diao, Yu; Liu, Lei; Xia, Sihao; Feng, Shu; Lu, Feifei

2018-03-01

The surface sensitization is the key to prepare negative electron affinity photocathode. The thesis emphasizes on the study of surface sensitization mechanism of p-type doping GaN nanowires utilizing first principles based on density function theory. The adsorption energy, work function, dipole moment, geometry structure, electronic structure and optical properties of Mg-doped GaN nanowires surfaces with various coverages of Cs atoms are investigated. The GaN nanowire with Mg doped in core position is taken as the sensitization base. At the initial stage of sensitization, the best adsorption site for Cs atom on GaN nanowire surface is BN, the bridge site of two adjacent N atoms. Surface sensitization generates a p-type internal surface with an n-type surface state, introducing a band bending region which can help reduce surface barrier and work function. With increasing Cs coverage, work functions decrease monotonously and the "Cs-kill" phenomenon disappears. For Cs coverage of 0.75 ML and 1 ML, the corresponding sensitization systems reach negative electron affinity state. Through surface sensitization, the absorption curves are red shifted and the absorption coefficient is cut down. All theoretical calculations can guide the design of negative electron affinity Mg doped GaN nanowires photocathode.

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.

Diagnosis of phosphorus monolayer doping in silicon based on nanowire electrical characterisation

Science.gov (United States)

Duffy, Ray; Ricchio, Alessio; Murphy, Ruaidhrí; Maxwell, Graeme; Murphy, Richard; Piaszenski, Guido; Petkov, Nikolay; Hydes, Alan; O'Connell, Dan; Lyons, Colin; Kennedy, Noel; Sheehan, Brendan; Schmidt, Michael; Crupi, Felice; Holmes, Justin D.; Hurley, Paul K.; Connolly, James; Hatem, Chris; Long, Brenda

2018-03-01

The advent of high surface-to-volume ratio devices has necessitated a revised approach to parameter extraction and process evaluation in field-effect transistor technologies. In this work, active doping concentrations are extracted from the electrical analysis of Si nanowire devices with high surface-to-volume ratios. Nanowire resistance and Si resistivity are extracted, by first extracting and subtracting out the contact resistance. Resistivity (ρ) is selected as the benchmark parameter to compare different doping processes with each other. The impacts of nanowire diameter scaling to 10 nm and of nanowire spacing scaling to resistivity and higher dopant activation, with dependencies on the nanowire width greater than on nanowire spacing. Limitations in ADP P monolayer doping with a SiO2 cap are due to the difficulties in dopant incorporation, as it is based on in-diffusion, and P atoms must overcome a potential barrier on the Si surface.

Non-classical logic inverter coupling a ZnO nanowire-based Schottky barrier transistor and adjacent Schottky diode.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosseini Shokouh, Seyed Hossein; Raza, Syed Raza Ali; Lee, Hee Sung; Im, Seongil

2014-08-21

On a single ZnO nanowire (NW), we fabricated an inverter-type device comprising a Schottky diode (SD) and field-effect transistor (FET), aiming at 1-dimensional (1D) electronic circuits with low power consumption. The SD and adjacent FET worked respectively as the load and driver, so that voltage signals could be easily extracted as the output. In addition, NW FET with a transparent conducting oxide as top gate turned out to be very photosensitive, although ZnO NW SD was blind to visible light. Based on this, we could achieve an array of photo-inverter cells on one NW. Our non-classical inverter is regarded as quite practical for both logic and photo-sensing due to its performance as well as simple device configuration.

Fast humidity sensors based on CeO2 nanowires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu, X Q; Wang, C; Yu, H C; Wang, Y G; Wang, T H

2007-01-01

Fast humidity sensors are reported that are based on CeO 2 nanowires synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Both the response and recovery time are about 3 s, and are independent of the humidity. The sensitivity increases gradually as the humidity increases, and is up to 85 at 97% RH. The resistance decreases exponentially with increasing humidity, implying ion-type conductivity as the humidity sensing mechanism. A model based on the morphology and surface energy of the nanowires is given to explain these results further. Our experimental results indicate a pathway to improving the performance of humidity sensors

Bismuth alloying properties in GaAs nanowires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ding, Lu [State Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, PO Box 72, Beijing 100876 (China); Lu, Pengfei, E-mail: photon.bupt@gmail.com [State Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, PO Box 72, Beijing 100876 (China); Cao, Huawei; Cai, Ningning; Yu, Zhongyuan [State Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, PO Box 72, Beijing 100876 (China); Gao, Tao [Institute of Atomic and Molecular Physics, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065 (China); Wang, Shumin [State Key Laboratory of Functional Materials for Informatics, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050 (China); Photonics Laboratory, Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Gothenburg (Sweden)

2013-09-15

First-principles calculations have been performed to investigate the structural, electronic and optical properties of bismuth alloying in GaAs nanowires. A typical model of Ga{sub 31}As{sub 31} nanowires is introduced for its reasonable band gap. The band gap of GaAs{sub 1−x}Bi{sub x} shrinks clearly with the increasing Bi concentration and the band edge shifts when spin–orbit coupling (SOC) is considered. The insertion of Bi atom leads to hybridization of Ga/As/Bi p states which contributes a lot around Fermi level. Scissor effect is involved. The optical properties are presented, including dielectric function, optical absorption spectra and reflectivity, which are also varied with the increasing of Bi concentrations. - Graphical abstract: Top view of Bi-doped GaAs nanowires. Ga, As, and Bi atoms are denoted with grey, purple and red balls, respectively. Display Omitted - Highlights: • A typical model of Ga{sub 31}As{sub 31} nanowires is introduced for its reasonable band gap. • The band gap of GaAs{sub 1−x}Bi{sub x} shrinks clearly with the increasing Bi concentration. • The band edge shifts when spin–orbit coupling (SOC) is considered. • The insertion of Bi atom leads to hybridization of Ga/As/Bi p states.

A high-efficiency electrically-pumped single-photon source based on a photonics nanowire

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gregersen, Niels; Nielsen, Torben Roland; Mørk, Jesper

An electrically-pumped single-photon source design with a predicted efficiency of 89% is proposed. The design is based on a quantum dot embedded in a photonic nanowire with tailored ends and optimized contact electrodes. Unlike cavity-based approaches, the photonic nanowire features broadband...

Direction dependence of the magneto-optical absorption in nanowires with Rashba interaction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sakr, M.R., E-mail: msakr@alexu.edu.eg

2016-09-16

We study the directional dependence of the absorption spectrum of ballistic nanowires in the presence of gate-controlled Rashba spin–orbit interaction and an in-plane magnetic field. In the weak Rashba regime, our analytical and numerical results show that the absorption peaks associated with the first and third intersubband transitions exhibit frequency shifts and strong amplitude modulations as the direction of the magnetic field changes. If the field is parallel to the nanowire axis, these peaks disappear and the resonance frequencies of the whole absorption spectrum are given merely in terms of the Zeeman splitting and the energy scale characterizing the confinement potential. The second transition has an absorption peak that suffers an opposite frequency shift with amplitude that is largely direction independent. The amplitude modulation and frequency shift of the absorption spectrum is periodic in the angle that the magnetic field makes with the nanowire axis. - Highlights: • Absorption spectrum of the nanowire is calculated in the weak Rashba regime. • First and third absorption peaks show amplitude and frequency modulation. • They disappear if the magnetic field is along the wire axis, forbidden transitions. • The second transition peak shows frequency shift with minor amplitude modulation. • The frequency and amplitude modulations are periodic in the direction of the field.

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.

Visualization of multipolar longitudinal and transversal surface plasmon modes in nanowire dimers.

Science.gov (United States)

Alber, Ina; Sigle, Wilfried; Müller, Sven; Neumann, Reinhard; Picht, Oliver; Rauber, Markus; van Aken, Peter A; Toimil-Molares, Maria Eugenia

2011-12-27

We study the transversal and longitudinal localized surface plasmon resonances in single nanowires and nanowire dimers excited by the fast traveling electron beam in a transmission electron microscope equipped with high-resolution electron energy-loss spectroscopy. Bright and dark longitudinal modes up to the fifth order are resolved on individual metallic nanowires. On nanowire dimers, mode splitting into bonding and antibonding is measured up to the third order for several dimers with various aspect ratio and controlled gap size. We observe that the electric field maxima of the bonding modes are shifted toward the gap, while the electric field maxima of the antibonding modes are shifted toward the dimer ends. Finally, we observe that the transversal mode is not detected in the region of the dimer gap and decays away from the rod more rapidly than the longitudinal modes.

Semitransparent organic photovoltaic modules with Ag nanowire top electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Fei; Kubis, Peter; Przybilla, Thomas; Spiecker, Erdmann; Forberich, Karen; Brabec, Christoph J.

2014-10-01

Semitransparent organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells are promising for applications in transparent architectures where their opaque counterparts are not suitable. Manufacturing of large-area modules without performance losses compared to their lab-scale devices is a key step towards practical applications of this PV technology. In this paper, we report the use of solution-processed silver nanowires as top electrodes and fabricate semitransparent OPV modules based on ultra-fast laser scribing. Through a rational choice of device architecture in combination with high-precision laser patterning, we demonstrate efficient semitransparent modules with comparable performance as compared to the reference devices.

Plasmon-polariton modes of dense Au nanowire arrays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yan, Hongdan; Lemmens, Peter; Wulferding, Dirk; Cetin, Mehmet Fatih [IPKM, TU-BS, Braunschweig (Germany); Tornow, Sabine; Zwicknagl, Gertrud [IMP, TU-BS, Braunschweig (Germany); Krieg, Ulrich; Pfnuer, Herbert [IFP, LU Hannover (Germany); Daum, Winfried; Lilienkamp, Gerhard [IEPT, TU Clausthal (Germany); Schilling, Meinhard [EMG, TU-BS, Braunschweig (Germany)

2011-07-01

Using optical absorption and other techniques we study plasmon-polariton modes of dense Au nanowire arrays as function of geometrical parameters and coupling to molecular degrees of freedom. For this instance we electrochemically deposit Au nanowires in porous alumina with well controlled morphology and defect concentration. Transverse and longitudinal modes are observed in the absorption spectra resulting from the anisotropic plasmonic structure. The longitudinal mode shows a blue shift of energy with increasing length of the wires due to the more collective nature of this response. We compare our observations with model calculations and corresponding results on 2D Ag nanowire lattices.

Solution-Based Epitaxial Growth of Magnetically Responsive Cu@Ni Nanowires

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Shengmao; Zeng, Hua Chun

2010-01-01

An experiment was conducted to show the solution-based epitaxial growth of magnetically responsive Cu@Ni nanowires. The Ni-sheathed Cu nanowires were synthesized with a one-pot approach. 30 mL of high concentration NaOH, Cu(NO3)2. 3H2O, Cu(NO3)2. 3H2O and 0.07-0.30 mL of Ni(NO3)2. 6H 2O aqueous solutions were added into a plastic reactor with a capacity of 50.0 mL. A varying amount of ethylenediamine (EDA) and hydrazine were also added sequentially, followed by thorough mixing of all reagents. The dimension, morphology, and chemical composition of the products were examined with scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The XPS analysis on the as formed Cu nanowires confirms that there is indeed no nickel inclusion in the nanowires prior to the formation of nickel overcoat, which rules out the possibility of Cu-Ni alloy formation.

Solution-Based Epitaxial Growth of Magnetically Responsive Cu@Ni Nanowires

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Shengmao

2010-02-23

An experiment was conducted to show the solution-based epitaxial growth of magnetically responsive Cu@Ni nanowires. The Ni-sheathed Cu nanowires were synthesized with a one-pot approach. 30 mL of high concentration NaOH, Cu(NO3)2. 3H2O, Cu(NO3)2. 3H2O and 0.07-0.30 mL of Ni(NO3)2. 6H 2O aqueous solutions were added into a plastic reactor with a capacity of 50.0 mL. A varying amount of ethylenediamine (EDA) and hydrazine were also added sequentially, followed by thorough mixing of all reagents. The dimension, morphology, and chemical composition of the products were examined with scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The XPS analysis on the as formed Cu nanowires confirms that there is indeed no nickel inclusion in the nanowires prior to the formation of nickel overcoat, which rules out the possibility of Cu-Ni alloy formation.

Fabrication of silver nanowires and metal oxide composite transparent electrodes and their application in UV light-emitting diodes

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Xingzhen; Ma, Jiangang; Xu, Haiyang; Wang, Chunliang; Liu, Yichun

2016-08-01

In this paper, we prepared the silver nanowires (AgNWs)/aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) composite transparent conducting electrodes for n-ZnO/p-GaN heterojunction light emitting-diodes (LEDs) by drop casting AgNW networks and subsequent atomic layer deposition (ALD) of AZO at 150 °C. The contact resistances between AgNWs were dramatically reduced by pre-annealing in the vacuum chamber before the ALD of AZO. In this case, AZO works not only as the conformal passivation layer that protects AgNWs from oxidation, but also as the binding material that improves AgNWs adhesion to substrates. Due to the localized surface plasmons (LSPs) of the AgNWs resonant coupling with the ultraviolet (UV) light emission from the LEDs, a higher UV light extracting efficiency is achieved from LEDs with the AgNWs/AZO composite electrodes in comparison with the conventional AZO electrodes. Additionally, the antireflective nature of random AgNW networks in the composite electrodes caused a broad output light angular distribution, which could be of benefit to certain optoelectronic devices like LEDs and solar cells.

Tunable strain gauges based on two-dimensional silver nanowire networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ho, Xinning; Cheng, Chek Kweng; Tey, Ju Nie; Wei, Jun

2015-01-01

Strain gauges are used in various applications such as wearable strain gauges and strain gauges in airplanes or structural health monitoring. Sensitivity of the strain gauge required varies, depending on the application of the strain gauge. This paper reports a tunable strain gauge based on a two-dimensional percolative network of silver nanowires. By varying the surface coverage of the nanowire network and the waviness of the nanowires in the network, the sensitivity of the strain gauge can be controlled. Hence, a tunable strain gauge can be engineered, based on demands of the application. A few applications are demonstrated. The strain gauge can be adhered to the human neck to detect throat movements and a glove integrated with such a strain gauge can detect the bending of the forefinger. Other classes of two-dimensional percolative networks of one-dimensional materials are also expected to exhibit similar tunable properties. (paper)

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.

Printed silver nanowire antennas with low signal loss at high-frequency radio

Science.gov (United States)

Komoda, Natsuki; Nogi, Masaya; Suganuma, Katsuaki; Kohno, Kazuo; Akiyama, Yutaka; Otsuka, Kanji

2012-05-01

Silver nanowires are printable and conductive, and are believed to be promising materials in the field of printed electronics. However, the resistivity of silver nanowire printed lines is higher than that of metallic particles or flakes even when sintered at high temperatures of 100-400 °C. Therefore, their applications have been limited to the replacement of transparent electrodes made from high-resistivity materials, such as doped metallic oxides, conductive polymers, carbon nanotubes, or graphenes. Here we report that using printed silver nanowire lines, signal losses obtained in the high-frequency radio were lower than those obtained using etched copper foil antennas, because their surfaces were much smoother than those of etched copper foil antennas. This was the case even though the resistivity of silver nanowire lines was 43-71 μΩ cm, which is much higher than that of etched copper foil (2 μΩ cm). When printed silver nanowire antennas were heated at 100 °C, they achieved signal losses that were much lower than those of silver paste antennas comprising microparticles, nanoparticles, and flakes. Furthermore, using a low temperature process, we succeeded in remotely controlling a commercialized radio-controlled car by transmitting a 2.45 GHz signal via a silver nanowire antenna printed on a polyethylene terephthalate film.Silver nanowires are printable and conductive, and are believed to be promising materials in the field of printed electronics. However, the resistivity of silver nanowire printed lines is higher than that of metallic particles or flakes even when sintered at high temperatures of 100-400 °C. Therefore, their applications have been limited to the replacement of transparent electrodes made from high-resistivity materials, such as doped metallic oxides, conductive polymers, carbon nanotubes, or graphenes. Here we report that using printed silver nanowire lines, signal losses obtained in the high-frequency radio were lower than those

High performance non-volatile ferroelectric copolymer memory based on a ZnO nanowire transistor fabricated on a transparent substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nedic, Stanko; Welland, Mark; Tea Chun, Young; Chu, Daping; Hong, Woong-Ki

2014-01-01

A high performance ferroelectric non-volatile memory device based on a top-gate ZnO nanowire (NW) transistor fabricated on a glass substrate is demonstrated. The ZnO NW channel was spin-coated with a poly (vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) layer acting as a top-gate dielectric without buffer layer. Electrical conductance modulation and memory hysteresis are achieved by a gate electric field induced reversible electrical polarization switching of the P(VDF-TrFE) thin film. Furthermore, the fabricated device exhibits a memory window of ∼16.5 V, a high drain current on/off ratio of ∼10 5 , a gate leakage current below ∼300 pA, and excellent retention characteristics for over 10 4 s

Controlling the physical parameters of crystalline CIGS nanowires for use in superstrate configuration using vapor phase epitaxy

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Dongjin; Jeon, H. C.; Kang, T. W.; Kumar, Sunil

2018-03-01

Indium tin oxide (ITO) is a suitable candidate for smart windows and bifacial semi-transparent solar cell applications. In this study, highly crystalline CuInGaSe2 (CIGS) nanowires were successfully grown by horizontal-type vapor phase epitaxy on an ITO substrate. Length, diameter, and density of the nanowires were studied by varying the growth temperature (500, 520, and 560 °C), time (3.5, 6.5, and 9.5 h), and type of catalyst (In, Au, and Ga). Length, diameter, and density of the nanowires were found to be highly dependent on the growth conditions. At an optimized growth period and temperature of 3.5 h and 520 °C, respectively, the length and diameter of the nanowires were found to increase when grown in a catalyst-free environment. However, the density of the nanowires was found to be higher while using a catalyst during growth. Even in a catalyst-free environment, an Indium cluster formed at the bottom of the nanowires. The source of these nanowires is believed to be Indium from the ITO substrate which was observed in the EDS measurement. TEM-based EDS and line EDS indicated that the nanowires are made up of CIGS material with a very low Gallium content. XRD measurements also show the appearance of wurtzite CIS nanowires grown on ITO in addition to the chalcopyrite phase. PL spectroscopy was done to see the near-band-edge emission for finding band-to-band optical transition in this material. Optical response of the CIGS nanowire network was also studied to see the photovoltaic effect. This work creates opportunities for making real solar cell devices in superstrate configuration.

Surface effects on static bending of nanowires based on non-local elasticity theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Quan Wu

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The surface elasticity and non-local elasticity effects on the elastic behavior of statically bent nanowires are investigated in the present investigation. Explicit solutions are presented to evaluate the surface stress and non-local elasticity effects with various boundary conditions. Compared with the classical Euler beam, a nanowire with surface stress and/or non-local elasticity can be either stiffer or less stiff, depending on the boundary conditions. The concept of surface non-local elasticity was proposed and its physical interpretation discussed to explain the combined effect of surface elasticity and non-local elasticity. The effect of the nanowire size on its elastic bending behavior was investigated. The results obtained herein are helpful to characterize mechanical properties of nanowires and aid nanowire-based devices design.

Nanolithography based contacting method for electrical measurements on single template synthesized nanowires

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fusil, S.; Piraux, L.; Mátéfi-Tempfli, Stefan

2005-01-01

A reliable method enabling electrical measurements on single nanowires prepared by electrodeposition in an alumina template is described. This technique is based on electrically controlled nanoindentation of a thin insulating resist deposited on the top face of the template filled by the nanowires....... We show that this method is very flexible, allowing us to electrically address single nanowires of controlled length down to 100 nm and of desired composition. Using this approach, current densities as large as 10 A cm were successfully injected through a point contact on a single magnetic...

Fabrication of flexible silver nanowire conductive films and transmittance improvement based on moth-eye nanostructure array

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Chengpeng; Zhu, Yuwen; Yi, Peiyun; Peng, Linfa; Lai, Xinmin

2017-07-01

Transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) are widely used in optoelectronic devices, such as touch screens, liquid-crystal displays and light-emitting diodes. To date, the material of the most commonly used TCEs was indium-tin oxide (ITO), which had several intrinsic drawbacks that limited its applications in the long term, including relatively high material cost and brittleness. Silver nanowire (AgNW), as one of the alternative materials for ITO TCEs, has already gained much attention all over the world. In this paper, we reported a facile method to greatly enhance the transmittance of the AgNW TCEs without reducing the electrical conductivity based on moth-eye nanostructures, and the moth-eye nanostructures were fabricated by using a roll-to-roll ultraviolet nanoimprint lithography process. Besides, the effects of mechanical pressure and bending on the moth-eye nanostructure layer were also investigated. In the research, the optical transmittance of the flexible AgNW TCEs was enhanced from 81.3% to 86.0% by attaching moth-eye nanostructures onto the other side of the flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrate while the electrical conductivity of the AgNW TCEs was not sacrificed. This research can provide a direction for the cost-effective fabrication of moth-eye nanostructures and the transmittance improvement of the flexible transparent electrodes.

Fabrication of flexible silver nanowire conductive films and transmittance improvement based on moth-eye nanostructure array

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Chengpeng; Zhu, Yuwen; Yi, Peiyun; Peng, Linfa; Lai, Xinmin

2017-01-01

Transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) are widely used in optoelectronic devices, such as touch screens, liquid-crystal displays and light-emitting diodes. To date, the material of the most commonly used TCEs was indium-tin oxide (ITO), which had several intrinsic drawbacks that limited its applications in the long term, including relatively high material cost and brittleness. Silver nanowire (AgNW), as one of the alternative materials for ITO TCEs, has already gained much attention all over the world. In this paper, we reported a facile method to greatly enhance the transmittance of the AgNW TCEs without reducing the electrical conductivity based on moth-eye nanostructures, and the moth-eye nanostructures were fabricated by using a roll-to-roll ultraviolet nanoimprint lithography process. Besides, the effects of mechanical pressure and bending on the moth-eye nanostructure layer were also investigated. In the research, the optical transmittance of the flexible AgNW TCEs was enhanced from 81.3% to 86.0% by attaching moth-eye nanostructures onto the other side of the flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrate while the electrical conductivity of the AgNW TCEs was not sacrificed. This research can provide a direction for the cost-effective fabrication of moth-eye nanostructures and the transmittance improvement of the flexible transparent electrodes. (paper)

Semi-transparent perovskite solar cells for tandems with silicon and CIGS

KAUST Repository

Bailie, Colin D.

2015-01-01

© 2015 The Royal Society of Chemistry. A promising approach for upgrading the performance of an established low-bandgap solar technology without adding much cost is to deposit a high bandgap polycrystalline semiconductor on top to make a tandem solar cell. We use a transparent silver nanowire electrode on perovskite solar cells to achieve a semi-transparent device. We place the semi-transparent cell in a mechanically-stacked tandem configuration onto copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) and low-quality multicrystalline silicon (Si) to achieve solid-state polycrystalline tandem solar cells with a net improvement in efficiency over the bottom cell alone. This work paves the way for integrating perovskites into a low-cost and high-efficiency (>25%) tandem cell.

Pressure-sensitive strain sensor based on a single percolated Ag nanowire layer embedded in colorless polyimide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Chan-Jae [Display Materials & Components Research Center, Korea Electronics Technology Institute, 68 Yatap-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam 463-816 (Korea, Republic of); Jun, Sungwoo [Display Materials & Components Research Center, Korea Electronics Technology Institute, 68 Yatap-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam 463-816 (Korea, Republic of); Display and Nanosystem Laboratory, College of Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-713 (Korea, Republic of); Ju, Byeong-Kwon [Display and Nanosystem Laboratory, College of Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-713 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Jong-Woong, E-mail: wyjd@keti.re.kr [Display Materials & Components Research Center, Korea Electronics Technology Institute, 68 Yatap-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam 463-816 (Korea, Republic of)

2017-06-01

This paper presents the fabrication of an elastomer-free, transparent, pressure-sensitive strain sensor consisting of a specially designed silver nanowire (AgNW) pattern and colorless polyimide (cPI). A percolated AgNW network was patterned with a simple tandem compound circuit, which was then embedded in the surface of the cPI via inverted layer processing. The resulting film-type sensor was highly transparent (~93.5% transmittance at 550 nm) and mechanically stable (capable of resisting 10000 cycles of bending to a 500 µm radius of curvature). We demonstrated that a thin, transparent, and mechanically stable electrode can be produced using a combination of AgNWs and cPI, and used to produce a system sensitive to pressure-induced bending. The capacitance of the AgNW tandem compound electrode pattern grew via fringing, which increased with the pressure-induced bending applied to the surface of the sensor. The sensitivity was four times higher than that of an elastomeric pressure sensor made with the same design. Finally, we demonstrated a skin-like pressure sensor attached to the inside wrist of a human arm. - Highlights: • A thin, transparent pressure sensor was fabricated from AgNWs and cPI. • An AgNW network was patterned with a simple circuit, and then embedded into cPI. • The resulting film-type sensor was highly transparent and mechanically stable. • The sensor sensitivity was 4x higher than that of an elastomeric pressure sensor.

Lateral nanowire/nanobelt based nanogenerators, piezotronics and piezo-phototronics

KAUST Repository

Wang, Zhong Lin

2010-11-01

Relying on the piezopotential created in ZnO under straining, nanogenerators, piezotronics and piezo-phototronics developed based on laterally bonded nanowires on a polymer substrate have been reviewed. The principle of the nanogenerator is a transient flow of electrons in external load as driven by the piezopotential created by dynamic straining. By integrating the contribution made by millions of nanowires, the output voltage has been raised to 1.2 V. Consequently, self-powered nanodevices have been demonstrated. This is an important platform technology for the future sensor network and the internet of things. Alternatively, the piezopotential can act as a gate voltage that can tune/gate the transport process of the charge carriers in the nanowire, which is a gate-electrode free field effect transistor (FET). The device fabricated based on this principle is called the piezotronic device. Piezo-phototronic effect is about the tuning and controlling of electro-optical processes by strain induced piezopotential. The piezotronic, piezophotonic and pieozo-phototronic devices are focused on low frequency applications in areas involving mechanical actions, such as MEMS/NEMS, nanorobotics, sensors, actuators and triggers. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Transparent and conductive paper from nanocellulose fibers

KAUST Repository

Hu, Liangbing

2013-01-01

Here we report on a novel substrate, nanopaper, made of cellulose nanofibrils, an earth abundant material. Compared with regular paper substrates, nanopaper shows superior optical properties. We have carried out the first study on the optical properties of nanopaper substrates. Since the size of the nanofibrils is much less than the wavelength of visible light, nanopaper is highly transparent with large light scattering in the forward direction. Successful depositions of transparent and conductive materials including tin-doped indium oxide, carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires have been achieved on nanopaper substrates, opening up a wide range of applications in optoelectronics such as displays, touch screens and interactive paper. We have also successfully demonstrated an organic solar cell on the novel substrate. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2013.

Mode tunable p-type Si nanowire transistor based zero drive load logic inverter.

Science.gov (United States)

Moon, Kyeong-Ju; Lee, Tae-Il; Lee, Sang-Hoon; Han, Young-Uk; Ham, Moon-Ho; Myoung, Jae-Min

2012-07-25

A design platform for a zero drive load logic inverter consisting of p-channel Si nanowire based transistors, which controlled their operating mode through an implantation into a gate dielectric layer was demonstrated. As a result, a nanowire based class D inverter having a 4.6 gain value at V(DD) of -20 V was successfully fabricated on a substrate.

Vertical architecture for enhancement mode power transistors based on GaN nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, F.; Rümmler, D.; Hartmann, J.; Caccamo, L.; Schimpke, T.; Strassburg, M.; Gad, A. E.; Bakin, A.; Wehmann, H.-H.; Witzigmann, B.; Wasisto, H. S.; Waag, A.

2016-05-01

The demonstration of vertical GaN wrap-around gated field-effect transistors using GaN nanowires is reported. The nanowires with smooth a-plane sidewalls have hexagonal geometry made by top-down etching. A 7-nanowire transistor exhibits enhancement mode operation with threshold voltage of 1.2 V, on/off current ratio as high as 108, and subthreshold slope as small as 68 mV/dec. Although there is space charge limited current behavior at small source-drain voltages (Vds), the drain current (Id) and transconductance (gm) reach up to 314 mA/mm and 125 mS/mm, respectively, when normalized with hexagonal nanowire circumference. The measured breakdown voltage is around 140 V. This vertical approach provides a way to next-generation GaN-based power devices.

CMOS-compatible fabrication of top-gated field-effect transistor silicon nanowire-based biosensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ginet, Patrick; Akiyama, Sho; Takama, Nobuyuki; Fujita, Hiroyuki; Kim, Beomjoon

2011-01-01

Field-effect transistor (FET) nanowire-based biosensors are very promising tools for medical diagnosis. In this paper, we introduce a simple method to fabricate FET silicon nanowires using only standard microelectromechanical system (MEMS) processes. The key steps of our fabrication process were a local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) and anisotropic KOH etchings that enabled us to reduce the width of the initial silicon structures from 10 µm to 170 nm. To turn the nanowires into a FET, a top-gate electrode was patterned in gold next to them in order to apply the gate voltage directly through the investigated liquid environment. An electrical characterization demonstrated the p-type behaviour of the nanowires. Preliminary chemical sensing tested the sensitivity to pH of our device. The effect of the binding of streptavidin on biotinylated nanowires was monitored in order to evaluate their biosensing ability. In this way, streptavidin was detected down to a 100 ng mL −1 concentration in phosphate buffered saline by applying a gate voltage less than 1.2 V. The use of a top-gate electrode enabled the detection of biological species with only very low voltages that were compatible with future handheld-requiring applications. We thus demonstrated the potential of our devices and their fabrication as a solution for the mass production of efficient and reliable FET nanowire-based biological sensors

TRANSPARENCY IN ELECTRONIC BUSINESS NEGOTIATIONS – EVIDENCE BASED ANALYSIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radoslav Delina

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: In current economy, where ICT plays a crucial role for being competitive and effective, businesses are facing higher pressures of flexibility and efficiency than ever before. Transparency is often considered as a suitable mechanism for better market prices and more efficient market environment. Electronic business environment provides the possibility to set up more transparent environment and bring higher competitiveness and efficiency on the market. The paper analyse the impact of transparency on prices in e-procurement.Methodology: Reverse auctions are considered as transparent tool simulating in partial level real competition. Together, it allows to examine several levels of transparency set up in auction negotiation process. The impact of transparency on final prices was analysed on real data using relation based analysis were different situations of transparency set up is compared against achieved final price.Findings: Research results based on real data shows, that generally, the transparency in electronic reverse auction can lead to more negative prices agreed by purchasers as current scientific and commercial promotions.Research limitation: Significance of research results is limited due to still low readiness and skills of e-procurers. The validation of results is needed to realized within longer period of time and from environments with different level of e-readiness. Together, it reveal that transparency is more complex issue where the significance of transparency can reveal its sense in some specific situations on the market and negotiation.Value of paper: Evidenced based research reveal some controversy results which support new scientific efforts in microeconomics and socio-economic impact of ICT fields. Together, it affects real practitioners in way how to use and perceive claimed impact of reverse auction solutions.

Ballistic Spin Field Effect Transistor Based on Silicon Nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Osintsev, Dmitri; Sverdlov, Viktor; Stanojevic, Zlatan; Selberherr, Siegfried

2011-03-01

We investigate the properties of ballistic spin field-effect transistors build on silicon nanowires. An accurate description of the conduction band based on the k . p} model is necessary in thin and narrow silicon nanostructures. The subband effective mass and subband splitting dependence on the nanowire dimensions is analyzed and used in the transport calculations. The spin transistor is formed by sandwiching the nanowire between two ferromagnetic metallic contacts. Delta-function barriers at the interfaces between the contacts and the silicon channel are introduced. The major contribution to the electric field-dependent spin-orbit interaction in confined silicon systems is due to the interface-induced inversion asymmetry which is of the Dresselhaus type. We study the current and conductance through the system for the contacts being in parallel and anti-parallel configurations. Differences between the [100] and [110] orientated structures are investigated in details. This work is supported by the European Research Council through the grant #247056 MOSILSPIN.

Carrier gas effects on aluminum-catalyzed nanowire growth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ke, Yue; Hainey, Mel Jr; Won, Dongjin; Weng, Xiaojun; Eichfeld, Sarah M; Redwing, Joan M

2016-01-01

Aluminum-catalyzed silicon nanowire growth under low-pressure chemical vapor deposition conditions requires higher reactor pressures than gold-catalyzed growth, but the reasons for this difference are not well understood. In this study, the effects of reactor pressure and hydrogen partial pressure on silicon nanowire growth using an aluminum catalyst were studied by growing nanowires in hydrogen and hydrogen/nitrogen carrier gas mixtures at different total reactor pressures. Nanowires grown in the nitrogen/hydrogen mixture have faceted catalyst droplet tips, minimal evidence of aluminum diffusion from the tip down the nanowire sidewalls, and significant vapor–solid deposition of silicon on the sidewalls. In comparison, wires grown in pure hydrogen show less well-defined tips, evidence of aluminum diffusion down the nanowire sidewalls at increasing reactor pressures and reduced vapor–solid deposition of silicon on the sidewalls. The results are explained in terms of a model wherein the hydrogen partial pressure plays a critical role in aluminum-catalyzed nanowire growth by controlling hydrogen termination of the silicon nanowire sidewalls. For a given reactor pressure, increased hydrogen partial pressures increase the extent of hydrogen termination of the sidewalls which suppresses SiH_4 adsorption thereby reducing vapor–solid deposition of silicon but increases the surface diffusion length of aluminum. Conversely, lower hydrogen partial pressures reduce the hydrogen termination and also increase the extent of SiH_4 gas phase decomposition, shifting the nanowire growth window to lower growth temperatures and silane partial pressures. (paper)

Electrical limit of silver nanowire electrodes: Direct measurement of the nanowire junction resistance

KAUST Repository

Selzer, Franz; Floresca, Carlo; Kneppe, David; Bormann, Ludwig; Sachse, Christoph; Weiß , Nelli; Eychmü ller, Alexander; Amassian, Aram; Mü ller-Meskamp, Lars; Leo, Karl

2016-01-01

We measure basic network parameters of silvernanowire (AgNW) networks commonly used as transparent conductingelectrodes in organic optoelectronic devices. By means of four point probing with nanoprobes, the wire-to-wire junction resistance and the resistance of single nanowires are measured. The resistanceRNW of a single nanowire shows a value of RNW=(4.96±0.18) Ω/μm. The junction resistanceRJ differs for annealed and non-annealed NW networks, exhibiting values of RJ=(25.2±1.9) Ω (annealed) and RJ=(529±239) Ω (non-annealed), respectively. Our simulation achieves a good agreement between the measured network parameters and the sheet resistanceRS of the entire network. Extrapolating RJ to zero, our study show that we are close to the electrical limit of the conductivity of our AgNW system: We obtain a possible RS reduction by only ≈20% (common RS≈10 Ω/sq). Therefore, we expect further performance improvements in AgNW systems mainly by increasing NW length or by utilizing novel network geometries.

Electrical limit of silver nanowire electrodes: Direct measurement of the nanowire junction resistance

KAUST Repository

Selzer, Franz

2016-04-19

We measure basic network parameters of silvernanowire (AgNW) networks commonly used as transparent conductingelectrodes in organic optoelectronic devices. By means of four point probing with nanoprobes, the wire-to-wire junction resistance and the resistance of single nanowires are measured. The resistanceRNW of a single nanowire shows a value of RNW=(4.96±0.18) Ω/μm. The junction resistanceRJ differs for annealed and non-annealed NW networks, exhibiting values of RJ=(25.2±1.9) Ω (annealed) and RJ=(529±239) Ω (non-annealed), respectively. Our simulation achieves a good agreement between the measured network parameters and the sheet resistanceRS of the entire network. Extrapolating RJ to zero, our study show that we are close to the electrical limit of the conductivity of our AgNW system: We obtain a possible RS reduction by only ≈20% (common RS≈10 Ω/sq). Therefore, we expect further performance improvements in AgNW systems mainly by increasing NW length or by utilizing novel network geometries.

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.

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

Blue electroluminescence nanodevice prototype based on vertical ZnO nanowire/polymer film on silicon substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Ying; Wang Junan; Chen Xiaoban; Zhang Wenfei; Zeng Xuyu; Gu Qiuwen

2010-01-01

We present a polymer-complexing soft template technique to construct the ZnO-nanowire/polymer light emitting device prototype that exhibits blue electrically driven emission with a relatively low-threshold voltage at room temperature in ambient atmosphere, and the ZnO-nanowire-based LED's emission wavelength is easily tuned by controlling the applied-excitation voltage. The nearly vertically aligned ZnO-nanowires with polymer film were used as emissive layers in the devices. The method uses polymer as binder in the LED device and dispersion medium in the luminescence layer, which stabilizes the quasi-arrays of ZnO nanowires embedding in a thin polymer film on silicon substrate and passivates the surface of ZnO nanocrystals, to prevent the quenching of luminescence. Additionally, the measurements of electrical properties showed that ZnO-nanowire/polymer film could significantly improve the conductivity of the film, which could be attributed to an increase in both Hall mobility and carrier concentration. The results indicated that the novel technique is a low-cost process for ZnO-based UV or blue light emission and reduces the requirement for achieving robust p-doping of ZnO film. It suggests that such ZnO-nanowire/polymer-based LEDs will be suitable for the electro-optical application.

Nanowire Growth for Photovoltaics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, Jeppe Vilstrup

Solar cells commercial success is based on an efficiency/cost calculation. Nanowire solar cells is one of the foremost candidates to implement third generation photo voltaics, which are both very efficient and cheap to produce. This thesis is about our progress towards commercial nanowire solar...... cells. Resonance effects between the light and nanowire causes an inherent concentration of the sunlight into the nanowires, and means that a sparse array of nanowires (less than 5% of the area) can absorb all the incoming light. The resonance effects, as well as a graded index of refraction, also traps...... the light. The concentration and light trapping means that single junction nanowire solar cells have a higher theoretical maximum efficiency than equivalent planar solar cells. We have demonstrated the built-in light concentration of nanowires, by growing, contacting and characterizing a solar cell...

Lead-free LiNbO3 nanowire-based nanocomposite for piezoelectric power generation

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

In a flexible nanocomposite-based nanogenerator, in which piezoelectric nanostructures are mixed with polymers, important parameters to increase the output power include using long nanowires with high piezoelectricity and decreasing the dielectric constant of the nanocomposite. Here, we report on piezoelectric power generation from a lead-free LiNbO3 nanowire-based nanocomposite. Through ion exchange of ultra-long Na2Nb2O6-H2O nanowires, we synthesized long (approximately 50 μm in length) single-crystalline LiNbO3 nanowires having a high piezoelectric coefficient (d33 approximately 25 pmV-1). By blending LiNbO3 nanowires with poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) polymer (volume ratio 1:100), we fabricated a flexible nanocomposite nanogenerator having a low dielectric constant (approximately 2.7). The nanogenerator generated stable electric power, even under excessive strain conditions (approximately 105 cycles). The different piezoelectric coefficients of d33 and d31 for LiNbO3 may have resulted in generated voltage and current for the e33 geometry that were 20 and 100 times larger than those for the e31 geometry, respectively. This study suggests the importance of the blending ratio and strain geometry for higher output-power generation in a piezoelectric nanocomposite-based nanogenerator. PACS 77.65.-j; 77.84.-s; 73.21.Hb PMID:24386884

Graphene-based transparent electrodes for hybrid solar cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pengfei eLi

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The graphene-based transparent and conductive films were demonstrated to be cost-effective electrodes working in organic-inorganic hybrid Schottky solar cells. Large area graphene films were produced by chemical vapor deposition (CVD on copper foils and transferred onto glass as transparent electrodes. The hybrid solar cell devices consist of solution processed poly (3, 4-ethlenedioxythiophene: poly (styrenesulfonate (PEDOT: PSS which is sandwiched between silicon wafer and graphene electrode. The solar cells based on graphene electrodes, especially those doped with HNO3, has comparable performance to the reference devices using commercial indium tin oxide (ITO. Our work suggests that graphene-based transparent electrode is a promising candidate to replace ITO.

Highly effective field-effect mobility amorphous InGaZnO TFT mediated by directional silver nanowire arrays.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Hung-Chuan; Lai, Yi-Chun; Lai, Chih-Chung; Wu, Bing-Shu; Zan, Hsiao-Wen; Yu, Peichen; Chueh, Yu-Lun; Tsai, Chuang-Chuang

2015-01-14

In this work, we demonstrate sputtered amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide thin-film transistors (a-IGZO TFTs) with a record high effective field-effect mobility of 174 cm(2)/V s by incorporating silver nanowire (AgNW) arrays to channel electron transport. Compared to the reference counterpart without nanowires, the over 5-fold enhancement in the effective field-effect mobility exhibits clear dependence on the orientation as well as the surface coverage ratio of silver nanowires. Detailed material and device analyses reveal that during the room-temperature IGZO sputtering indium and oxygen diffuse into the nanowire matrix while the nanowire morphology and good contact between IGZO and nanowires are maintained. The unchanged morphology and good interfacial contact lead to high mobility and air-ambient-stable characteristics up to 3 months. Neither hysteresis nor degraded bias stress reliability is observed. The proposed AgNW-mediated a-IGZO TFTs are promising for development of large-scale, flexible, transparent electronics.

Modal analysis of the thermal conductivity of nanowires: examining unique thermal transport features

Science.gov (United States)

Samaraweera, Nalaka; Larkin, Jason M.; Chan, Kin L.; Mithraratne, Kumar

2018-06-01

In this study, unique thermal transport features of nanowires over bulk materials are investigated using a combined analysis based on lattice dynamics and equilibrium molecular dynamics (EMD). The evaluation of the thermal conductivity (TC) of Lenard–Jones nanowires becomes feasible due to the multi-step normal mode decomposition (NMD) procedure implemented in the study. A convergence issue of the TC of nanowires is addressed by the NMD implementation for two case studies, which employ pristine nanowires (PNW) and superlattice nanowires. Interestingly, mode relaxation times at low frequencies of acoustic branches exhibit signs of approaching constant values, thus indicating the convergence of TC. The TC evaluation procedure is further verified by implementing EMD-based Green–Kubo analysis, which is based on a fundamentally different physical perspective. Having verified the NMD procedure, the non-monotonic trend of the TC of nanowires is addressed. It is shown that the principal cause for the observed trend is due to the competing effects of long wavelength phonons and phonon–surface scatterings as the nanowire’s cross-sectional width is changed. A computational procedure is developed to decompose the different modal contribution to the TC of shell alloy nanowires (SANWs) using virtual crystal NMD and the Allen–Feldman theory. Several important conclusions can be drawn from the results. A propagons to non-propagons boundary appeared, resulting in a cut-off frequency (ω cut); moreover, as alloy atomic mass is increased, ω cut shifts to lower frequencies. The existence of non-propagons partly causes the low TC of SANWs. It can be seen that modes with low frequencies demonstrate a similar behavior to corresponding modes of PNWs. Moreover, lower group velocities associated with higher alloy atomic mass resulted in a lower TC of SANWs.

Solution-processed assembly of ultrathin transparent conductive cellulose nanopaper embedding AgNWs

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Yuanyuan; Jiang, Yaoquan; Shi, Liyi; Cao, Shaomei; Feng, Xin; Miao, Miao; Fang, Jianhui

2015-08-01

Natural biomass based cellulose nanopaper is becoming a promising transparent substrate to supersede traditional petroleum based polymer films in realizing future flexible paper-electronics. Here, ultrathin, highly transparent, outstanding conductive hybrid nanopaper with excellent mechanical flexibility was synthesized by the assembly of nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) and silver nanowires (AgNWs) using a pressured extrusion paper-making technique. The hybrid nanopaper with a thickness of 4.5 μm has a good combination of transparent conductive performance and mechanical stability using bamboo/hemp NFC and AgNWs cross-linked by hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC). The heterogeneous fibrous structure of BNFC/HNFC/AgNWs endows a uniform distribution and an enhanced forward light scattering, resulting in high electrical conductivity and optical transmittance. The hybrid nanopaper with an optimal weight ratio of BNFC/HNFC to AgNWs shows outstanding synergistic properties with a transmittance of 86.41% at 550 nm and a sheet resistance of 1.90 ohm sq-1, equal to the electronic conductivity, which is about 500 S cm-1. The BNFC/HNFC/AgNW hybrid nanopaper maintains a stable electrical conductivity after the peeling test and bending at 135° for 1000 cycles, indicating remarkably strong adhesion and mechanical flexibility. Of importance here is that the high-performance and low-cost hybrid nanopaper shows promising potential for electronics application in solar cells, flexible displays and other high-technology products.Natural biomass based cellulose nanopaper is becoming a promising transparent substrate to supersede traditional petroleum based polymer films in realizing future flexible paper-electronics. Here, ultrathin, highly transparent, outstanding conductive hybrid nanopaper with excellent mechanical flexibility was synthesized by the assembly of nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) and silver nanowires (AgNWs) using a pressured extrusion paper-making technique. The

Growth and properties of In(Ga)As nanowires on silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hertenberger, Simon

2012-01-01

by TEM and XRD analysis revealing a disordered wurtzite (WZ) structure with stacking faults occurring every few monolayers to nanometers for InAs nanowires grown under different As/In ratios. However, the nanowire growth temperature is found to influence the crystal structure more significantly, such that longer phase pure WZ segments up to lengths of >10 nm are observed for elevated growth temperatures (≥530 C). Furthermore, InAs nanowire ensembles with different diameter (40-135 nm) are investigated by low-temperature PL spectroscopy. The nanowires show relatively strong emission efficiency, characteristic red-shift with temperature and low-temperature band-edge energy position of ∝0.41 eV for thick nanowires. Reduction in nanowire diameter yields a characteristic blue-shift which is related to quantum confinement effects as confirmed by simulations. The good control about In(Ga)As nanowire growth on Si and the obtained understanding of important physical properties as discussed in this thesis provide a valuable basis for the development of effective high-quality nanowire-based devices.

Growth and properties of In(Ga)As nanowires on silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hertenberger, Simon

2012-10-15

microstructure are investigated by TEM and XRD analysis revealing a disordered wurtzite (WZ) structure with stacking faults occurring every few monolayers to nanometers for InAs nanowires grown under different As/In ratios. However, the nanowire growth temperature is found to influence the crystal structure more significantly, such that longer phase pure WZ segments up to lengths of >10 nm are observed for elevated growth temperatures (≥530 C). Furthermore, InAs nanowire ensembles with different diameter (40-135 nm) are investigated by low-temperature PL spectroscopy. The nanowires show relatively strong emission efficiency, characteristic red-shift with temperature and low-temperature band-edge energy position of ∝0.41 eV for thick nanowires. Reduction in nanowire diameter yields a characteristic blue-shift which is related to quantum confinement effects as confirmed by simulations. The good control about In(Ga)As nanowire growth on Si and the obtained understanding of important physical properties as discussed in this thesis provide a valuable basis for the development of effective high-quality nanowire-based devices.

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

Novel Flexible Transparent Conductive Films with Enhanced Chemical and Electromechanical Sustainability: TiO2 Nanosheet-Ag Nanowire Hybrid.

Science.gov (United States)

Sohn, Hiesang; Kim, Seyun; Shin, Weonho; Lee, Jong Min; Lee, Hyangsook; Yun, Dong-Jin; Moon, Kyoung-Seok; Han, In Taek; Kwak, Chan; Hwang, Seong-Ju

2018-01-24

Flexible transparent conductive films (TCFs) of TiO 2 nanosheet (TiO 2 NS) and silver nanowire (Ag NW) network hybrid were prepared through a simple and scalable solution-based process. The as-formed TiO 2 NS-Ag NW hybrid TCF shows a high optical transmittance (TT: 97% (90.2% including plastic substrate)) and low sheet resistance (R s : 40 Ω/sq). In addition, the TiO 2 NS-Ag NW hybrid TCF exhibits a long-time chemical/aging and electromechanical stability. As for the chemical/aging stability, the hybrid TCF of Ag NW and TiO 2 NS reveals a retained initial conductivity (ΔR s /R s 4000%) or RuO 2 NS-Ag NW hybrid (ΔR s /R s > 200%). As corroborated by the density functional theory simulation, the superb chemical stability of TiO 2 NS-Ag NW hybrid is attributable to the unique role of TiO 2 NS as a barrier, which prevents Ag NW's chemical corrosion via the attenuated adsorption of sulfidation molecules (H 2 S) on TiO 2 NS. With respect to the electromechanical stability, in contrast to Ag NWs (ΔR/R 0 ∼ 152.9%), our hybrid TCF shows a limited increment of fractional resistivity (ΔR/R 0 ∼ 14.4%) after 200 000 cycles of the 1R bending test (strain: 6.7%) owing to mechanically welded Ag NW networks by TiO 2 NS. Overall, our unique hybrid of TiO 2 NS and Ag NW exhibits excellent electrical/optical properties and reliable chemical/electromechanical stabilities.

Polarization Insensitive Wavelength Conversion Based on Four-Wave Mixing in a Silicon Nanowire

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pu, Minhao; Hu, Hao; Peucheret, Christophe

2012-01-01

We experimentally demonstrate, for the first time, polarization-insensitive wavelength conversion of a 10 Gb/s NRZ-OOK data signal based on four-wave mixing in a silicon nanowire with bit-error rate measurements.......We experimentally demonstrate, for the first time, polarization-insensitive wavelength conversion of a 10 Gb/s NRZ-OOK data signal based on four-wave mixing in a silicon nanowire with bit-error rate measurements....

Flexible Semitransparent Energy Harvester with High Pressure Sensitivity and Power Density Based on Laterally Aligned PZT Single-Crystal Nanowires.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Quan-Liang; He, Guang-Ping; Di, Jie-Jian; Song, Wei-Li; Hou, Zhi-Ling; Tan, Pei-Pei; Wang, Da-Wei; Cao, Mao-Sheng

2017-07-26

A flexible semitransparent energy harvester is assembled based on laterally aligned Pb(Zr 0.52 Ti 0.48 )O 3 (PZT) single-crystal nanowires (NWs). Such a harvester presents the highest open-circuit voltage and a stable area power density of up to 10 V and 0.27 μW/cm 2 , respectively. A high pressure sensitivity of 0.14 V/kPa is obtained in the dynamic pressure sensing, much larger than the values reported in other energy harvesters based on piezoelectric single-crystal NWs. Furthermore, theoretical and finite element analyses also confirm that the piezoelectric voltage constant g 33 of PZT NWs is competitive to the lead-based bulk single crystals and ceramics, and the enhanced pressure sensitivity and power density are substantially linked to the flexible structure with laterally aligned PZT NWs. The energy harvester in this work holds great potential in flexible and transparent sensing and self-powered systems.

Quantifying signal changes in nano-wire based biosensors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

De Vico, Luca; Sørensen, Martin Hedegård; Iversen, Lars

2011-01-01

In this work, we present a computational methodology for predicting the change in signal (conductance sensitivity) of a nano-BioFET sensor (a sensor based on a biomolecule binding another biomolecule attached to a nano-wire field effect transistor) upon binding its target molecule. The methodolog...

Homojunction p-n photodiodes based on As-doped single ZnO nanowire

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, H. D.; Zakirov, A. S.; Yuldashev, Sh. U.; Kang, T. W.; Ahn, C. W.; Yeo, Y. K.

2013-01-01

Photovoltaic device was successfully grown solely based on the single ZnO p-n homojunction nanowire. The ZnO nanowire p-n diode consists of an as-grown n-type segment and an in-situ arsenic doped p-type segment. This p-n homojunction acts as a good photovoltaic cell, producing a photocurrent almost 45 times larger than the dark current under reverse-biased condition. Our results demonstrate that present ZnO p-n homojunction nanowire can be used as a self-powered ultraviolet photodetector as well as a photovoltaic cell, which can also be used as an ultralow electrical power source for nano-scale electronic, optoelectronic, and medical devices

A graphene/single GaAs nanowire Schottky junction photovoltaic device.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Yanbin; Yan, Xin; Zhang, Jinnan; Li, Bang; Wu, Yao; Lu, Qichao; Jin, Chenxiaoshuai; Zhang, Xia; Ren, Xiaomin

2018-05-04

A graphene/nanowire Schottky junction is a promising structure for low-cost high-performance optoelectronic devices. Here we demonstrate a graphene/single GaAs nanowire Schottky junction photovoltaic device. The Schottky junction is fabricated by covering a single layer graphene onto an n-doped GaAs nanowire. Under 532 nm laser excitation, the device exhibits a high responsivity of 231 mA W-1 and a short response/recover time of 85/118 μs at zero bias. Under AM 1.5 G solar illumination, the device has an open-circuit voltage of 75.0 mV and a short-circuit current density of 425 mA cm-2, yielding a remarkable conversion efficiency of 8.8%. The excellent photovoltaic performance of the device is attributed to the strong built-in electric field in the Schottky junction as well as the transparent property of graphene. The device is promising for self-powered high-speed photodetectors and low-cost high-efficiency solar cells.

A binary-decision-diagram-based two-bit arithmetic logic unit on a GaAs-based regular nanowire network with hexagonal topology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Hongquan; Kasai, Seiya; Shiratori, Yuta; Hashizume, Tamotsu

2009-01-01

A two-bit arithmetic logic unit (ALU) was successfully fabricated on a GaAs-based regular nanowire network with hexagonal topology. This fundamental building block of central processing units can be implemented on a regular nanowire network structure with simple circuit architecture based on graphical representation of logic functions using a binary decision diagram and topology control of the graph. The four-instruction ALU was designed by integrating subgraphs representing each instruction, and the circuitry was implemented by transferring the logical graph structure to a GaAs-based nanowire network formed by electron beam lithography and wet chemical etching. A path switching function was implemented in nodes by Schottky wrap gate control of nanowires. The fabricated circuit integrating 32 node devices exhibits the correct output waveforms at room temperature allowing for threshold voltage variation.

Electrochemically grown rough-textured nanowires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tyagi, Pawan; Postetter, David; Saragnese, Daniel; Papadakis, Stergios J.; Gracias, David H.

2010-01-01

Nanowires with a rough surface texture show unusual electronic, optical, and chemical properties; however, there are only a few existing methods for producing these nanowires. Here, we describe two methods for growing both free standing and lithographically patterned gold (Au) nanowires with a rough surface texture. The first strategy is based on the deposition of nanowires from a silver (Ag)-Au plating solution mixture that precipitates an Ag-Au cyanide complex during electrodeposition at low current densities. This complex disperses in the plating solution, thereby altering the nanowire growth to yield a rough surface texture. These nanowires are mass produced in alumina membranes. The second strategy produces long and rough Au nanowires on lithographically patternable nickel edge templates with corrugations formed by partial etching. These rough nanowires can be easily arrayed and integrated with microscale devices.

Effect of Graphene-EC on Ag NW-Based Transparent Film Heaters: Optimizing the Stability and Heat Dispersion of Films.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Minghui; Wang, Minqiang; Li, Le; Qiu, Hengwei; Yang, Zhi

2018-01-10

To optimize the performance of silver nanowire (Ag NW) film heaters and explore the effect of graphene on a film, we introduced poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and graphene modified with ethyl cellulose (graphene-EC) into the film. The high-quality and well-dispersed graphene-EC was synthesized from graphene obtained by electrochemical exfoliation as a precursor. The transparent film heaters were fabricated via spin-coating. With the assistance of graphene-EC, the stability of film heaters was greatly improved, and the conductivity was optimized by adjusting the Ag NW concentration. The film heaters exhibited a fast and accurate response to voltage, accompanied by excellent environmental endurance, and there was no significant performance degradation after being operated for a long period of time. These results indicate that graphene-EC plays a crucial role in optimizing film stability and heat dispersion in the film. The Ag NW/PEDOT:PSS-doped graphene-EC film heaters show a great potential in low-cost indium-tin-oxide-free flexible transparent electrodes, heating systems, and transparent film heaters.

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).

Current distribution in conducting nanowire networks

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Ankush; Vidhyadhiraja, N. S.; Kulkarni, Giridhar U.

2017-07-01

Conducting nanowire networks find diverse applications in solar cells, touch-screens, transparent heaters, sensors, and various related transparent conducting electrode (TCE) devices. The performances of these devices depend on effective resistance, transmittance, and local current distribution in these networks. Although, there have been rigorous studies addressing resistance and transmittance in TCE, not much attention is paid on studying the distribution of current. Present work addresses this compelling issue of understanding current distribution in TCE networks using analytical as well as Monte-Carlo approaches. We quantified the current carrying backbone region against isolated and dangling regions as a function of wire density (ranging from percolation threshold to many multiples of threshold) and compared the wired connectivity with those obtained from template-based methods. Further, the current distribution in the obtained backbone is studied using Kirchhoff's law, which reveals that a significant fraction of the backbone (which is believed to be an active current component) may not be active for end-to-end current transport due to the formation of intervening circular loops. The study shows that conducting wire based networks possess hot spots (extremely high current carrying regions) which can be potential sources of failure. The fraction of these hot spots is found to decrease with increase in wire density, while they are completely absent in template based networks. Thus, the present work discusses unexplored issues related to current distribution in conducting networks, which are necessary to choose the optimum network for best TCE applications.

A new architecture as transparent electrodes for solar and IR applications based on photonic structures via soft lithography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuang, Ping [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

2011-01-01

Transparent conducting electrodes with the combination of high optical transmission and good electrical conductivity are essential for solar energy harvesting and electric lighting devices. Currently, indium tin oxide (ITO) is used because ITO offers relatively high transparency (>80%) to visible light and low sheet resistance (R_s = 10 ohms/square (Ω /2)) for electrical conduction. However, ITO is costly due to limited indium reserves, and it is brittle. These disadvantages have motivated the search for other conducting electrodes with similar or better properties. There has been research on a variety of electrode structures involving carbon nanotube networks, graphene films, nanowire and nanopatterned meshes and grids. Due to their novel characteristics in light manipulation and collection, photonic crystal structures show promise for further improvement. Here, we report on a new architecture consisting of nanoscale high aspect ratio metallic photonic structures as transparent electrodes fabricated via a combination of processes. For (Au) and silver (Ag) structures, the visible light transmission can reach as high as 80%, and the sheet resistance of the structure can be as low as 3.2Ω /2. The optical transparency of the high aspect ratio metal structures at visible wavelength range is comparable to that of ITO glass, while their sheet resistance is more than 3 times lower, which indicates a much higher electrical conductivity of the metal structures. Furthermore, the high aspect ratio metal structures have very high infrared (IR) reflection (90%) for the transverse magnetic (TM) mode, which can lead to the development of fabrication of metallic structures as IR filters for heat control applications. Investigations of interdigitated structures based on the high aspect ratio metal electrodes are ongoing to study the feasibility in smart window applications in light transmission modulation.

Nanowire-based gas sensors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, X.; Wong, C.K.Y.; Yuan, C.A.; Zhang, G.

2013-01-01

Gas sensors fabricated with nanowires as the detecting elements are powerful due to their many improved characteristics such as high surface-to-volume ratios, ultrasensitivity, higher selectivity, low power consumption, and fast response. This paper gives an overview on the recent process of the

Transparent conducting films of hierarchically nanostructured polyaniline networks on flexible substrates for high-performance gas sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Shouli; Sun, Chaozheng; Wan, Pengbo; Wang, Cheng; Luo, Ruixian; Li, Yaping; Liu, Junfeng; Sun, Xiaoming

2015-01-21

Transparent chemical gas sensors are assembled from a transparent conducting film of hierarchically nanostructured polyaniline (PANI) networks fabricated on a flexible PET substrate, by coating silver nanowires (Ag NWs) followed by the in situ polymerization of aniline near the sacrificial Ag NW template. The sensor exhibits enhanced gas sensing performance at room temperature in both sensitivity and selectivity to NH3 compared to pure PANI film. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

ZnO-Based Transparent Conductive Thin Films: Doping, Performance, and Processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Y.; Li, Y.; Zeng, H.

2013-01-01

ZnO-based transparent conductive thin films have attracted much attention as a promising substitute material to the currently used indium-tin-oxide thin films in transparent electrode applications. However, the detailed function of the dopants, acting on the electrical and optical properties of ZnO-based transparent conductive thin films, is not clear yet, which has limited the development and practical applications of ZnO transparent conductive thin films. Growth conditions such as substrate type, growth temperature, and ambient atmosphere all play important roles in structural, electrical, and optical properties of films. This paper takes a panoramic view on properties of ZnO thin films and reviews the very recent works on new, efficient, low-temperature, and high-speed deposition technologies. In addition, we highlighted the methods of producing ZnO-based transparent conductive film on flexible substrate, one of the most promising and rapidly emerging research areas. As optimum-processing-parameter conditions are being obtained and their influencing mechanism is becoming clear, we can see that there will be a promising future for ZnO-based transparent conductive films.

Title: Using Alignment and 2D Network Simulations to Study Charge Transport Through Doped ZnO Nanowire Thin Film Electrodes

KAUST Repository

Phadke, Sujay

2011-09-30

Factors affecting charge transport through ZnO nanowire mat films were studied by aligning ZnO nanowires on substrates and coupling experimental measurements with 2D nanowire network simulations. Gallium doped ZnO nanowires were aligned on thermally oxidized silicon wafer by shearing a nanowire dispersion in ethanol. Sheet resistances of nanowire thin films that had current flowing parallel to nanowire alignment direction were compared to thin films that had current flowing perpendicular to nanowire alignment direction. Perpendicular devices showed ∼5 fold greater sheet resistance than parallel devices supporting the hypothesis that aligning nanowires would increase conductivity of ZnO nanowire electrodes. 2-D nanowire network simulations of thin films showed that the device sheet resistance was dominated by inter-wire contact resistance. For a given resistivity of ZnO nanowires, the thin film electrodes would have the lowest possible sheet resistance if the inter-wire contact resistance was one order of magnitude lower than the single nanowire resistance. Simulations suggest that the conductivity of such thin film devices could be further enhanced by using longer nanowires. Solution processed Gallium doped ZnO nanowires are aligned on substrates using an innovative shear coating technique. Nanowire alignment has shown improvement in ZnO nanowire transparent electrode conductivity. 2D network simulations in conjunction with electrical measurements have revealed different regimes of operation of nanowire thin films and provided a guideline for improving electrical performance of nanowire electrodes. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Enhancement of Si solar cell efficiency using ZnO nanowires with various diameters

Science.gov (United States)

Gholizadeh, A.; Reyhani, A.; Parvin, P.; Mortazavi, S. Z.; Mehrabi, M.

2018-01-01

Here, Zinc Oxide nanowires are synthesized using thermal chemical vapor deposition of a Zn granulate source and used to enhance a significant Si-solar cell efficiency with simple and low cost method. The nanowires are grown in various O2 flow rates. Those affect the shape, yield, structure and the quality of ZnO nanowires according to scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction analyses. This delineates that the ZnO nanostructure is dependent on the synthesis conditions. The photoluminescence spectroscopy of ZnO indicates optical emission at the Ultra-Violet and blue-green regions whose intensity varies as a function of diameter of ZnO nano-wires. The optical property of ZnO layer is measured by UV-visible and diffuse reflection spectroscopy that demonstrate high absorbance at 280-550 nm. Furthermore, the photovoltaic characterization of ZnO nanowires is investigated based on the drop casting on Si-solar cell. The ZnO nanowires with various diameters demonstrate different effects on the efficiency of Si-solar cells. We have shown that the reduction of the spectral reflectance and down-shifting process as well as the reduction of photon trapping are essential parameters on the efficiency of Si-solar cells. However, the latter is dominated here. In fact, the trapped photons during the electron-hole generation are dominant due to lessening the absorption rate in ZnO nano-wires. The results indicate that the mean diameters reduction of ZnO nanowires is also essential to improve the fill factor. The external and internal quantum efficiency analyses attest the efficiency improvement over the blue region which is related to the key parameters above.

WPG-Controlled Quantum BDD Circuits with BDD Architecture on GaAs-Based Hexagonal Nanowire Network Structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hong-Quan ZHao

2012-01-01

Full Text Available One-dimensional nanowire quantum devices and basic quantum logic AND and OR unit on hexagonal nanowire units controlled by wrap gate (WPG were designed and fabricated on GaAs-based one-dimensional electron gas (1-DEG regular nanowire network with hexagonal topology. These basic quantum logic units worked correctly at 35 K, and clear quantum conductance was achieved on the node device, logic AND circuit unit, and logic OR circuit unit. Binary-decision-diagram- (BDD- based arithmetic logic unit (ALU is realized on GaAs-based regular nanowire network with hexagonal topology by the same fabrication method as that of the quantum devices and basic circuits. This BDD-based ALU circuit worked correctly at room temperature. Since these quantum devices and circuits are basic units of the BDD ALU combinational circuit, the possibility of integrating these quantum devices and basic quantum circuits into the BDD-based quantum circuit with more complicated structures was discussed. We are prospecting the realization of quantum BDD combinational circuitries with very small of energy consumption and very high density of integration.

Flexible Piezoelectric-Induced Pressure Sensors for Static Measurements Based on Nanowires/Graphene Heterostructures.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zefeng; Wang, Zhao; Li, Xinming; Lin, Yuxuan; Luo, Ningqi; Long, Mingzhu; Zhao, Ni; Xu, Jian-Bin

2017-05-23

The piezoelectric effect is widely applied in pressure sensors for the detection of dynamic signals. However, these piezoelectric-induced pressure sensors have challenges in measuring static signals that are based on the transient flow of electrons in an external load as driven by the piezopotential arisen from dynamic stress. Here, we present a pressure sensor with nanowires/graphene heterostructures for static measurements based on the synergistic mechanisms between strain-induced polarization charges in piezoelectric nanowires and the caused change of carrier scattering in graphene. Compared to the conventional piezoelectric nanowire or graphene pressure sensors, this sensor is capable of measuring static pressures with a sensitivity of up to 9.4 × 10 -3 kPa -1 and a fast response time down to 5-7 ms. This demonstration of pressure sensors shows great potential in the applications of electronic skin and wearable devices.

Effect of stacking faults on the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of hcp Co-based nanowires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kha, Tuan Mai; Schoenstein, Frédéric; Zighem, Fatih [Laboratoire des Sciences des Procédés et des Matériaux (LSPM-UPR3407), CNRS-Université Paris XIII, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Villetaneuse (France); Nowak, Sophie [Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, ITODYS, CNRS UMR 7086, 15 rue J.-A. de Baïf, 75205 Paris Cedex 13 (France); Leridon, Brigitte [LPEM, ESPCI Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC, F-75005 Paris (France); Jouini, Noureddine [Laboratoire des Sciences des Procédés et des Matériaux (LSPM-UPR3407), CNRS-Université Paris XIII, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Villetaneuse (France); Mercone, Silvana, E-mail: silvana.mercone@univ-paris13.fr [Laboratoire des Sciences des Procédés et des Matériaux (LSPM-UPR3407), CNRS-Université Paris XIII, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Villetaneuse (France)

2017-01-15

Replacing materials based on rare-earth elements in current permanent magnets is a real scientific, economic and environmental challenge. Ferromagnetic 3d transition metals seem an apt direction to go in this field, due to their high residual magnetization and thermal stability. In order to improve their coercive behavior, nanostructured magnets based on the assembly of high-aspect-ratio nanoparticles (i.e. cobalt based nanorods and nanowires) have recently been proposed. In these, the nanoparticle morphology itself drives the magnetization reversal mechanism. This purely geometrical effect seems to obscure the effects of structural defects, although it is clear that high magnetocrystalline energy is required to maintain a stable orientation of the magnetic moment inside the nanoparticles. We present here an experimental study whose aim is to distinguish the role of the stacking faults from the effects of shape and morphology on the magnetization reversal mechanism in cobalt-based nanowires. Coercive field results have been obtained on Co{sub 80}Ni{sub 20} nanowires synthesized by a polyol process. Through accurate control of shape and morphology, it was possible to discard the effects of shape and thus to highlight the influence of crystal defects on the magnetism of Co{sub 80}Ni{sub 20} nanowires. A micromagnetic study, consistent with the experimental analyses, is also presented. The results discussed in this work clearly show that even if the morphological characteristics are conducive to a high coercive field, the presence of numerous stacking faults has the opposite effect and leads to materials with a significantly lower coercive field than expected, which is not suitable for permanent magnet applications. - Highlights: • Optimization of the nanowires magnetic properties for permanent magnet applications. • Magnetization reversal mechanism study as function of the shape, structural and chemical homogeneity. • Effect of stacking faults on the coercive

Reliability of Single Crystal Silver Nanowire-Based Systems: Stress Assisted Instabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramachandramoorthy, Rajaprakash; Wang, Yanming; Aghaei, Amin; Richter, Gunther; Cai, Wei; Espinosa, Horacio D

2017-05-23

Time-dependent mechanical characterization of nanowires is critical to understand their long-term reliability in applications, such as flexible-electronics and touch screens. It is also of great importance to develop a theoretical framework for experimentation and analysis on the mechanics of nanowires under time-dependent loading conditions, such as stress-relaxation and fatigue. Here, we combine in situ scanning electron microscope (SEM)/transmission electron microscope (TEM) tests with atomistic and phase-field simulations to understand the deformation mechanisms of single crystal silver nanowires held under constant strain. We observe that the nanowires initially undergo stress-relaxation, where the stress reduces with time and saturates after some time period. The stress-relaxation process occurs due to the formation of few dislocations and stacking faults. Remarkably, after a few hours the nanowires rupture suddenly. The reason for this abrupt failure of the nanowire was identified as stress-assisted diffusion, using phase-field simulations. Under a large applied strain, diffusion leads to the amplification of nanowire surface perturbation at long wavelengths and the nanowire fails at the stress-concentrated thin cross-sectional regions. An analytical analysis on the competition between the elastic energy and the surface energy predicts a longer time to failure for thicker nanowires than thinner ones, consistent with our experimental observations. The measured time to failure of nanowires under cyclic loading conditions can also be explained in terms of this mechanism.

Growth and characterisation of group-III nitride-based nanowires for devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meijers, R J

2007-08-30

faults sometimes form at the base of the wires. Optical spectra also exhibit a band gap consistent with strain-free GaN in the upper part of the wires. For InN a band gap value of 0.7-0.8 eV has been determined at low temperatures. The doping concentration and the position of the Fermi-level in InN depend very much on the crystalline quality. In general the luminescence of GaN and InN improves with increased T{sub sub}. For GaN the defect-related peaks decrease and in InN the carrier concentration is reduced. Optical spectra confirm the effective incorporation of the dopant species in the nanowires despite a large nanowire surface and unfavourable growth conditions for doping, which are required for nitride nanowire growth. (orig.)

Multisensor system based on bisphthalocyanine nanowires for the detection of antioxidants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gay Martín, Mónica; Saja, José Antonio de; Muñoz, Raquel; Rodríguez-Méndez, María Luz

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Sensors based on LnPc 2 nanowires can be prepared by electrodeposition (EDP). ► An electronic tongue can be constructed by combining EDP sensors with a data treatment system. ► The e-tongue is able to discriminate antioxidants of interest in the food industry. ► The fast preparation and excellent performance of these nanostructured sensors is an advantage. - Abstract: Electrophoretic deposition has been used to prepare thin films based on nanowires of three lanthanoid bisphthalocyaninates (including dysprosium, gadolinium and lutetium). Nanowires of similar structural characteristics have been obtained for the three compounds by tuning the electrophoretic conditions according to the redox properties of each phthalocyanine. The three electrodes have been used to form an array of sensors that has been employed to discriminate phenolic antioxidants of interest in the food industry including caffeic, gallic, vanillic and ferulic acids. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) of the electrochemical signals has allowed a clear discrimination of the four phenols analyzed according to the number of phenolic groups attached to the structure (monophenol, diphenol or triphenol). The PCA loading plots indicate that the three electrodes bring complementary information facilitating the discrimination of the studied solutions. In addition, good correlations between the intensity of the redox processes observed in the electrodes and the concentration of phenolic compounds have been found with detection limits in the range of 10 −5 –10 −6 mol L −1 and good reproducibility. The fast preparation of these nanowires based films and their excellent performance offer a new sensing platform for the detection of antioxidants in a fast, reliable way.

Effect of zinc doping on the bandgap and photoluminescence of Zn2+-doped TiO2 nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Loan, Trinh Thi; Huong, Vu Hoang; Tham, Vu Thi; Long, Nguyen Ngoc

2018-03-01

This study was focused on the effect of Zn2+ dopant concentration on the absorption edge and photoluminescence of anatase TiO2 nanowires synthesized by hydrothermal technique. For the undoped anatase TiO2 nanowires, the indirect band gap of 3.26 eV and the direct band gap of 3.58 eV are assigned to the indirect Γ3 → X1b and direct X2b → X1b transitions, respectively. The Zn2+-doping makes the absorption edge of TiO2:Zn2+ nanowires shift towards the lower energy side (red shift). On the other hand, the replacing Ti4+ ions with Zn2+ ions creates oxygen vacancies (VO) and shallow defects associated with VO. Just these defects are responsible for the enhanced luminescence of Zn2+-doped TiO2 nanowires.

Effect of the nanowire diameter on the linearity of the response of GaN-based heterostructured nanowire photodetectors

Science.gov (United States)

Spies, Maria; Polaczyński, Jakub; Ajay, Akhil; Kalita, Dipankar; Luong, Minh Anh; Lähnemann, Jonas; Gayral, Bruno; den Hertog, Martien I.; Monroy, Eva

2018-06-01

Nanowire photodetectors are investigated because of their compatibility with flexible electronics, or for the implementation of on-chip optical interconnects. Such devices are characterized by ultrahigh photocurrent gain, but their photoresponse scales sublinearly with the optical power. Here, we present a study of single-nanowire photodetectors displaying a linear response to ultraviolet illumination. Their structure consists of a GaN nanowire incorporating an AlN/GaN/AlN heterostructure, which generates an internal electric field. The activity of the heterostructure is confirmed by the rectifying behavior of the current–voltage characteristics in the dark, as well as by the asymmetry of the photoresponse in magnitude and linearity. Under reverse bias (negative bias on the GaN cap segment), the detectors behave linearly with the impinging optical power when the nanowire diameter is below a certain threshold (≈80 nm), which corresponds to the total depletion of the nanowire stem due to the Fermi level pinning at the sidewalls. In the case of nanowires that are only partially depleted, their nonlinearity is explained by a nonlinear variation of the diameter of their central conducting channel under illumination.

Effects of quantum confinement and shape on band gap of core/shell quantum dots and nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Faming

2011-05-01

A quantum confinement model for nanocrystals developed is extended to study for the optical gap shifts in core/shell quantum dots and nanowires. The chemical bond properties and gap shifts in the InP/ZnS, CdSe/CdS, CdSe/ZnS, and CdTe/ZnS core/shell quantum dots are calculated in detail. The calculated band gaps are in excellent agreement with experimental values. The effects of structural taping and twinning on quantum confinement of InP and Si nanowires are elucidated. It is found theoretically that a competition between the positive Kubo energy-gap shift and the negative surface energy shift plays the crucial role in the optical gaps of these nanosystems.

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.

Evaluating conducting network based transparent electrodes from geometrical considerations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, Ankush [Chemistry and Physics of Materials Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, 560064 Bangalore (India); Kulkarni, G. U., E-mail: guk@cens.res.in [Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences, 560013 Bangalore (India)

2016-01-07

Conducting nanowire networks have been developed as viable alternative to existing indium tin oxide based transparent electrode (TE). The nature of electrical conduction and process optimization for electrodes have gained much from the theoretical models based on percolation transport using Monte Carlo approach and applying Kirchhoff's law on individual junctions and loops. While most of the literature work pertaining to theoretical analysis is focussed on networks obtained from conducting rods (mostly considering only junction resistance), hardly any attention has been paid to those made using template based methods, wherein the structure of network is neither similar to network obtained from conducting rods nor similar to well periodic geometry. Here, we have attempted an analytical treatment based on geometrical arguments and applied image analysis on practical networks to gain deeper insight into conducting networked structure particularly in relation to sheet resistance and transmittance. Many literature examples reporting networks with straight or curvilinear wires with distributions in wire width and length have been analysed by treating the networks as two dimensional graphs and evaluating the sheet resistance based on wire density and wire width. The sheet resistance values from our analysis compare well with the experimental values. Our analysis on various examples has revealed that low sheet resistance is achieved with high wire density and compactness with straight rather than curvilinear wires and with narrower wire width distribution. Similarly, higher transmittance for given sheet resistance is possible with narrower wire width but of higher thickness, minimal curvilinearity, and maximum connectivity. For the purpose of evaluating active fraction of the network, the algorithm was made to distinguish and quantify current carrying backbone regions as against regions containing only dangling or isolated wires. The treatment can be helpful in

Evaluating conducting network based transparent electrodes from geometrical considerations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Ankush; Kulkarni, G. U.

2016-01-01

Conducting nanowire networks have been developed as viable alternative to existing indium tin oxide based transparent electrode (TE). The nature of electrical conduction and process optimization for electrodes have gained much from the theoretical models based on percolation transport using Monte Carlo approach and applying Kirchhoff's law on individual junctions and loops. While most of the literature work pertaining to theoretical analysis is focussed on networks obtained from conducting rods (mostly considering only junction resistance), hardly any attention has been paid to those made using template based methods, wherein the structure of network is neither similar to network obtained from conducting rods nor similar to well periodic geometry. Here, we have attempted an analytical treatment based on geometrical arguments and applied image analysis on practical networks to gain deeper insight into conducting networked structure particularly in relation to sheet resistance and transmittance. Many literature examples reporting networks with straight or curvilinear wires with distributions in wire width and length have been analysed by treating the networks as two dimensional graphs and evaluating the sheet resistance based on wire density and wire width. The sheet resistance values from our analysis compare well with the experimental values. Our analysis on various examples has revealed that low sheet resistance is achieved with high wire density and compactness with straight rather than curvilinear wires and with narrower wire width distribution. Similarly, higher transmittance for given sheet resistance is possible with narrower wire width but of higher thickness, minimal curvilinearity, and maximum connectivity. For the purpose of evaluating active fraction of the network, the algorithm was made to distinguish and quantify current carrying backbone regions as against regions containing only dangling or isolated wires. The treatment can be helpful in

Site-Specific Growth and in Situ Integration of Different Nanowire Material Networks on a Single Chip: Toward a Nanowire-Based Electronic Nose for Gas Detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Hrachowina, Lukas; Domènech-Gil, Guillem; Pardo, Antonio; Seifner, Michael S; Gràcia, Isabel; Cané, Carles; Romano-Rodríguez, Albert; Barth, Sven

2018-03-23

A new method for the site-selective synthesis of nanowires has been developed to enable material growth with defined morphology and, at the same time, different composition on the same chip surface. The chemical vapor deposition approach for the growth of these nanowire-based resistive devices using micromembranes can be easily modified and represents a simple, adjustable fabrication process for the direct integration of nanowire meshes in multifunctional devices. This proof-of-concept study includes the deposition of SnO 2 , WO 3 , and Ge nanowires on the same chip. The individual resistors exhibit adequate gas sensing responses toward changing gas concentrations of CO, NO 2 , and humidity diluted in synthetic air. The data have been processed by principal component analysis with cluster responses that can be easily separated, and thus, the devices described herein are in principle suitable for environmental monitoring.

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.

Photovoltaic and Impedance Properties of Hierarchical TiO2 Nanowire Based Quantum Dot Sensitized Solar Cell

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amanullah Fatehmulla

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Growth and characterization of TiO2 nanowire (NW assemblies on FTO glass using a typical hydrothermal synthesis have been reported. CdS quantum dots (QDs have been deposited on TiO2 nanowires by successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR method. FESEM image exhibits the flower-like hierarchical TiO2 bunch of nanowires. HRTEM image confirms the size of CdS QDs between 5 and 6 nm. XRD and absorption studies revealed proper growth of CdS quantum dots on TiO2 nanowires. At AM 1.5 illumination intensity, the solar cell, with the configuration FTO/TiO2-NW/CdS-QDs/Pt-FTO, displays a short circuit current (Jsc of 1.295 mA and an open circuit voltage (Voc of 0.38 V. The Voc and Jsc showed linear behavior at higher illumination intensities. The peak in power-voltage characteristics at various illuminations showed a shift towards higher Voc values. Capacitance-voltage (C-V, conductance-voltage (G-V, and series resistance-voltage (Rs-V measurements of the cell in the frequency ranging from 5 kHz to 5 MHz showed decreasing trend of capacitance with increase of frequency whereas increase in conductance and decrease in resistance have been noticed with increase of frequency. All the results including the individual behavior of the plots of capacitance, conductance, and series resistance as a function of bias voltage have been discussed.

Quantum optics with nanowires (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Zwiller, Val

2017-02-01

Nanowires offer new opportunities for nanoscale quantum optics; the quantum dot geometry in semiconducting nanowires as well as the material composition and environment can be engineered with unprecedented freedom to improve the light extraction efficiency. Quantum dots in nanowires are shown to be efficient single photon sources, in addition because of the very small fine structure splitting, we demonstrate the generation of entangled pairs of photons from a nanowire. By doping a nanowire and making ohmic contacts on both sides, a nanowire light emitting diode can be obtained with a single quantum dot as the active region. Under forward bias, this will act as an electrically pumped source of single photons. Under reverse bias, an avalanche effect can multiply photocurrent and enables the detection of single photons. Another type of nanowire under study in our group is superconducting nanowires for single photon detection, reaching efficiencies, time resolution and dark counts beyond currently available detectors. We will discuss our first attempts at combining semiconducting nanowire based single photon emitters and superconducting nanowire single photon detectors on a chip to realize integrated quantum circuits.

Effect of annealing over optoelectronic properties of graphene based transparent electrodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yadav, Shriniwas, E-mail: sniwas89@gmail.com; Kaur, Inderpreet, E-mail: inderpreety@yahoo.co.in [Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research- Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (AcSIR-CSIO), Sector-30C, Chandigarh (India); Council of Scientific and Industrial Research- Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIR-CSIO), Sector-30C, Chandigarh (India)

2016-04-13

Graphene, an atom–thick two dimensional graphitic material have led various fundamental breakthroughs in the field of science and technology. Due to their exceptional optical, physical and electrical properties, graphene based transparent electrodes have shown several applications in organic light emitting diodes, solar cells and thin film transistors. Here, we are presenting effect of annealing over optoelectronic properties of graphene based transparent electrodes. Graphene based transparent electrodes have been prepared by wet chemical approach over glass substrates. After fabrication, these electrodes tested for optical transmittance in visible region. Sheet resistance was measured using four probe method. Effect of thermal annealing at 200 °C was studied over optical and electrical performance of these electrodes. Optoelectronic performance was judged from ratio of direct current conductivity to optical conductivity (σ{sub dc}/σ{sub opt}) as a figure of merit for transparent conductors. The fabricated electrodes display good optical and electrical properties. Such electrodes can be alternatives for doped metal oxide based transparent electrodes.

Effect of annealing over optoelectronic properties of graphene based transparent electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Yadav, Shriniwas; Kaur, Inderpreet

2016-04-01

Graphene, an atom-thick two dimensional graphitic material have led various fundamental breakthroughs in the field of science and technology. Due to their exceptional optical, physical and electrical properties, graphene based transparent electrodes have shown several applications in organic light emitting diodes, solar cells and thin film transistors. Here, we are presenting effect of annealing over optoelectronic properties of graphene based transparent electrodes. Graphene based transparent electrodes have been prepared by wet chemical approach over glass substrates. After fabrication, these electrodes tested for optical transmittance in visible region. Sheet resistance was measured using four probe method. Effect of thermal annealing at 200 °C was studied over optical and electrical performance of these electrodes. Optoelectronic performance was judged from ratio of direct current conductivity to optical conductivity (σdc/σopt) as a figure of merit for transparent conductors. The fabricated electrodes display good optical and electrical properties. Such electrodes can be alternatives for doped metal oxide based transparent electrodes.

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.

Preparation and characterization of titania based nanowires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stengl, Vaclav; Bakardjieva, Snejana; Murafa, Natalie; Vecernikova, Eva; Subrt, Jan; Balek, Vladimir

2007-01-01

A new method for preparation of titania nanowires with diameter around 10 nm and length up to 2-3 μm is described. The precursor was prepared from sodium titanate by adding ethylene glycole (EG) and heating at temperature of 198 deg. C for 6 h under reflux. The sodium titanate glycolate formed by this way aggregated into 1D nanostructures and was subsequently transformed into titania glycolate during a chemical treatment with 98% sulfuric acid. Titania nanowires with variable amount of anatase and rutile were prepared by heating to temperatures in the range 350-1000 deg. C. The precursor as well as titania based samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Infrared spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy, High resolution transmission microscopy, Thermogravimetry, Differential thermal analysis, Evolved gas analysis and Emanation thermal analysis. The nitrogen adsorption/desorption was used for surface area and porosity determination. The photoactivity of the prepared titania samples was assessed by the photocatalytic decomposition of 4-chlorophenol in an aqueous slurry under UV irradiation of 365 nm wavelength

Roll-to-roll slot-die coating of 400 mm wide, flexible, transparent Ag nanowire films for flexible touch screen panels.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Dong-Ju; Shin, Hae-In; Ko, Eun-Hye; Kim, Ki-Hyun; Kim, Tae-Woong; Kim, Han-Ki

2016-09-28

We report fabrication of large area Ag nanowire (NW) film coated using a continuous roll-to-roll (RTR) slot die coater as a viable alternative to conventional ITO electrodes for cost-effective and large-area flexible touch screen panels (TSPs). By controlling the flow rate of shear-thinning Ag NW ink in the slot die, we fabricated Ag NW percolating network films with different sheet resistances (30-70 Ohm/square), optical transmittance values (89-90%), and haze (0.5-1%) percentages. Outer/inner bending, twisting, and rolling tests as well as dynamic fatigue tests demonstrated that the mechanical flexibility of the slot-die coated Ag NW films was superior to that of conventional ITO films. Using diamond-shape patterned Ag NW layer electrodes (50 Ohm/square, 90% optical transmittance), we fabricated 12-inch flexible film-film type and rigid glass-film-film type TSPs. Successful operation of flexible TSPs with Ag NW electrodes indicates that slot-die-coated large-area Ag NW films are promising low cost, high performance, and flexible transparent electrodes for cost-effective large-area flexible TSPs and can be substituted for ITO films, which have high sheet resistance and are brittle.

Roll-to-roll slot-die coating of 400 mm wide, flexible, transparent Ag nanowire films for flexible touch screen panels

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Dong-Ju; Shin, Hae-In; Ko, Eun-Hye; Kim, Ki-Hyun; Kim, Tae-Woong; Kim, Han-Ki

2016-09-01

We report fabrication of large area Ag nanowire (NW) film coated using a continuous roll-to-roll (RTR) slot die coater as a viable alternative to conventional ITO electrodes for cost-effective and large-area flexible touch screen panels (TSPs). By controlling the flow rate of shear-thinning Ag NW ink in the slot die, we fabricated Ag NW percolating network films with different sheet resistances (30-70 Ohm/square), optical transmittance values (89-90%), and haze (0.5-1%) percentages. Outer/inner bending, twisting, and rolling tests as well as dynamic fatigue tests demonstrated that the mechanical flexibility of the slot-die coated Ag NW films was superior to that of conventional ITO films. Using diamond-shape patterned Ag NW layer electrodes (50 Ohm/square, 90% optical transmittance), we fabricated 12-inch flexible film-film type and rigid glass-film-film type TSPs. Successful operation of flexible TSPs with Ag NW electrodes indicates that slot-die-coated large-area Ag NW films are promising low cost, high performance, and flexible transparent electrodes for cost-effective large-area flexible TSPs and can be substituted for ITO films, which have high sheet resistance and are brittle.

Ultra compact triplexing filters based on SOI nanowire AWGs

Science.gov (United States)

Jiashun, Zhang; Junming, An; Lei, Zhao; Shijiao, Song; Liangliang, Wang; Jianguang, Li; Hongjie, Wang; Yuanda, Wu; Xiongwei, Hu

2011-04-01

An ultra compact triplexing filter was designed based on a silicon on insulator (SOI) nanowire arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) for fiber-to-the-home FTTH. The simulation results revealed that the design performed well in the sense of having a good triplexing function. The designed SOI nanowire AWGs were fabricated using ultraviolet lithography and induced coupler plasma etching. The experimental results showed that the crosstalk was less than -15 dB, and the 3 dB-bandwidth was 11.04 nm. The peak wavelength output from ports a, c, and b were 1455, 1510 and 1300 nm, respectively, which deviated from our original expectations. The deviation of the wavelength is mainly caused by 45 nm width deviation of the arrayed waveguides during the course of the fabrication process and partly caused by material dispersion.

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

An optically transparent, flexible, patterned and conductive silk biopolymer film (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Umar, Muhammad; Min, Kyungtaek; Kim, Sunghwan

2017-02-01

Transparent, flexible, and conducting films are of great interest for wearable electronics. For better biotic/abiotic interface, the films to integrate the electronics components requires the patterned surface conductors with optical transparency, smoothness, good electrical conductivity, along with the biofriendly traits of films. We focus on silk fibroin, a natural biopolymer extracted from the Bombyx mori cocoons, for this bioelectronics applications. Here we report an optically transparent, flexible, and patterned surface conductor on a silk film by burying a silver nanowires (AgNW) network below the surface of the silk film. The conducting silk film reveals high optical transparency of 80% and the excellent electronic conductivity of 15 Ω/sq, along with smooth surface. The integration of light emitting diode (LED) chip on the patterned electrodes confirms that the current can flow through the transparent and patterned electrodes on the silk film, and this result shows an application for integration of functional electronic/opto-electronic devices. Additionally, we fabricate a transparent and flexible radio frequency (RF) antenna and resistor on a silk film and apply these as a food sensor by monitoring the increasing resistance by the flow of gases from the spoiled food.

EDITORIAL: Nanowires for energy Nanowires for energy

Science.gov (United States)

LaPierre, Ray; Sunkara, Mahendra

2012-05-01

This special issue of Nanotechnology focuses on studies illustrating the application of nanowires for energy including solar cells, efficient lighting and water splitting. Over the next three decades, nanotechnology will make significant contributions towards meeting the increased energy needs of the planet, now known as the TeraWatt challenge. Nanowires in particular are poised to contribute significantly in this development as presented in the review by Hiralal et al [1]. Nanowires exhibit light trapping properties that can act as a broadband anti-reflection coating to enhance the efficiency of solar cells. In this issue, Li et al [2] and Wang et al [3] present the optical properties of silicon nanowire and nanocone arrays. In addition to enhanced optical properties, core-shell nanowires also have the potential for efficient charge carrier collection across the nanowire diameter as presented in the contribution by Yu et al [4] for radial junction a-Si solar cells. Hybrid approaches that combine organic and inorganic materials also have potential for high efficiency photovoltaics. A Si-based hybrid solar cell is presented by Zhang et al [5] with a photoconversion efficiency of over 7%. The quintessential example of hybrid solar cells is the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) where an organic absorber (dye) coats an inorganic material (typically a ZnO nanostructure). Herman et al [6] present a method of enhancing the efficiency of a DSSC by increasing the hetero-interfacial area with a unique hierarchical weeping willow ZnO structure. The increased surface area allows for higher dye loading, light harvesting, and reduced charge recombination through direct conduction along the ZnO branches. Another unique ZnO growth method is presented by Calestani et al [7] using a solution-free and catalyst-free approach by pulsed electron deposition (PED). Nanowires can also make more efficient use of electrical power. Light emitting diodes, for example, will eventually become the

Probing the onset of laser-induced relativistic transparency in massive targets

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Tao; Wagner, Craig; Toncian, Toma; Dyer, Gilliss; Arefiev, Alexey; Ditmire, Todd

2017-10-01

We have investigated a novel approach of using harmonics of the laser frequency generated in the plasma to detect the onset of relativistic transparency induced by an intense laser pulse. The onset of the transparency is directly associated with a forward motion of a relativistically adjusted critical surface. The corresponding velocity is relativistic, so the harmonics generated at this critical surface are noticeably shifted. Using particle-in-cell simulations, we have confirmed that the resulting shift greatly exceeds the shift produced during a hole-boring process when the relativistic transparency plays no role, which allows us to clearly identify the onset of the relativistic transparency. Experiments that we have carried out at the Texas Petawatt laser showcase this approach. The 3rd harmonic signal detected in experiments with massive targets irradiated at laser intensities around 1020 W/cm2 has a pronounced shift associated with the relativistic transparency. The shift represents a recession of the relativistically adjusted critical surface with a velocity close to 0.2 c. This approach opens a new possibility of detecting changes in the optical properties of matter induced by intense laser pulses even when no transmission of the laser pulse takes place. This research was supported part by NSF (Grant No. 1632777) and NNSA (Cont. No. DE-NA0002008). Simulations were performed using HPC resources at TACC at the University of Texas.

Flexible powder electroluminescent device on silver nanowire electrode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, K.W.; Jeong, H.S.; Park, J.H.; Deressa, G.; Jeong, Y.T.; Lim, K.T.; Park, J.H.; Lee, S.H.; Kim, J.S.

2015-01-01

We have demonstrated the flexible AC powder electroluminescent device based on Ag nanowire electrode. The Ag nanowire electrode showed the nanowire morphology of 20 nm in diameter and 15 μm in length, the transmittance of 87%, and the sheet resistance of 50 Ω/sq, and the higher flexibility than the conventional ITO substrate. The electroluminescence spectra of the Ag nanowire-based device in all frequency and voltage ranges were almost similar with the ITO-based device. In comparison with the ITO-based device, the luminous efficiency of the Ag nanowire-based device was almost same as 1.53 lm/W. - Highlights: • Flexibility of Ag NW substrate was higher than ITO substrate. • EL intensity of Ag NW-based EL device was almost similar with ITO-based EL device. • Charge density and turn-on voltage of Ag NW-based EL device were a little larger than ITO-based EL device

Flexible powder electroluminescent device on silver nanowire electrode

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, K.W.; Jeong, H.S.; Park, J.H.; Deressa, G.; Jeong, Y.T.; Lim, K.T. [Department of Display Science and Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan 608-737 (Korea, Republic of); Park, J.H. [AIDEN company, Cheongju-si 361-911 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, S.H. [R& D Business Lab, Hyosung Corporation, Anyang 431-080 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, J.S., E-mail: jsukim@pknu.ac.kr [Department of Display Science and Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan 608-737 (Korea, Republic of)

2015-09-15

We have demonstrated the flexible AC powder electroluminescent device based on Ag nanowire electrode. The Ag nanowire electrode showed the nanowire morphology of 20 nm in diameter and 15 μm in length, the transmittance of 87%, and the sheet resistance of 50 Ω/sq, and the higher flexibility than the conventional ITO substrate. The electroluminescence spectra of the Ag nanowire-based device in all frequency and voltage ranges were almost similar with the ITO-based device. In comparison with the ITO-based device, the luminous efficiency of the Ag nanowire-based device was almost same as 1.53 lm/W. - Highlights: • Flexibility of Ag NW substrate was higher than ITO substrate. • EL intensity of Ag NW-based EL device was almost similar with ITO-based EL device. • Charge density and turn-on voltage of Ag NW-based EL device were a little larger than ITO-based EL device.

Nanowire sensors and arrays for chemical/biomolecule detection

Science.gov (United States)

Yun, Minhee; Lee, Choonsup; Vasquez, Richard P.; Ramanathan, K.; Bangar, M. A.; Chen, W.; Mulchandan, A.; Myung, N. V.

2005-01-01

We report electrochemical growth of single nanowire based sensors using e-beam patterned electrolyte channels, potentially enabling the controlled fabrication of individually addressable high density arrays. The electrodeposition technique results in nanowires with controlled dimensions, positions, alignments, and chemical compositions. Using this technique, we have fabricated single palladium nanowires with diameters ranging between 75 nm and 300 nm and conducting polymer nanowires (polypyrrole and polyaniline) with diameters between 100 nm and 200 nm. Using these single nanowires, we have successfully demonstrated gas sensing with Pd nanowires and pH sensing with polypirrole nanowires.

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....

Quantum dot-based local field imaging reveals plasmon-based interferometric logic in silver nanowire networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Hong; Li, Zhipeng; Tian, Xiaorui; Wang, Zhuoxian; Cong, Fengzi; Liu, Ning; Zhang, Shunping; Nordlander, Peter; Halas, Naomi J; Xu, Hongxing

2011-02-09

We show that the local electric field distribution of propagating plasmons along silver nanowires can be imaged by coating the nanowires with a layer of quantum dots, held off the surface of the nanowire by a nanoscale dielectric spacer layer. In simple networks of silver nanowires with two optical inputs, control of the optical polarization and phase of the input fields directs the guided waves to a specific nanowire output. The QD-luminescent images of these structures reveal that a complete family of phase-dependent, interferometric logic functions can be performed on these simple networks. These results show the potential for plasmonic waveguides to support compact interferometric logic operations.

Optoelectrical modeling of solar cells based on c-Si/a-Si:H nanowire array: focus on the electrical transport in between the nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Levtchenko, Alexandra; Le Gall, Sylvain; Lachaume, Raphaël; Michallon, Jérôme; Collin, Stéphane; Alvarez, José; Djebbour, Zakaria; Kleider, Jean-Paul

2018-06-01

By coupling optical and electrical modeling, we have investigated the photovoltaic performances of p-i-n radial nanowires array based on crystalline p-type silicon (c-Si) core/hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) shell. By varying either the doping concentration of the c-Si core, or back contact work function we can separate and highlight the contribution to the cell’s performance of the nanowires themselves (the radial cell) from the interspace between the nanowires (the planar cell). We show that the build-in potential (V bi) in the radial and planar cells strongly depends on the doping of c-Si core and the work function of the back contact respectively. Consequently, the solar cell’s performance is degraded if either the doping concentration of the c-Si core, or/and the work function of the back contact is too low. By inserting a thin (p) a-Si:H layer between both core/absorber and back contact/absorber, the performance of the solar cell can be improved by partly fixing the V bi at both interfaces due to strong electrostatic screening effect. Depositing such a buffer layer playing the role of an electrostatic screen for charge carriers is a suggested way of enhancing the performance of solar cells based on radial p-i-n or n-i-p nanowire array.

Annealing-free and strongly adhesive silver nanowire networks with long-term reliability by introduction of a nonconductive and biocompatible polymer binder

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Yunxia; Deng, Dunying; Cheng, Yuanrong; Kong, Lingqiang; Xiao, Fei

2014-04-01

As a promising candidate to replace the brittle and expensive transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) conductor, the use of silver nanowire (AgNW) networks still involves issues such as high-temperature post-treatments and poor substrate adhesion for industrial application. Here a room-temperature soldering and one-step solution method is developed to achieve high-performance Ag nanowire transparent conductive films (TCFs). A nonconductive binder is prepared from poly(dopamine) and alginic acid which contains abundant catechol and carboxylic acid functional groups. The drying of the binder on the Ag nanowire percolation networks induces tighter contact among the nanowires and strong adhesion to the substrate, simultaneously enhancing the electrical and mechanical properties without a high-temperature annealing process. As a result, a highly conductive and bendable AgNW film is demonstrated on a low-cost polyethylene glycol terephthalate (PET) substrate, showing an 89% optical transmittance at λ = 550 nm and a sheet resistance of 16.3 Ohm sq-1. Its optical and electrical performances are superior to those obtained from the reported indium tin oxide (ITO) films. Moreover, the AgNW film exhibits strong adhesion to the substrate, maintaining its conductivity after 100 tape tests, and it still resists the tape test even after exposure to solvent for several hours. Most importantly, the film shows good reliability during long-term 85 °C/85% RH (relative humidity) aging, which has been rarely investigated although it is a critical requirement for industrial application. The advanced and wide-ranging features of the prepared AgNW film greatly contribute to its use as a transparent electrode in multifunctional flexible electronic devices.

Plasmon-Induced Transparency Based on Triple Arc-Ring Resonators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guang-Xi Dong

2018-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a plasmon-induced transparency (PIT using an easy-fabricating metamaterial composed of three pieces of metallic arc-rings on top of a dielectric substrate. The transmission of the transparent peak of 1.32 THz reaches approximately 93%. The utilization of the coupled Lorentzian oscillator model and the distribution of electromagnetic fields together explain the cause of the transparent peak. The simulation results further demonstrate that the bandwidth of the transmission peak can be narrowed by changing the sizes of the arc-rings. Moreover, an on/off effect based on the transparent peak is discussed by introducing photosensitive silicon into the air gaps of the suggested metamaterial structure.

Emerging Transparent Conducting Electrodes for Organic Light Emitting Diodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tze-Bin Song

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs have attracted much attention in recent years as next generation lighting and displays, due to their many advantages, including superb performance, mechanical flexibility, ease of fabrication, chemical versatility, etc. In order to fully realize the highly flexible features, reduce the cost and further improve the performance of OLED devices, replacing the conventional indium tin oxide with better alternative transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs is a crucial step. In this review, we focus on the emerging alternative TCE materials for OLED applications, including carbon nanotubes (CNTs, metallic nanowires, conductive polymers and graphene. These materials are selected, because they have been applied as transparent electrodes for OLED devices and achieved reasonably good performance or even higher device performance than that of indium tin oxide (ITO glass. Various electrode modification techniques and their effects on the device performance are presented. The effects of new TCEs on light extraction, device performance and reliability are discussed. Highly flexible, stretchable and efficient OLED devices are achieved based on these alternative TCEs. These results are summarized for each material. The advantages and current challenges of these TCE materials are also identified.

Temperature Dependence of the Moessbauer Effect on Prussian Blue Nanowires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou Pingheng; Xue Desheng; Luo Haiqing; Shi Huigang [Lanzhou University, Key Lab for Magnetism and Magnetic Materials of MOE (China)

2002-09-15

Highly ordered Prussian blue nanowires with diameter of about 50 nm and length up to 4 {mu}m have been fabricated by an electrodepositing technology with two-step anodizing anodic aluminum oxide films. The Moessbauer spectra taken between 15 and 300 K indicate that the hyperfine parameters decrease as the temperature increases. The temperature dependence of the quadrupole splitting, the isomer shift and the spectra area are discussed. A decrease of Debye temperature for Prussian blue nanowires was found with respect to that of Prussian blue bulk.

Sensing Responses Based on Transfer Characteristics of InAs Nanowire Field-Effect Transistors

Science.gov (United States)

Savelyev, Igor; Blumin, Marina; Wang, Shiliang; Ruda, Harry E.

2017-01-01

Nanowire-based field-effect transistors (FETs) have demonstrated considerable promise for a new generation of chemical and biological sensors. Indium arsenide (InAs), by virtue of its high electron mobility and intrinsic surface accumulation layer of electrons, holds properties beneficial for creating high performance sensors that can be used in applications such as point-of-care testing for patients diagnosed with chronic diseases. Here, we propose devices based on a parallel configuration of InAs nanowires and investigate sensor responses from measurements of conductance over time and FET characteristics. The devices were tested in controlled concentrations of vapour containing acetic acid, 2-butanone and methanol. After adsorption of analyte molecules, trends in the transient current and transfer curves are correlated with the nature of the surface interaction. Specifically, we observed proportionality between acetic acid concentration and relative conductance change, off current and surface charge density extracted from subthreshold behaviour. We suggest the origin of the sensing response to acetic acid as a two-part, reversible acid-base and redox reaction between acetic acid, InAs and its native oxide that forms slow, donor-like states at the nanowire surface. We further describe a simple model that is able to distinguish the occurrence of physical versus chemical adsorption by comparing the values of the extracted surface charge density. These studies demonstrate that InAs nanowires can produce a multitude of sensor responses for the purpose of developing next generation, multi-dimensional sensor applications. PMID:28714903

Understanding InP Nanowire Array Solar Cell Performance by Nanoprobe-Enabled Single Nanowire Measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Otnes, Gaute; Barrigón, Enrique; Sundvall, Christian; Svensson, K Erik; Heurlin, Magnus; Siefer, Gerald; Samuelson, Lars; Åberg, Ingvar; Borgström, Magnus T

2018-05-09

III-V solar cells in the nanowire geometry might hold significant synthesis-cost and device-design advantages as compared to thin films and have shown impressive performance improvements in recent years. To continue this development there is a need for characterization techniques giving quick and reliable feedback for growth development. Further, characterization techniques which can improve understanding of the link between nanowire growth conditions, subsequent processing, and solar cell performance are desired. Here, we present the use of a nanoprobe system inside a scanning electron microscope to efficiently contact single nanowires and characterize them in terms of key parameters for solar cell performance. Specifically, we study single as-grown InP nanowires and use electron beam induced current characterization to understand the charge carrier collection properties, and dark current-voltage characteristics to understand the diode recombination characteristics. By correlating the single nanowire measurements to performance of fully processed nanowire array solar cells, we identify how the performance limiting parameters are related to growth and/or processing conditions. We use this understanding to achieve a more than 7-fold improvement in efficiency of our InP nanowire solar cells, grown from a different seed particle pattern than previously reported from our group. The best cell shows a certified efficiency of 15.0%; the highest reported value for a bottom-up synthesized InP nanowire solar cell. We believe the presented approach have significant potential to speed-up the development of nanowire solar cells, as well as other nanowire-based electronic/optoelectronic devices.

Probe based manipulation and assembly of nanowires into organized mesostructures

Science.gov (United States)

Reynolds, K.; Komulainen, J.; Kivijakola, J.; Lovera, P.; Iacopino, D.; Pudas, M.; Vähäkangas, J.; Röning, J.; Redmond, G.

2008-12-01

A convenient approach to patterning inorganic and organic nanowires using a novel probe manipulator is presented. The system utilizes an electrochemically etched tungsten wire probe mounted onto a 3D actuator that is directed by a 3D controller. When it is engaged by the user, the movement of the probe and the forces experienced by the tip are simultaneously reported in real time. Platinum nanowires are manipulated into organized mesostructures on silicon chip substrates. In particular, individual nanowires are systematically removed from aggregates, transferred to a chosen location, and manipulated into complex structures in which selected wires occupy specific positions with defined orientations. Rapid prototyping of complex mesostructures, by pushing, rotating and bending conjugated polymer, i.e., polyfluorene, nanowires into various configurations, is also achieved. By exploiting the strong internal axial alignment of polymer chains within the polyfluorene nanowires, mesostructures tailored to exhibit distinctly anisotropic optical properties, such as birefringence and photoluminescence dichroism, are successfully assembled on fused silica substrates.

Probe based manipulation and assembly of nanowires into organized mesostructures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reynolds, K; Lovera, P; Iacopino, D; Redmond, G; Komulainen, J; Pudas, M; Vaehaekangas, J; Kivijakola, J; Roening, J

2008-01-01

A convenient approach to patterning inorganic and organic nanowires using a novel probe manipulator is presented. The system utilizes an electrochemically etched tungsten wire probe mounted onto a 3D actuator that is directed by a 3D controller. When it is engaged by the user, the movement of the probe and the forces experienced by the tip are simultaneously reported in real time. Platinum nanowires are manipulated into organized mesostructures on silicon chip substrates. In particular, individual nanowires are systematically removed from aggregates, transferred to a chosen location, and manipulated into complex structures in which selected wires occupy specific positions with defined orientations. Rapid prototyping of complex mesostructures, by pushing, rotating and bending conjugated polymer, i.e., polyfluorene, nanowires into various configurations, is also achieved. By exploiting the strong internal axial alignment of polymer chains within the polyfluorene nanowires, mesostructures tailored to exhibit distinctly anisotropic optical properties, such as birefringence and photoluminescence dichroism, are successfully assembled on fused silica substrates.

Angular dependence of coercivity with temperature in Co-based nanowires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bran, C., E-mail: cristina.bran@icmm.csic.es [Institute of Materials Science of Madrid, CSIC, 28049 Madrid (Spain); Espejo, A.P. [Departamento de Física, Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH) and Center for the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (CEDENNA), Avenida Ecuador 3493, 9170124 Santiago (Chile); Palmero, E.M. [Institute of Materials Science of Madrid, CSIC, 28049 Madrid (Spain); Escrig, J. [Departamento de Física, Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH) and Center for the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (CEDENNA), Avenida Ecuador 3493, 9170124 Santiago (Chile); Vázquez, M. [Institute of Materials Science of Madrid, CSIC, 28049 Madrid (Spain)

2015-12-15

The magnetic behavior of arrays of Co and CoFe nanowire arrays has been measured in the temperature range between 100 and 300 K. We have paid particular attention to the angular dependence of magnetic properties on the applied magnetic field orientation. The experimental angular dependence of coercivity has been modeled according to micromagnetic analytical calculations, and we found that the propagation of a transversal domain wall mode gives the best fitting with experimental observations. That reversal mode holds in the whole measuring temperature range, for nanowires with different diameters and crystalline structure. Moreover, the quantitative strength of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy and its magnetization easy axis are determined to depend on the crystalline structure and nanowires diameter. The evolution of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy with temperature for nanowires with different composition gives rise to an opposite evolution of coercivity with increasing temperature: it decreases for CoFe while it increases for Co nanowire arrays.

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.

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.

Suspended tungsten-based nanowires with enhanced mechanical properties grown by focused ion beam induced deposition

Science.gov (United States)

Córdoba, Rosa; Lorenzoni, Matteo; Pablo-Navarro, Javier; Magén, César; Pérez-Murano, Francesc; María De Teresa, José

2017-11-01

The implementation of three-dimensional (3D) nano-objects as building blocks for the next generation of electro-mechanical, memory and sensing nano-devices is at the forefront of technology. The direct writing of functional 3D nanostructures is made feasible by using a method based on focused ion beam induced deposition (FIBID). We use this technique to grow horizontally suspended tungsten nanowires and then study their nano-mechanical properties by three-point bending method with atomic force microscopy. These measurements reveal that these nanowires exhibit a yield strength up to 12 times higher than that of the bulk tungsten, and near the theoretical value of 0.1 times the Young’s modulus (E). We find a size dependence of E that is adequately described by a core-shell model, which has been confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and compositional analysis at the nanoscale. Additionally, we show that experimental resonance frequencies of suspended nanowires (in the MHz range) are in good agreement with theoretical values. These extraordinary mechanical properties are key to designing electro-mechanically robust nanodevices based on FIBID tungsten nanowires.

Ultra compact triplexing filters based on SOI nanowire AWGs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang Jiashun; An Junming; Zhao Lei; Song Shijiao; Wang Liangliang; Li Jianguang; Wang Hongjie; Wu Yuanda; Hu Xiongwei, E-mail: junming@red.semi.ac.cn [State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083 (China)

2011-04-15

An ultra compact triplexing filter was designed based on a silicon on insulator (SOI) nanowire arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) for fiber-to-the-home FTTH. The simulation results revealed that the design performed well in the sense of having a good triplexing function. The designed SOI nanowire AWGs were fabricated using ultraviolet lithography and induced coupler plasma etching. The experimental results showed that the crosstalk was less than -15 dB, and the 3 dB-bandwidth was 11.04 nm. The peak wavelength output from ports a, c, and b were 1455, 1510 and 1300 nm, respectively, which deviated from our original expectations. The deviation of the wavelength is mainly caused by 45 nm width deviation of the arrayed waveguides during the course of the fabrication process and partly caused by material dispersion. (semiconductor devices)

Ultra compact triplexing filters based on SOI nanowire AWGs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Jiashun; An Junming; Zhao Lei; Song Shijiao; Wang Liangliang; Li Jianguang; Wang Hongjie; Wu Yuanda; Hu Xiongwei

2011-01-01

An ultra compact triplexing filter was designed based on a silicon on insulator (SOI) nanowire arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) for fiber-to-the-home FTTH. The simulation results revealed that the design performed well in the sense of having a good triplexing function. The designed SOI nanowire AWGs were fabricated using ultraviolet lithography and induced coupler plasma etching. The experimental results showed that the crosstalk was less than -15 dB, and the 3 dB-bandwidth was 11.04 nm. The peak wavelength output from ports a, c, and b were 1455, 1510 and 1300 nm, respectively, which deviated from our original expectations. The deviation of the wavelength is mainly caused by 45 nm width deviation of the arrayed waveguides during the course of the fabrication process and partly caused by material dispersion. (semiconductor devices)

Power generation from base excitation of a Kevlar composite beam with ZnO nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Malakooti, Mohammad H.; Hwang, Hyun-Sik; Sodano, Henry A.

2015-04-01

One-dimensional nanostructures such as nanowires, nanorods, and nanotubes with piezoelectric properties have gained interest in the fabrication of small scale power harvesting systems. However, the practical applications of the nanoscale materials in structures with true mechanical strengths have not yet been demonstrated. In this paper, piezoelectric ZnO nanowires are integrated into the fiber reinforced polymer composites serving as an active phase to convert the induced strain energy from ambient vibration into electrical energy. Arrays of ZnO nanowires are grown vertically aligned on aramid fibers through a low-cost hydrothermal process. The modified fabrics with ZnO nanowires whiskers are then placed between two carbon fabrics as the top and the bottom electrodes. Finally, vacuum resin transfer molding technique is utilized to fabricate these multiscale composites. The fabricated composites are subjected to a base excitation using a shaker to generate charge due to the direct piezoelectric effect of ZnO nanowires. Measuring the generated potential difference between the two electrodes showed the energy harvesting application of these multiscale composites in addition to their superior mechanical properties. These results propose a new generation of power harvesting systems with enhanced mechanical properties.

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...

Highly sensitive wearable strain sensor based on silver nanowires and nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Shengbo, Sang; Lihua, Liu; Aoqun, Jian; Qianqian, Duan; Jianlong, Ji; Qiang, Zhang; Wendong, Zhang

2018-06-01

Here, we propose a highly sensitive and stretchable strain sensor based on silver nanoparticles and nanowires (Ag NPs and NWs), advancing the rapid development of electronic skin. To improve the sensitivity of strain sensors based on silver nanowires (Ag NWs), Ag NPs and NWs were added to polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as an aid filler. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) increase the conductive paths for electrons, leading to the low resistance of the resulting sensor (14.9 Ω). The strain sensor based on Ag NPs and NWs showed strong piezoresistivity with a tunable gauge factor (GF) at 3766, and a change in resistance as the strain linearly increased from 0% to 28.1%. The high GF demonstrates the irreplaceable role of Ag NPs in the sensor. Moreover, the applicability of our high-performance strain sensor has been demonstrated by its ability to sense movements caused by human talking, finger bending, wrist raising and walking.

Shear Alignment of Diblock Copolymers for Patterning Nanowire Meshes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gustafson, Kyle T. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2016-09-08

Metallic nanowire meshes are useful as cheap, flexible alternatives to indium tin oxide – an expensive, brittle material used in transparent conductive electrodes. We have fabricated nanowire meshes over areas up to 2.5 cm² by: 1) mechanically aligning parallel rows of diblock copolymer (diBCP) microdomains; 2) selectively infiltrating those domains with metallic ions; 3) etching away the diBCP template; 4) sintering to reduce ions to metal nanowires; and, 5) repeating steps 1 – 4 on the same sample at a 90° offset. We aligned parallel rows of polystyrene-b-poly(2-vinylpyridine) [PS(48.5 kDa)-b-P2VP(14.5 kDa)] microdomains by heating above its glass transition temperature (T_g ≈ 100°C), applying mechanical shear pressure (33 kPa) and normal force (13.7 N), and cooling below T_g. DiBCP samples were submerged in aqueous solutions of metallic ions (15 – 40 mM ions; 0.1 – 0.5 M HCl) for 30 – 90 minutes, which coordinate to nitrogen in P2VP. Subsequent ozone-etching and sintering steps yielded parallel nanowires. We aimed to optimize alignment parameters (e.g. shear and normal pressures, alignment duration, and PDMS thickness) to improve the quality, reproducibility, and scalability of meshes. We also investigated metals other than Pt and Au that may be patterned using this technique (Cu, Ag).

Platinum boride nanowires: Synthesis and characterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding Zhanhui; Qiu Lixia; Zhang Jian; Yao Bin; Cui Tian; Guan Weiming; Zheng Weitao; Wang Wenquan; Zhao Xudong; Liu Xiaoyang

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Platinum boride nanowires have been synthesized via the direct current arc discharge method. ► XRD, TEM and SAED indicate that the nanowires are single-crystal PtB. ► Two broad photoluminescence emission peaks at about 586 nm and 626 nm have been observed in the PL spectroscopy of PtB nanowires. - Abstract: Platinum boride (PtB) nanowires have been successfully fabricated with direct current arc discharge method using a milled mixture of platinum (Pt) and boron nitride (BN) powders. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to characterize the compositions, morphology, and structures of the samples. The results show that PtB nanowires are 30–50 nm thick and 20–30 μm long. TEM and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns identify that the PtB nanowires are single-crystalline in nature. A growth mechanism based on vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) process is proposed for the formation of nanowires.

Resistance Fluctuations in GaAs Nanowire Grids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivan Marasović

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We present a numerical study on resistance fluctuations in a series of nanowire-based grids. Each grid is made of GaAs nanowires arranged in parallel with metallic contacts crossing all nanowires perpendicularly. Electrical properties of GaAs nanowires known from previous experimental research are used as input parameters in the simulation procedure. Due to the nonhomogeneous doping, the resistivity changes along nanowire. Allowing two possible nanowire orientations (“upwards” or “downwards”, the resulting grid is partially disordered in vertical direction which causes resistance fluctuations. The system is modeled using a two-dimensional random resistor network. Transfer-matrix computation algorithm is used to calculate the total network resistance. It is found that probability density function (PDF of resistance fluctuations for a series of nanowire grids changes from Gaussian behavior towards the Bramwell-Holdsworth-Pinton distribution when both nanowire orientations are equally represented in the grid.

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

Optical emission of InAs nanowires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Möller, M; De Lima Jr, M M; Cantarero, A; Chiaramonte, T; Cotta, M A; Iikawa, F

2012-01-01

Wurtzite InAs nanowire samples grown by chemical beam epitaxy have been analyzed by photoluminescence spectroscopy. The nanowires exhibit two main optical emission bands at low temperatures. They are attributed to the recombination of carriers in quantum well structures, formed by zincblende–wurtzite alternating layers, and to the donor–acceptor pair. The blue-shift observed in the former emission band when the excitation power is increased is in good agreement with the type-II band alignment between the wurtzite and zincblende sections predicted by previous theoretical works. When increasing the temperature and the excitation power successively, an additional band attributed to the band-to-band recombination from wurtzite InAs appears. We estimated a lower bound for the wurtzite band gap energy of approximately 0.46 eV at low temperature. (paper)

Optical emission of InAs nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Möller, M.; de Lima, M. M., Jr.; Cantarero, A.; Chiaramonte, T.; Cotta, M. A.; Iikawa, F.

2012-09-01

Wurtzite InAs nanowire samples grown by chemical beam epitaxy have been analyzed by photoluminescence spectroscopy. The nanowires exhibit two main optical emission bands at low temperatures. They are attributed to the recombination of carriers in quantum well structures, formed by zincblende-wurtzite alternating layers, and to the donor-acceptor pair. The blue-shift observed in the former emission band when the excitation power is increased is in good agreement with the type-II band alignment between the wurtzite and zincblende sections predicted by previous theoretical works. When increasing the temperature and the excitation power successively, an additional band attributed to the band-to-band recombination from wurtzite InAs appears. We estimated a lower bound for the wurtzite band gap energy of approximately 0.46 eV at low temperature.

Broadband Polarization-Insensitive Wavelength Conversion Based on Non-Degenerate Four-Wave Mixing in a Silicon Nanowire

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pu, Minhao; Hu, Hao; Ji, Hua

2012-01-01

We experimentally demonstrate broadband polarization-insensitive one-to-two wavelength conversion of a 10-Gb/s DPSK data signal based on non-degenerate four-wave mixing in a silicon nanowire with bit-error rate measurements.......We experimentally demonstrate broadband polarization-insensitive one-to-two wavelength conversion of a 10-Gb/s DPSK data signal based on non-degenerate four-wave mixing in a silicon nanowire with bit-error rate measurements....

Lutetium oxide-based transparent ceramic scintillators

Science.gov (United States)

Seeley, Zachary; Cherepy, Nerine; Kuntz, Joshua; Payne, Stephen A.

2016-01-19

In one embodiment, a transparent ceramic of sintered nanoparticles includes gadolinium lutetium oxide doped with europium having a chemical composition (Lu.sub.1-xGd.sub.x).sub.2-YEu.sub.YO.sub.3, where X is any value within a range from about 0.05 to about 0.45 and Y is any value within a range from about 0.01 to about 0.2, and where the transparent ceramic exhibits a transparency characterized by a scatter coefficient of less than about 10%/cm. In another embodiment, a transparent ceramic scintillator of sintered nanoparticles, includes a body of sintered nanoparticles including gadolinium lutetium oxide doped with a rare earth activator (RE) having a chemical composition (Lu.sub.1-xGd.sub.x).sub.2-YRE.sub.YO.sub.3, where RE is selected from the group consisting of: Sm, Eu, Tb, and Dy, where the transparent ceramic exhibits a transparency characterized by a scatter coefficient of less than about 10%/cm.

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.

Rapid determination of nanowires electrical properties using a dielectrophoresis-well based system

Science.gov (United States)

Constantinou, Marios; Hoettges, Kai F.; Krylyuk, Sergiy; Katz, Michael B.; Davydov, Albert; Rigas, Grigorios-Panagiotis; Stolojan, Vlad; Hughes, Michael P.; Shkunov, Maxim

2017-03-01

The use of high quality semiconducting nanomaterials for advanced device applications has been hampered by the unavoidable growth variability of electrical properties of one-dimensional nanomaterials, such as nanowires and nanotubes, thus highlighting the need for the characterization of efficient semiconducting nanomaterials. In this study, we demonstrate a low-cost, industrially scalable dielectrophoretic (DEP) nanowire assembly method for the rapid analysis of the electrical properties of inorganic single crystalline nanowires, by identifying key features in the DEP frequency response spectrum from 1 kHz to 20 MHz in just 60 s. Nanowires dispersed in anisole were characterized using a three-dimensional DEP chip (3DEP), and the resultant spectrum demonstrated a sharp change in nanowire response to DEP signal in 1-20 MHz frequency range. The 3DEP analysis, directly confirmed by field-effect transistor data, indicates that nanowires of higher quality are collected at high DEP signal frequency range above 10 MHz, whereas lower quality nanowires, with two orders of magnitude lower current per nanowire, are collected at lower DEP signal frequencies. These results show that the 3DEP platform can be used as a very efficient characterization tool of the electrical properties of rod-shaped nanoparticles to enable dielectrophoretic selective deposition of nanomaterials with superior conductivity properties.

Theoretical approach to the phonon modes and specific heat of germanium nanowires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trejo, A.; López-Palacios, L.; Vázquez-Medina, R.; Cruz-Irisson, M., E-mail: irisson@ipn.mx

2014-11-15

The phonon modes and specific heat of Ge nanowires were computed using a first principles density functional theory scheme with a generalized gradient approximation and finite-displacement supercell algorithms. The nanowires were modeled in three different directions: [001], [111], and [110], using the supercell technique. All surface dangling bonds were saturated with Hydrogen atoms. The results show that the specific heat of the GeNWs at room temperature increases as the nanowire diameter decreases, regardless the orientation due to the phonon confinement and surface passivation. Also the phonon confinement effects could be observed since the highest optical phonon modes in the Ge vibration interval shifted to a lower frequency compared to their bulk counterparts.

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.

Water-based metamaterial absorbers for optical transparency and broadband microwave absorption

Science.gov (United States)

Pang, Yongqiang; Shen, Yang; Li, Yongfeng; Wang, Jiafu; Xu, Zhuo; Qu, Shaobo

2018-04-01

Naturally occurring water is a promising candidate for achieving broadband absorption. In this work, by virtue of the optically transparent character of the water, the water-based metamaterial absorbers (MAs) are proposed to achieve the broadband absorption at microwave frequencies and optical transparence simultaneously. For this purpose, the transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) are chosen as the constitutive materials. The water is encapsulated between the ITO backed plate and PMMA, serving as the microwave loss as well as optically transparent material. Numerical simulations show that the broadband absorption with the efficiency over 90% in the frequency band of 6.4-30 GHz and highly optical transparency of about 85% in the visible region can be achieved and have been well demonstrated experimentally. Additionally, the proposed water-based MA displays a wide-angle absorption performance for both TE and TM waves and is also robust to the variations of the structure parameters, which is much desired in a practical application.

Optical Design of Textured Thin-Film CIGS Solar Cells with Nearly-Invisible Nanowire Assisted Front Contacts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joop van Deelen

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The conductivity of transparent front contacts can be improved by patterned metallic nanowires, albeit at the cost of optical loss. The associated optical penalty can be strongly reduced by texturization of the cell stack. Remarkably, the nanowires themselves are not textured and not covered in our design. This was shown by optical modeling where the width of the nanowire, the texture height and the texture period were varied in order to obtain a good insight into the general trends. The optical performance can be improved dramatically as the reflection, which is the largest optical loss, can be reduced by 95% of the original value. The spectra reveal absorption in the Cu(In,GaSe2 (CIGS layer of 95% and reflection below 2% over a large part of the spectrum. In essence, a virtually black CIGS cell stack can be achieved for textured cells with a metal nanogrid. Moreover, it turned out that the ratio between the width of the nanowire and the height of the texture is a critical parameter for optical losses.

Visible-light-induced instability in amorphous metal-oxide based TFTs for transparent electronics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tae-Jun Ha

2014-10-01

Full Text Available We investigate the origin of visible-light-induced instability in amorphous metal-oxide based thin film transistors (oxide-TFTs for transparent electronics by exploring the shift in threshold voltage (Vth. A large hysteresis window in amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (a-IGZO TFTs possessing large optical band-gap (≈3 eV was observed in a visible-light illuminated condition whereas no hysteresis window was shown in a dark measuring condition. We also report the instability caused by photo irradiation and prolonged gate bias stress in oxide-TFTs. Larger Vth shift was observed after photo-induced stress combined with a negative gate bias than the sum of that after only illumination stress and only negative gate bias stress. Such results can be explained by trapped charges at the interface of semiconductor/dielectric and/or in the gate dielectric which play a role in a screen effect on the electric field applied by gate voltage, for which we propose that the localized-states-assisted transitions by visible-light absorption can be responsible.

Visible-light-induced instability in amorphous metal-oxide based TFTs for transparent electronics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ha, Tae-Jun [Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Kwangwoon University, Seoul 139-701 (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

We investigate the origin of visible-light-induced instability in amorphous metal-oxide based thin film transistors (oxide-TFTs) for transparent electronics by exploring the shift in threshold voltage (V{sub th}). A large hysteresis window in amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (a-IGZO) TFTs possessing large optical band-gap (≈3 eV) was observed in a visible-light illuminated condition whereas no hysteresis window was shown in a dark measuring condition. We also report the instability caused by photo irradiation and prolonged gate bias stress in oxide-TFTs. Larger V{sub th} shift was observed after photo-induced stress combined with a negative gate bias than the sum of that after only illumination stress and only negative gate bias stress. Such results can be explained by trapped charges at the interface of semiconductor/dielectric and/or in the gate dielectric which play a role in a screen effect on the electric field applied by gate voltage, for which we propose that the localized-states-assisted transitions by visible-light absorption can be responsible.

Magnetic properties of nickel nanowires decorated with cobalt nanoparticles fabricated by two step electrochemical deposition technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maaz, K., E-mail: maaz@impcas.ac.cn [Materials Research Center, Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000 (China); Nanomaterials Research Group, Physics Division, PINSTECH, Nilore, 45650, Islamabad (Pakistan); Duan, J.L. [Materials Research Center, Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000 (China); Karim, S. [Nanomaterials Research Group, Physics Division, PINSTECH, Nilore, 45650, Islamabad (Pakistan); Chen, Y.H.; Yao, H.J.; Mo, D.; Sun, Y.M. [Materials Research Center, Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000 (China); Liu, J., E-mail: j.liu@impcas.ac.cn [Materials Research Center, Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000 (China)

2016-10-01

We demonstrate fabrication and magnetic characterization of novel nanostructures composed of Ni nanowires decorated with Co nanoparticles by two step etching and electrochemical deposition in polycarbonate template. Structural analysis confirmed the formation of nickel nanowires with diameter of 62 nm which are surrounded by cobalt nanoparticles of about 15 nm in diameter. By electron microscopy analyses it is evident that the nanoparticles are distributed on the surface of the nanowires. Analysis of magnetization data indicates that ferromagnetic Ni nanowires exhibit an easy axis of magnetization parallel to the wire long-axis while the angular dependence of coercivity indicates that magnetization reversal occurs through the curling process in these nanowires. An exchange bias accompanied by vertical shift in magnetization was observed below ∼20 K, measured under a cooling field of 1 kOe, which is attributed to the spin interactions between the spin-glass like surface layer and ferromagnetic core of the nanowires and nanoparticles. - Highlights: • Co-decorated Ni nanowires were fabricated by two-step electrodeposition technique. • The nanoparticles are distributed on the surface of nanowires. • Magnetization reversal occurs through the curling process in the nanowires. • Temperature dependent coercivity follows thermal activation model.

Uniaxial Magnetization Performance of Textured Fe Nanowire Arrays Electrodeposited by a Pulsed Potential Deposition Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Neetzel, C.; Ohgai, T.; Yanai, T.; Nakano, M.; Fukunaga, H.

2017-11-01

Textured ferromagnetic Fe nanowire arrays were electrodeposited using a rectangular-pulsed potential deposition technique into anodized aluminum oxide nanochannels. During the electrodeposition of Fe nanowire arrays at a cathodic potential of - 1.2 V, the growth rate of the nanowires was ca. 200 nm s-1. The aspect ratio of Fe nanowires with a diameter of 30 ± 5 nm reached ca. 2000. The long axis of Fe nanowires corresponded with the direction when a large overpotential during the on-time pulse was applied, whereas it orientated to the direction under the potentiostatic condition with a small overpotential. By shifting the on-time cathode potential up to - 1.8 V, the texture coefficient for the (200) plane, TC200, reached up to 1.94. Perpendicular magnetization performance was observed in Fe nanowire arrays. With increasing TC200, the squareness of Fe nanowire arrays increased up to 0.95 with the coercivity maintained at 1.4 kOe at room temperature. This research result has opened a novel possibility of Fe nanowire arrays that can be applied for a new permanent magnetic material without rare-earth metals.

Self-limited plasmonic welding of silver nanowire junctions

KAUST Repository

Garnett, Erik C.

2012-02-05

Nanoscience provides many strategies to construct high-performance materials and devices, including solar cells, thermoelectrics, sensors, transistors, and transparent electrodes. Bottom-up fabrication facilitates large-scale chemical synthesis without the need for patterning and etching processes that waste material and create surface defects. However, assembly and contacting procedures still require further development. Here, we demonstrate a light-induced plasmonic nanowelding technique to assemble metallic nanowires into large interconnected networks. The small gaps that form naturally at nanowire junctions enable effective light concentration and heating at the point where the wires need to be joined together. The extreme sensitivity of the heating efficiency on the junction geometry causes the welding process to self-limit when a physical connection between the wires is made. The localized nature of the heating prevents damage to low-thermal-budget substrates such as plastics and polymer solar cells. This work opens new avenues to control light, heat and mass transport at the nanoscale. © 2012 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Mechanical behavior enhancement of ZnO nanowire by embedding different nanowires

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Vazinishayan

2018-06-01

Full Text Available In this work, we employed commercial finite element modeling (FEM software package ABAQUS to analyze mechanical properties of ZnO nanowire before and after embedding with different kinds of nanowires, having different materials and cross-section models such as Au (circular, Ag (pentagonal and Si (rectangular using three point bending technique. The length and diameter of the ZnO nanowire were measured to be 12,280 nm and 103.2 nm, respectively. In addition, Au, Ag and Si nanowires were considered to have the length of 12,280 nm and the diameter of 27 nm. It was found that after embedding Si nanowire with rectangular cross-section into the ZnO nanowire, the distribution of Von Misses stresses criterion, displacement and strain were decreased than the other nanowires embedded. The highest stiffness, the elastic deformation and the high strength against brittle failure have been made by Si nanowire comparison to the Au and Ag nanowires, respectively. Keywords: Nanowires, Material effects, Mechanical properties, Brittle failure

Electrodeposition of ZnO nano-wires lattices with a controlled morphology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elias, J.; Tena-Zaera, R.; Katty, A.; Levy-Clement, C.

2006-01-01

In this work, it is shown that the electrodeposition is a changeable low cost method which allows, according to the synthesis conditions, to obtain not only plane thin layers of ZnO but different nano-structures too. In a first part, are presented the formation conditions of a compact thin layer of nanocrystalline ZnO electrodeposited on a conducing glass substrate. This layer plays a buffer layer role for the deposition of a lattice of ZnO nano-wires. The step of nano-wires nucleation is not only determined by the electrochemical parameters but by the properties of the buffer layer too as the grain sizes and its thickness. In this context, the use of an electrodeposition method in two steps allows to control the nano-wires length and diameter and their density. The morphology and the structural and optical properties of these nano-structures have been analyzed by different techniques as the scanning and transmission electron microscopy, the X-ray diffraction and the optical spectroscopy. These studies show that ZnO nano-structures are formed of monocrystalline ZnO nano-wires, presenting a great developed surface and a great optical transparency in the visible. These properties make ZnO a good material for the development of nano-structured photovoltaic cells as the extremely thin absorber cells (PV ETA) or those with dye (DSSC) which are generally prepared with porous polycrystalline TiO 2 . Its replacement by a lattice of monocrystalline ZnO nano-wires allows to reduce considerably the number of grain boundaries and in consequence to improve the transport of the electrons. The results are then promising for the PV ETA cells with ZnO nano-wires. (O.M.)

A room temperature light source based on silicon nanowires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lo Faro, M.J. [CNR-IPCF, Istituto per i Processi Chimico-Fisici, V. le F. Stagno D' Alcontres 37, 98158 Messina (Italy); MATIS CNR-IMM, Istituto per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi, Via Santa Sofia 64, 95123 Catania (Italy); Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Catania, Via Santa Sofia 64, 95123 Catania (Italy); D' Andrea, C. [MATIS CNR-IMM, Istituto per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi, Via Santa Sofia 64, 95123 Catania (Italy); Messina, E.; Fazio, B. [CNR-IPCF, Istituto per i Processi Chimico-Fisici, V. le F. Stagno D' Alcontres 37, 98158 Messina (Italy); Musumeci, P. [Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Catania, Via Santa Sofia 64, 95123 Catania (Italy); Franzò, G. [MATIS CNR-IMM, Istituto per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi, Via Santa Sofia 64, 95123 Catania (Italy); Gucciardi, P.G.; Vasi, C. [CNR-IPCF, Istituto per i Processi Chimico-Fisici, V. le F. Stagno D' Alcontres 37, 98158 Messina (Italy); Priolo, F. [MATIS CNR-IMM, Istituto per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi, Via Santa Sofia 64, 95123 Catania (Italy); Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Catania, Via Santa Sofia 64, 95123 Catania (Italy); Scuola Superiore di Catania, Via Valdisavoia 9, 95123 Catania (Italy); Iacona, F. [MATIS CNR-IMM, Istituto per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi, Via Santa Sofia 64, 95123 Catania (Italy); Irrera, A., E-mail: irrera@me.cnr.it [CNR-IPCF, Istituto per i Processi Chimico-Fisici, V. le F. Stagno D' Alcontres 37, 98158 Messina (Italy)

2016-08-31

We synthesized ultrathin Si nanowires (NWs) by metal assisted chemical wet etching, using a very thin discontinuous Au layer as precursor for the process. A bright room temperature emission in the visible range due to electron–hole recombination in quantum confined Si NWs is reported. A single walled carbon nanotube (CNT) suspension was prepared and dispersed in Si NW samples. The hybrid Si NW/CNT system exhibits a double emission at room temperature, both in the visible (due to Si NWs) and the IR (due to CNTs) range, thus demonstrating the realization of a low-cost material with promising perspectives for applications in Si-based photonics. - Highlights: • Synthesis of ultrathin Si nanowires (NWs) by metal-assisted chemical etching • Synthesis of NW/carbon nanotube (CNT) hybrid systems • Structural characterization of Si NWs and Si NW/CNT • Room temperature photoluminescence (PL) properties of Si NWs and of Si NW/CNT • Tuning of the PL properties of the Si NW/CNT hybrid system.

Current Controlled Magnetization Switching in Cylindrical Nanowires for High-Density 3D Memory Applications

KAUST Repository

Mohammed, Hanan

2018-04-18

A next-generation memory device utilizing a three-dimensional nanowire system requires the reliable control of domain wall motion. In this letter, domain walls are studied in cylindrical nanowires consisting of alternating segments of cobalt and nickel. The material interfaces acting as domain wall pinning sites, are utilized in combination with current pulses, to control the position of the domain wall, which is monitored using magnetoresistance measurements. Magnetic force microscopy results further confirm the occurrence of current assisted domain wall depinning. Data bits are therefore shifted along the nanowire by sequentially pinning and depinning a domain wall between successive interfaces, a requirement necessary for race-track type memory devices. We demonstrate that the direction, amplitude and duration of the applied current pulses determine the propagation of the domain wall across pinning sites. These results demonstrate a multi-bit cylindrical nanowire device, utilizing current assisted data manipulation. The prospect of sequential pinning and depinning in these nanowires allows the bit density to increase by several Tbs, depending on the number of segments within these nanowires.

Current Controlled Magnetization Switching in Cylindrical Nanowires for High-Density 3D Memory Applications

KAUST Repository

Mohammed, Hanan; Corte-Leó n, Hector; Ivanov, Yurii P.; Lopatin, Sergei; Moreno, Julian A.; Chuvilin, Andrey; Salimath, Akshaykumar; Manchon, Aurelien; Kazakova, Olga; Kosel, Jü rgen

2018-01-01

A next-generation memory device utilizing a three-dimensional nanowire system requires the reliable control of domain wall motion. In this letter, domain walls are studied in cylindrical nanowires consisting of alternating segments of cobalt and nickel. The material interfaces acting as domain wall pinning sites, are utilized in combination with current pulses, to control the position of the domain wall, which is monitored using magnetoresistance measurements. Magnetic force microscopy results further confirm the occurrence of current assisted domain wall depinning. Data bits are therefore shifted along the nanowire by sequentially pinning and depinning a domain wall between successive interfaces, a requirement necessary for race-track type memory devices. We demonstrate that the direction, amplitude and duration of the applied current pulses determine the propagation of the domain wall across pinning sites. These results demonstrate a multi-bit cylindrical nanowire device, utilizing current assisted data manipulation. The prospect of sequential pinning and depinning in these nanowires allows the bit density to increase by several Tbs, depending on the number of segments within these nanowires.

Mechanical behavior enhancement of ZnO nanowire by embedding different nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Vazinishayan, Ali; Yang, Shuming; Lambada, Dasaradha Rao; Wang, Yiming

2018-06-01

In this work, we employed commercial finite element modeling (FEM) software package ABAQUS to analyze mechanical properties of ZnO nanowire before and after embedding with different kinds of nanowires, having different materials and cross-section models such as Au (circular), Ag (pentagonal) and Si (rectangular) using three point bending technique. The length and diameter of the ZnO nanowire were measured to be 12,280 nm and 103.2 nm, respectively. In addition, Au, Ag and Si nanowires were considered to have the length of 12,280 nm and the diameter of 27 nm. It was found that after embedding Si nanowire with rectangular cross-section into the ZnO nanowire, the distribution of Von Misses stresses criterion, displacement and strain were decreased than the other nanowires embedded. The highest stiffness, the elastic deformation and the high strength against brittle failure have been made by Si nanowire comparison to the Au and Ag nanowires, respectively.

Highly transparent conductive electrode with ultra-low HAZE by grain boundary modification of aqueous solution fabricated alumina-doped zinc oxide nanocrystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nian, Qiong; Cheng, Gary J. [Birck Nanotechnology Center and School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47906 (United States); Callahan, Michael; Bailey, John [Greentech Solutions, Inc., Hanson, Massachusetts 02341 (United States); Look, David [Semiconductor Research Center, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio 45435 (United States); Efstathiadis, Harry [College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), University of Albany, Albany, New York 12203 (United States)

2015-06-01

Commercial production of transparent conducting oxide (TCO) polycrystalline films requires high electrical conductivity with minimal degradation in optical transparency. Aqueous solution deposited TCO films would reduce production costs of TCO films but suffer from low electrical mobility, which severely degrades both electrical conductivity and optical transparency in the visible spectrum. Here, we demonstrated that grain boundary modification by ultra-violet laser crystallization (UVLC) of solution deposited aluminium-doped zinc oxide (AZO) nanocrystals results in high Hall mobility, with a corresponding dramatic improvement in AZO electrical conductance. The AZO films after laser irradiation exhibit electrical mobility up to 18.1 cm{sup 2} V{sup −1} s{sup −1} with corresponding electrical resistivity and sheet resistances as low as 1 × 10{sup −3} Ω cm and 75 Ω/sq, respectively. The high mobility also enabled a high transmittance (T) of 88%-96% at 550 nm for the UVLC films. In addition, HAZE measurement shows AZO film scattering transmittance as low as 1.8%, which is superior over most other solution deposited transparent electrode alternatives such as silver nanowires. Thus, AZO films produced by the UVLC technique have a combined figure of merit for electrical conductivity, optical transparency, and optical HAZE higher than other solution based deposition techniques and comparable to vacuumed based deposition methods.

Fabrication of three-dimensional MIS nano-capacitor based on nano-imprinted single crystal silicon nanowire arrays

KAUST Repository

Zhai, Yujia

2012-11-26

We report fabrication of single crystalline silicon nanowire based-three-dimensional MIS nano-capacitors for potential analog and mixed signal applications. The array of nanowires is patterned by Step and Flash Imprint Lithography (S-FIL). Deep silicon etching (DSE) is used to form the nanowires with high aspect ratio, increase the electrode area and thus significantly enhance the capacitance. High-! dielectric is deposited by highly conformal atomic layer deposition (ALD) Al2O3 over the Si nanowires, and sputtered metal TaN serves as the electrode. Electrical measurements of fabricated capacitors show the expected increase of capacitance with greater nanowire height and decreasing dielectric thickness, consistent with calculations. Leakage current and time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) are also measured and compared with planar MIS capacitors. In view of greater interest in 3D transistor architectures, such as FinFETs, 3D high density MIS capacitors offer an attractive device technology for analog and mixed signal applications. - See more at: http://www.eurekaselect.com/105099/article#sthash.EzeJxk6j.dpuf

Fabrication of three-dimensional MIS nano-capacitor based on nano-imprinted single crystal silicon nanowire arrays

KAUST Repository

Zhai, Yujia; Palard, Marylene; Mathew, Leo; Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa; Willson, Grant Grant; Tutuc, Emanuel; Banerjee, Sanjay Kumar

2012-01-01

We report fabrication of single crystalline silicon nanowire based-three-dimensional MIS nano-capacitors for potential analog and mixed signal applications. The array of nanowires is patterned by Step and Flash Imprint Lithography (S-FIL). Deep silicon etching (DSE) is used to form the nanowires with high aspect ratio, increase the electrode area and thus significantly enhance the capacitance. High-! dielectric is deposited by highly conformal atomic layer deposition (ALD) Al2O3 over the Si nanowires, and sputtered metal TaN serves as the electrode. Electrical measurements of fabricated capacitors show the expected increase of capacitance with greater nanowire height and decreasing dielectric thickness, consistent with calculations. Leakage current and time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) are also measured and compared with planar MIS capacitors. In view of greater interest in 3D transistor architectures, such as FinFETs, 3D high density MIS capacitors offer an attractive device technology for analog and mixed signal applications. - See more at: http://www.eurekaselect.com/105099/article#sthash.EzeJxk6j.dpuf

Analysis of Local Financial Management Transparency Based on Websites on Local Government in Java

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anissa Adriana

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this research is to analyze financial management transparency of local governments in Java using scoring and rating. The financial management transparency of the local governments is scored based on presentation of local financial information uploaded on each local government’s official website in Jawa in the fiscal years 2016.This research is a qualitative research with the object of research is all local government in Java. Data analysis in two levels, namely the transparency of local government financial management and identification of local government characteristics based on transparency of financial management. Data analysis in two levels, namely the transparency of local government financial management and identification of local government characteristics based on transparency of financial management. The results show that the Special Capital Region of Jakarta obtained the highest transparency index, at 58, 02% whereas Madiun Regency received the lowest transparency index, at 3, 40%. The average transparency index in Jawa for the fiscal years 2016 was still low, at only 19, 59%.The conclusion of this research is that Java regional governments consider the transparency of local financial management using less important websites because it is considered as a better thing not delivered to the public.

Synthesis, optical properties and residual strain effect of GaN nanowires generated via metal-assisted photochemical electroless etching

KAUST Repository

Najar, Adel

2017-04-18

Herein, we report on the studies of GaN nanowires (GaN NWs) prepared via a metal-assisted photochemical electroless etching method with Pt as the catalyst. It has been found that etching time greatly influences the growth of GaN NWs. The density and the length of nanowires increased with longer etching time, and excellent substrate coverage was observed. The average nanowire width and length are around 35 nm and 10 μm, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) shows a single-crystalline wurtzite structure and is confirmed by X-ray measurements. The synthesis mechanism of GaN NWs using the metal-assisted photochemical electroless etching method was presented. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements of GaN NWs show red-shift PL peaks compared to the as-grown sample associated with the relaxation of compressive stress. Furthermore, a shift of the E2 peak to the lower frequency in the Raman spectra for the samples etched for a longer time confirms such a stress relaxation. Based on Raman measurements, the compressive stress σxx and the residual strain εxx were evaluated to be 0.23 GPa and 2.6 × 10−4, respectively. GaN NW synthesis using a low cost method might be used for the fabrication of power optoelectronic devices and gas sensors.

EDITORIAL: On display with transparent conducting films On display with transparent conducting films

Science.gov (United States)

Demming, Anna

2012-03-01

by a researcher in the early 1930s, 'It is obvious that if the dyes used for selective staining in ordinary microscopical work are supplemented by substances which cause a particular detail of the structure to fluoresce with a specific colour in ultraviolet light, then many strings will be added to the bow of the practical microscopist' [3]. More recently, emphasis on the role of plasmons—collective oscillations of electrons in nanoscale metal structures—has received considerable research attention. Plasmons enhance the local electromagnetic field and can lead to increased fluorescence rates from nearby fluorophores depending on the efficiency of the counteracting process, non-radiative transfer [4]. Flat ITO films have been used extensively in photovoltaic studies as transparent electrodes [5]. Over the past few years, nanowire structures have recently been used to increase the surface area of the interface between dye and oxide in dye-sensitized solar cells [6]. A collaboration of researchers in China and Australia has recently extended the innovation of the nanowire structure to the ITO electrode [7]. Using cyclic voltammetry the researchers confirmed that using a 3D ITO-nanowire electrode significantly enhanced the reaction current. Despite its attractive properties, alternatives to ITO are now in high demand. The rise in devices requiring flat electronic displays has begun to overwhelm the legitimacy of using such a rare element as indium for transparent conducting films. ITO is also brittle, causing problems for flexible displays. Films of carbon nanotubes have been proposed for transparent conducting films but improvements to the sheet resistance are needed before they can compete with the performance of ITO. The effects of HNO3 treatment on the resistivity of carbon nanotube films has attracted some debate in the community, and stimulated the work of Ji-Beom Yoo and colleagues in Korea [8]. Their results suggest that p-type doping has a larger effect on

Site-selective fabrication of conducting molecular nanowires based on electrocrystallization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasegawa, H.; Kubota, T.; Mashiko, S.

2005-01-01

We have grown nanowires in a selective position by using an electrochemical process and alternating current. Nanoscale electrocrystallization was carried out in an axially substituted phthalocyanine solution using substrates with two electrodes formed by photolithography. The growth area was limited to the narrowest part of the gap between the tips of the electrodes by using tapered electrodes. The nanowires obtained had a width of approximately 100 nm and a length of more than 1 μm. Analysis of the selected-area electron diffraction pattern showed that the nanowire structure was identical to that of bulk crystal

Silicon nanowire based high brightness, pulsed relativistic electron source

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deep Sarkar

2017-06-01

Full Text Available We demonstrate that silicon nanowire arrays efficiently emit relativistic electron pulses under irradiation by a high-intensity, femtosecond, and near-infrared laser (∼1018 W/cm2, 25 fs, 800 nm. The nanowire array yields fluxes and charge per bunch that are 40 times higher than those emitted by an optically flat surface, in the energy range of 0.2–0.5 MeV. The flux and charge yields for the nanowires are observed to be directional in nature unlike that for planar silicon. Particle-in-cell simulations establish that such large emission is caused by the enhancement of the local electric fields around a nanowire, which consequently leads to an enhanced absorption of laser energy. We show that the high-intensity contrast (ratio of picosecond pedestal to femtosecond peak of the laser pulse (10−9 is crucial to this large yield. We extend the notion of surface local-field enhancement, normally invoked in low-order nonlinear optical processes like second harmonic generation, optical limiting, etc., to ultrahigh laser intensities. These electron pulses, expectedly femtosecond in duration, have potential application in imaging, material modification, ultrafast dynamics, terahertz generation, and fast ion sources.

Selective growth of gallium nitride nanowires by femtosecond laser patterning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ng, D.K.T.; Hong, M.H.; Tan, L.S.; Zhou, Y.; Chen, G.X.

2008-01-01

We report on gallium nitride (GaN) nanowires grown using pulsed laser ablation, adopting the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mechanism. The GaN nanowires are obtained based on the principle that a catalyst is required to initiate the nanowires growth. Locations of the GaN nanowires are patterned using femtosecond laser and focused ion beam. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is used to characterize the nanowires. This patterning of GaN nanowires will enable selective growth of nanowires and bottom-up assembly of integrated electronic and photonic devices

Selective growth of gallium nitride nanowires by femtosecond laser patterning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ng, D.K.T. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576 (Singapore); Data Storage Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, DSI Building, 5 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117608 (Singapore); Hong, M.H. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576 (Singapore); Data Storage Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, DSI Building, 5 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117608 (Singapore)], E-mail: HONG_Minghui@dsi.a-star.edu.sg; Tan, L.S. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576 (Singapore); Zhou, Y. [Data Storage Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, DSI Building, 5 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117608 (Singapore); Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 2 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576 (Singapore); Chen, G.X. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576 (Singapore)

2008-01-31

We report on gallium nitride (GaN) nanowires grown using pulsed laser ablation, adopting the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mechanism. The GaN nanowires are obtained based on the principle that a catalyst is required to initiate the nanowires growth. Locations of the GaN nanowires are patterned using femtosecond laser and focused ion beam. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is used to characterize the nanowires. This patterning of GaN nanowires will enable selective growth of nanowires and bottom-up assembly of integrated electronic and photonic devices.

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

Simulation study of dielectrophoretic assembly of nanowire between electrode pairs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tao, Quan, E-mail: taq3@pitt.edu; Lan, Fei; Jiang, Minlin [University of Pittsburgh, The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (United States); Wei, Fanan [Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation (China); Li, Guangyong, E-mail: gul6@pitt.edu [University of Pittsburgh, The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (United States)

2015-07-15

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) of rod-shaped nanostructures is attractive because of its exceptional capability to fabricate nanowire-based electronic devices. This efficient manipulation method, however, has a common side effect of assembling a certain number of nanowires at undesired positions. It is therefore essential to understand the underlying physics of DEP of nanowires in order to better guide the assembly. In this work, we propose theoretical methods to characterize the dielectrophoretic force and torque as well as the hydrodynamic drag force and torque on the nanowire (typical length: 10 μm). The trajectory of the nanowire is then simulated based on rigid body dynamics. The nanowire is predicted to either bridge the electrodes or attach on the surface of one electrode. A neighborhood in which the nanowire is more likely to bridge electrodes is found, which is conducive to successful assembly. The simulation study in this work provides us not only a better understanding of the underlying physics but also practical guidance on nanowire assembly by DEP.

On-chip plasmon-induced transparency based on plasmonic coupled nanocavities.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Yu; Hu, Xiaoyong; Yang, Hong; Gong, Qihuang

2014-01-17

On-chip plasmon-induced transparency offers the possibility of realization of ultrahigh-speed information processing chips. Unfortunately, little experimental progress has been made to date because it is difficult to obtain on-chip plasmon-induced transparency using only a single meta-molecule in plasmonic circuits. Here, we report a simple and efficient strategy to realize on-chip plasmon-induced transparency in a nanoscale U-shaped plasmonic waveguide side-coupled nanocavity pair. High tunability in the transparency window is achieved by covering the pair with different organic polymer layers. It is possible to realize ultrafast all-optical tunability based on pump light-induced refractive index change of a graphene cover layer. Compared with previous reports, the overall feature size of the plasmonic nanostructure is reduced by more than three orders of magnitude, while ultrahigh tunability of the transparency window is maintained. This work also provides a superior platform for the study of the various physical effects and phenomena of nonlinear optics and quantum optics.

Local sensor based on nanowire field effect transistor from inhomogeneously doped silicon on insulator

Science.gov (United States)

Presnov, Denis E.; Bozhev, Ivan V.; Miakonkikh, Andrew V.; Simakin, Sergey G.; Trifonov, Artem S.; Krupenin, Vladimir A.

2018-02-01

We present the original method for fabricating a sensitive field/charge sensor based on field effect transistor (FET) with a nanowire channel that uses CMOS-compatible processes only. A FET with a kink-like silicon nanowire channel was fabricated from the inhomogeneously doped silicon on insulator wafer very close (˜100 nm) to the extremely sharp corner of a silicon chip forming local probe. The single e-beam lithographic process with a shadow deposition technique, followed by separate two reactive ion etching processes, was used to define the narrow semiconductor nanowire channel. The sensors charge sensitivity was evaluated to be in the range of 0.1-0.2 e /√{Hz } from the analysis of their transport and noise characteristics. The proposed method provides a good opportunity for the relatively simple manufacture of a local field sensor for measuring the electrical field distribution, potential profiles, and charge dynamics for a wide range of mesoscopic objects. Diagnostic systems and devices based on such sensors can be used in various fields of physics, chemistry, material science, biology, electronics, medicine, etc.

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.

Pseudocapacitive Transparent/Flexible Supercapacitor based on Graphene wrapped Ni(OH)2 Nanosheet Transparent Film Produced using Scalable Bio-inspired Methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Na; Huang, Xuankai; Li, Ruijian; Chen, Yiming; Li, Yunyong; Shi, Zhicong; Zhang, Haiyan

2016-01-01

High specific-capacity pseudocapacitive transition-metal-hydroxide (TMH) materials are desirable for future high performance transparent supercapacitors, but have been rarely reported previously. The successful synthesis of TMH materials with desired nanostructures is a key factor for their transparency. Here, Ni(OH) 2 nanosheet transparent film (NNS-TF) was developed simply through a gas-liquid diffusion method. The nanostructures were enwrapped in graphene shells (NNS@Gr-TF) for using as transparent electrodes. The unique encapsulation structures build up rapid three-dimensional electron and ion transport pathways together with the underlying ITO layer. The specific areal capacitance (18.9 mF/cm 2 at 0.1 mA/cm 2 ) was greatly improved, at least a thousand times higher than the reported value for transparent devices based on planer CVD graphene, and ten times as that for 3D micro-structured graphene membrane.

Corrosion detection of nanowires by magnetic sensors

KAUST Repository

Kosel, Jü rgen; Amara, Selma; Ivanov, Iurii; Blanco, Mario

2017-01-01

Disclosed are various embodiments related to a corrosion detection device for detecting corrosive environments. A corrosion detection device comprises a magnetic sensor and at least one magnetic nanowire disposed on the magnetic sensor. The magnetic sensor is configured to detect corrosion of the one or more magnetic nanowires based at least in part on a magnetic field of the one or more magnetic nanowires.

Corrosion detection of nanowires by magnetic sensors

KAUST Repository

Kosel, Jürgen

2017-10-05

Disclosed are various embodiments related to a corrosion detection device for detecting corrosive environments. A corrosion detection device comprises a magnetic sensor and at least one magnetic nanowire disposed on the magnetic sensor. The magnetic sensor is configured to detect corrosion of the one or more magnetic nanowires based at least in part on a magnetic field of the one or more magnetic nanowires.

Synthetic and effect of annealing on the luminescent properties of ZnO nanowire

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mo, Zhao-Jun, E-mail: mzjmzj163@163.com [Institute of Material Physics, Key Laboratory of Display Materials and Photoelectric Devices of Ministry of Education of Ministry of Education, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300191 (China); Hao, Zhi-Hong [Tianjin Vocational Institute, Tianjin (China); Wu, Hai-Zhen; Yang, Qing; Zhuo, Ping; Yang, Hui; Xu, Jian-Ping; Zhang, Xiao-Song [Institute of Material Physics, Key Laboratory of Display Materials and Photoelectric Devices of Ministry of Education of Ministry of Education, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300191 (China); Li, Lan, E-mail: lilan2000us@126.com [Institute of Material Physics, Key Laboratory of Display Materials and Photoelectric Devices of Ministry of Education of Ministry of Education, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300191 (China)

2016-07-15

ZnO nanowires were successfully fabricated by using the hydrothermal method in the existence of the poly ethylene glycol (PEG) with the molecular weight of 200. The experimental results exhibit that the ZnO nanowires with the diameter of ~30 nm and the length of ten micrometers. PL spectra show a weak ultraviolet emission and an intense broad visible emission band for as-grown and annealed samples. These visible emission bands exhibit red-shifts from green (545 nm) to yellow (580 nm) and blue-shifts from yellow (580 nm) to green (520 nm) by annealing at aerobic or anaerobic environment, it indicates that the defect types are changed by annealed at different environment. Additionally, the red-shifts (520 nm) and blue-shifts (580) can match up the bimodal lorentzian fitting (520 nm and 583 nm) of as-growth, which suggest that the visible emission band (545 nm) is closely related to oxygen defects. The oxygen atomic can enter into the crystal lattice of ZnO and decrease the oxygen vacancy in air or oxygen, whereas, more oxygen vacancy defects is gave rise in vacuum annealed. We guess the energy levels of the intrinsic defects in ZnO nanowire maybe like that: the electrons of Zn{sub i} defects compound with holes of V{sub Zn}, O{sub i} and O{sub Zn} levels and conform to the yellow emission, and the green emission corresponds to the electron transition from the association defects deep donor level to the valence band.

A nanowire based triboelectric nanogenerator for harvesting water wave energy and its applications

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiaoyi; Tao, Juan; Zhu, Jing; Pan, Caofeng

2017-07-01

The ocean wave energy is one of the most promising renewable and clean energy sources for human life, which is the so-called "Blue energy." In this work, a nanowire based triboelectric nanogenerator was designed for harvesting wave energy. The nanowires on the surface of FEP largely raise the contacting area with water and also make the polymer film hydrophobic. The output can reach 10 μ A and 200 V. When combined with a capacitor, an infrared emitter, and a receiver, a self-powered wireless infrared system is fabricated, which can be used in the fields of communication and detecting.

Process Development of Gallium Nitride Phosphide Core-Shell Nanowire Array Solar Cell

Science.gov (United States)

Chuang, Chen

Dilute Nitride GaNP is a promising materials for opto-electronic applications due to its band gap tunability. The efficiency of GaNxP1-x /GaNyP1-y core-shell nanowire solar cell (NWSC) is expected to reach as high as 44% by 1% N and 9% N in the core and shell, respectively. By developing such high efficiency NWSCs on silicon substrate, a further reduction of the cost of solar photovoltaic can be further reduced to 61$/MWh, which is competitive to levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of fossil fuels. Therefore, a suitable NWSC structure and fabrication process need to be developed to achieve this promising NWSC. This thesis is devoted to the study on the development of fabrication process of GaNxP 1-x/GaNyP1-y core-shell Nanowire solar cell. The thesis is divided into two major parts. In the first parts, previously grown GaP/GaNyP1-y core-shell nanowire samples are used to develop the fabrication process of Gallium Nitride Phosphide nanowire solar cell. The design for nanowire arrays, passivation layer, polymeric filler spacer, transparent col- lecting layer and metal contact are discussed and fabricated. The property of these NWSCs are also characterized to point out the future development of Gal- lium Nitride Phosphide NWSC. In the second part, a nano-hole template made by nanosphere lithography is studied for selective area growth of nanowires to improve the structure of core-shell NWSC. The fabrication process of nano-hole templates and the results are presented. To have a consistent features of nano-hole tem- plate, the Taguchi Method is used to optimize the fabrication process of nano-hole templates.

Highly Efficient and Reliable Transparent Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Film.

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Li-Chuan; Yan, Ding-Xiang; Liu, Xiaofeng; Ma, Rujun; Wu, Hong-Yuan; Li, Zhong-Ming

2018-04-11

Electromagnetic protection in optoelectronic instruments such as optical windows and electronic displays is challenging because of the essential requirements of a high optical transmittance and an electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (SE). Herein, we demonstrate the creation of an efficient transparent EMI shielding film that is composed of calcium alginate (CA), silver nanowires (AgNWs), and polyurethane (PU), via a facile and low-cost Mayer-rod coating method. The CA/AgNW/PU film with a high optical transmittance of 92% achieves an EMI SE of 20.7 dB, which meets the requirements for commercial shielding applications. A superior EMI SE of 31.3 dB could be achieved, whereas the transparent film still maintains a transmittance of 81%. The integrated efficient EMI SE and high transmittance are superior to those of most previously reported transparent EMI shielding materials. Moreover, our transparent films exhibit a highly reliable shielding ability in a complex service environment, with 98 and 96% EMI SE retentions even after 30 min of ultrasound treatment and 5000 bending cycles (1.5 mm radius), respectively. The comprehensive performance that is associated with the facile fabrication strategy imparts the CA/AgNW/PU film with great potential as an optimized EMI shielding material in emerging optoelectronic devices, such as flexible solar cells, displays, and touch panels.

Enhanced photovoltaic performance of an inclined nanowire array solar cell.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yao; Yan, Xin; Zhang, Xia; Ren, Xiaomin

2015-11-30

An innovative solar cell based on inclined p-i-n nanowire array is designed and analyzed. The results show that the inclined geometry can sufficiently increase the conversion efficiency of solar cells by enhancing the absorption of light in the active region. By tuning the nanowire array density, nanowire diameter, nanowire length, as well as the proportion of intrinsic region of the inclined nanowire solar cell, a remarkable efficiency in excess of 16% can be obtained in GaAs. Similar results have been obtained in InP and Si nanowire solar cells, demonstrating the universality of the performance enhancement of inclined nanowire arrays.

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.

Fabrication and characterization of cellulose nanocrystal based transparent electroactive polyurethane

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Hyun-U.; Kim, Hyun Chan; Kim, Jung Woong; Zhai, Lindong; Jayaramudu, Tippabattini; Kim, Jaehwan

2017-08-01

This paper reports cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) based transparent and electroactive polyurethane (CPPU), suitable for actively tunable optical lens. CNC is used for high dielectric filler to improve electromechanical behavior of CPPU. For high transparency and homogeneous distribution of CNC in polyurethane, CNC-poly[di(ethylene glycol) adipate] is used to play a role of polyol and isocyanate salt. The fabricated CPPU exhibits high transparency (>90%) and 10% of electromechanical strain under 3 V μm-1 electric field. Mechanical, dielectric properties as well as physical and chemical characteristics are investigated to prove the electromechanical behavior of CPPU.

Transparent, flexible, and solid-state supercapacitors based on graphene electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Y.; Zhou, Y. S.; Xiong, W.; Jiang, L. J.; Mahjouri-samani, M.; Thirugnanam, P.; Huang, X.; Wang, M. M.; Jiang, L.; Lu, Y. F.

2013-07-01

In this study, graphene-based supercapacitors with optical transparency and mechanical flexibility have been achieved using a combination of poly(vinyl alcohol)/phosphoric acid gel electrolyte and graphene electrodes. An optical transmittance of ˜67% in a wavelength range of 500-800 nm and a 92.4% remnant capacitance under a bending angle of 80° have been achieved for the supercapacitors. The decrease in capacitance under bending is ascribed to the buckling of the graphene electrode in compression. The supercapacitors with high optical transparency, electrochemical stability, and mechanical flexibility hold promises for transparent and flexible electronics.

Transparent, flexible, and solid-state supercapacitors based on graphene electrodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Gao

2013-07-01

Full Text Available In this study, graphene-based supercapacitors with optical transparency and mechanical flexibility have been achieved using a combination of poly(vinyl alcohol/phosphoric acid gel electrolyte and graphene electrodes. An optical transmittance of ∼67% in a wavelength range of 500-800 nm and a 92.4% remnant capacitance under a bending angle of 80° have been achieved for the supercapacitors. The decrease in capacitance under bending is ascribed to the buckling of the graphene electrode in compression. The supercapacitors with high optical transparency, electrochemical stability, and mechanical flexibility hold promises for transparent and flexible electronics.

Reversal modes in asymmetric Ni nanowires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leighton, B.; Pereira, A. [Departamento de Fisica, Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH), Avda. Ecuador 3493, 917-0124 Santiago (Chile); Escrig, J., E-mail: jescrigm@gmail.com [Departamento de Fisica, Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH), Avda. Ecuador 3493, 917-0124 Santiago (Chile); Center for the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (CEDENNA), Avda. Ecuador 3493, 917-0124 Santiago (Chile)

2012-11-15

We have investigated the evolution of the magnetization reversal mechanism in asymmetric Ni nanowires as a function of their geometry. Circular nanowires are found to reverse their magnetization by the propagation of a vortex domain wall, while in very asymmetric nanowires the reversal is driven by the propagation of a transverse domain wall. The effect of shape asymmetry of the wire on coercivity and remanence is also studied. Angular dependence of the remanence and coercivity is also addressed. Tailoring the magnetization reversal mechanism in asymmetric nanowires can be useful for magnetic logic and race-track memory, both of which are based on the displacement of magnetic domain walls. Finally, an alternative method to detect the presence of magnetic drops is proposed. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Asymmetry strongly modifies the magnetic behavior of a wire. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Very asymmetric nanowires reverse their magnetization by a transverse domain wall. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer An alternative method to detect the presence of magnetic drops is proposed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Tailoring the reversal mode in asymmetric nanowires can be useful for potential applications.

Coherently Strained Si-SixGe1-x Core-Shell Nanowire Heterostructures.

Science.gov (United States)

Dillen, David C; Wen, Feng; Kim, Kyounghwan; Tutuc, Emanuel

2016-01-13

Coherently strained Si-SixGe1-x core-shell nanowire heterostructures are expected to possess a positive shell-to-core conduction band offset, allowing for quantum confinement of electrons in the Si core. We report the growth of epitaxial, coherently strained Si-SixGe1-x core-shell heterostructures through the vapor-liquid-solid mechanism for the Si core, followed in situ by the epitaxial SixGe1-x shell growth using ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition. The Raman spectra of individual nanowires reveal peaks associated with the Si-Si optical phonon mode in the Si core and the Si-Si, Si-Ge, and Ge-Ge vibrational modes of the SixGe1-x shell. The core Si-Si mode displays a clear red-shift compared to unstrained, bare Si nanowires thanks to the lattice mismatch-induced tensile strain, in agreement with calculated values using a finite-element continuum elasticity model combined with lattice dynamic theory. N-type field-effect transistors using Si-SixGe1-x core-shell nanowires as channel are demonstrated.

Structural characterization of Fe−Pd nanowires grown by electrodeposition using an acid electrolyte

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Domenichini, P. [Instituto Balseiro, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Av. Bustillo 9500, 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche (Argentina); Condó, A.M. [Instituto Balseiro, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Av. Bustillo 9500, 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche (Argentina); Centro Atómico Bariloche, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Av. Bustillo 9500, 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche (Argentina); Haberkorn, N., E-mail: nhaberk@cab.cnea.gov.ar [Instituto Balseiro, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Av. Bustillo 9500, 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche (Argentina); Centro Atómico Bariloche, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Av. Bustillo 9500, 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche (Argentina)

2016-07-01

Fe{sub 70}Pd{sub 30} nanostructures have potential application in actuators due to their conventional and magnetic shape memory. Here, we report the microstructure of electrodeposition grown Fe−Pd nanowires in which the process was confined to polycarbonate membranes with a nominal pore diameter of 200 nm. We used an acid electrolyte (pH ≈ 5) in which the solution was stabilized with sulfosalicylic acid. The average chemical concentration of the nanowires can be systematically shifted from rich palladium to rich iron by changing the growth potential. The study of the microstructure by transmission electron microscopy indicates high chemical inhomogeneities due to phase coexistence between rich palladium regions (with FCC structure) and rich iron regions. The latter present a combination of BCC and amorphous phases. The average chemical composition of the nanowires can be better adjusted by using a low frequency square wave voltage excitation (alternating rich Pd and rich Fe regions). However, independently of the growth process, the nanowires morphology collapses after thermal annealing. This could be ascribed to fragile grain boundaries due to the presence of amorphous hydroxides and chemical impurities produced during the electrochemical process. - Highlights: • Synthesis of Fe−Pd nanowires by electrodeposition is reported. • Structural characterization of the nanowires by transmission electron microscopy. • The synthesis of nanowires with austenitic phase is limited by fragile grain boundaries.

Synthesis and characterization of amorphous SiO{sub 2} nanowires via pulsed laser deposition accompanied by N{sub 2} annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Hui; Guan, Leilei; Xu, Zhuoqi; Zhao, Yu; Sun, Jian; Wu, Jiada; Xu, Ning, E-mail: ningxu@fudan.edu.cn

2016-12-15

Highlights: • The SiO{sub 2} nanowires were synthesized by PLD accompanied by N{sub 2} annealing. • The as-grown SiO{sub 2} nanowires were analyzed by HRTEM, SAED and EDS. • The grown SiO{sub 2} nanowire films are transparent in the range of 350–800 nm. • The SiO{sub 2} nanowire films can emit stable ultraviolet emission. - Abstract: Amorphous SiO{sub 2} nanowires are successfully fabricated on fused silica substrates covered by nickel/carbon catalyst bilayers via a method of pulsed laser deposition accompanied by annealing in ambient N{sub 2}. The field emission scanning electron microscopy images show that the optimum annealing temperature for the growth of SiO{sub 2} nanowires is about 1200 °C and the grown SiO{sub 2} nanowires become denser, longer and more uniform with the increment of annealing duration. The results of transmission electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy show that the grown nanowires are amorphous and have dark spheres on their tops. The analyses of energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy reveal that the nanowires are composed of SiO{sub 2} and the dark spheres on their tops contain little nickel. It is inferred that nickel, carbon and CO are the key elements to promote the SiO{sub 2} nanowire growth in the solid-liquid-solid mode. Transmission spectra demonstrate that the as-grown nanowire thin films can have about 94% average transmittance in the range of 350–800 nm, meanwhile the photoluminescence spectra of the as-grown SiO{sub 2} nanowire samples show stable ultraviolet emission centered at about 363 nm with a shoulder at about 393 nm.

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.

CuO-In2O3 Core-Shell Nanowire Based Chemical Gas Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoxin Li

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The CuO-In2O3 core-shell nanowire was fabricated by a two-step method. The CuO nanowire core (NWs was firstly grown by the conventional thermal oxidation of Cu meshes at 500°C for 5 hours. Then, the CuO nanowires were immersed into the suspension of amorphous indium hydroxide deposited from the In(AC3 solution by ammonia. The CuO nanowires coated with In(OH3 were subsequently heated at 600°C to form the crystalline CuO-In2O3 core-shell structure, with In2O3 nanocrystals uniformly anchored on the CuO nanowires. The gas sensing properties of the formed CuO-In2O3 core-shell nanowires were investigated by various reducing gases such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and propane at elevated temperature. The sensors using the CuO-In2O3 nanowires show improved sensing performance to hydrogen and propane but a suppressed response to carbon monoxide, which could be attributed to the enhanced catalytic properties of CuO with the coated porous In2O3 shell and the p-n junction formed at the core-shell interface.

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.

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.

Flexible and Stretchable Optoelectronic Devices using Silver Nanowires and Graphene.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hanleem; Kim, Meeree; Kim, Ikjoon; Lee, Hyoyoung

2016-06-01

Many studies have accompanied the emergence of a great interest in flexible or/and stretchable devices for new applications in wearable and futuristic technology, including human-interface devices, robotic skin, and biometric devices, and in optoelectronic devices. Especially, new nanodimensional materials enable flexibility or stretchability to be brought based on their dimensionality. Here, the emerging field of flexible devices is briefly introduced using silver nanowires and graphene, which are famous nanomaterials for the use of transparent conductive electrodes, as examples, and their unique functions originating from the intrinsic property of these nanomaterials are highlighted. It is thought that this work will evoke more interest and idea exchanges in this emerging field and hopefully can trigger a breakthrough on a new type of optoelectronics and optogenetic devices in the near future. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Nanoscale current spreading analysis in solution-processed graphene oxide/silver nanowire transparent electrodes via conductive atomic force microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shaw, Joseph E.; Perumal, Ajay; Bradley, Donal D. C.; Stavrinou, Paul N.; Anthopoulos, Thomas D., E-mail: t.anthopoulos@ic.ac.uk [Department of Physics and Centre for Plastic Electronics, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom)

2016-05-21

We use conductive atomic force microscopy (CAFM) to study the origin of long-range conductivity in model transparent conductive electrodes composed of networks of reduced graphene oxide (rGO{sub X}) and silver nanowires (AgNWs), with nanoscale spatial resolution. Pristine networks of rGO{sub X} (1–3 monolayers-thick) and AgNWs exhibit sheet resistances of ∼100–1000 kΩ/□ and 100–900 Ω/□, respectively. When the materials are deposited sequentially to form bilayer rGO{sub X}/AgNW electrodes and thermally annealed at 200 °C, the sheet resistance reduces by up to 36% as compared to pristine AgNW networks. CAFM was used to analyze the current spreading in both systems in order to identify the nanoscale phenomena responsible for this effect. For rGO{sub X} networks, the low intra-flake conductivity and the inter-flake contact resistance is found to dominate the macroscopic sheet resistance, while for AgNW networks the latter is determined by the density of the inter-AgNW junctions and their associated resistance. In the case of the bilayer rGO{sub X}/AgNWs' networks, rGO{sub X} flakes are found to form conductive “bridges” between AgNWs. We show that these additional nanoscopic electrical connections are responsible for the enhanced macroscopic conductivity of the bilayer rGO{sub X}/AgNW electrodes. Finally, the critical role of thermal annealing on the formation of these nanoscopic connections is discussed.

Transparent conductive graphene electrode in GaN-based ultra-violet light emitting diodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Byung-Jae; Mastro, Michael A; Hite, Jennifer; Eddy, Charles R; Kim, Jihyun

2010-10-25

We report a graphene-based transparent conductive electrode for use in ultraviolet (UV) GaN light emitting diodes (LEDs). A few-layer graphene (FLG) layer was mechanically deposited. UV light at a peak wavelength of 368 nm was successfully emitted by the FLG layer as transparent contact to p-GaN. The emission of UV light through the thin graphene layer was brighter than through the thick graphene layer. The thickness of the graphene layer was characterized by micro-Raman spectroscopy. Our results indicate that this novel graphene-based transparent conductive electrode holds great promise for use in UV optoelectronics for which conventional ITO is less transparent than graphene.

Biotemplated Synthesis of PZT Nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-25

electromechanical coupling coefficient , Y is the Young’s modulus, and Ri is intrinsic resistance. The PZT nanowire- based film is taken to have negligible...robotic actuation, and bioMEMS. Lead zirconate titanate ( PZT ), in particular, has attracted significant attention, owing to its superior...electromechanical conversion performance. Yet, the ability to synthesize crystalline PZT nanowires with reproducible and well-controlled properties remains a

Recovery Based Nanowire Field-Effect Transistor Detection of Pathogenic Avian Influenza DNA

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Chih-Heng; Chu, Chia-Jung; Teng, Kang-Ning; Su, Yi-Jr; Chen, Chii-Dong; Tsai, Li-Chu; Yang, Yuh-Shyong

2012-02-01

Fast and accurate diagnosis is critical in infectious disease surveillance and management. We proposed a DNA recovery system that can easily be adapted to DNA chip or DNA biosensor for fast identification and confirmation of target DNA. This method was based on the re-hybridization of DNA target with a recovery DNA to free the DNA probe. Functionalized silicon nanowire field-effect transistor (SiNW FET) was demonstrated to monitor such specific DNA-DNA interaction using high pathogenic strain virus hemagglutinin 1 (H1) DNA of avian influenza (AI) as target. Specific electric changes were observed in real-time for AI virus DNA sensing and device recovery when nanowire surface of SiNW FET was modified with complementary captured DNA probe. The recovery based SiNW FET biosensor can be further developed for fast identification and further confirmation of a variety of influenza virus strains and other infectious diseases.

Optical and electrical properties of Cu-based all oxide semi-transparent photodetector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Hong-Sik; Patel, Malkeshkumar; Yadav, Pankaj; Kim, Joondong, E-mail: joonkim@inu.ac.kr, E-mail: dwkim@ewha.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); Sohn, Ahrum; Kim, Dong-Wook, E-mail: joonkim@inu.ac.kr, E-mail: dwkim@ewha.ac.kr [Department of Physics, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 120750 (Korea, Republic of)

2016-09-05

Zero-bias operating Cu oxide-based photodetector was achieved by using large-scale available sputtering method. Cu oxide (Cu{sub 2}O or CuO) was used as p-type transparent layer to form a heterojunction by contacting n-type ZnO layer. All metal-oxide materials were employed to realize transparent device at room temperature and showed a high transparency (>75% at 600 nm) with excellent photoresponses. The structural, morphological, optical, and electrical properties of Cu oxides of CuO and Cu{sub 2}O are evaluated in depth by UV-visible spectrometer, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Kelvin probe force microscopy, and Hall measurements. We may suggest a route of high-functional Cu oxide-based photoelectric devices for the applications in flexible and transparent electronics.

All-Optical 40 Gbit/s Regenerative Wavelength Conversion Based on Cross-Phase Modulation in a Silicon Nanowire

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Asger Sellerup; Hu, Hao; Ji, Hua

2013-01-01

We successfully demonstrate all-optical regeneration of a 40 Gbit/s signal based on cross-phase modulation in a silicon nanowire. Bit-error-rate measurements show an average of 1.7dB improvement in receiver sensitivity after the regeneration.......We successfully demonstrate all-optical regeneration of a 40 Gbit/s signal based on cross-phase modulation in a silicon nanowire. Bit-error-rate measurements show an average of 1.7dB improvement in receiver sensitivity after the regeneration....

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.

VO2-based radiative thermal transistor with a semi-transparent base

Science.gov (United States)

Prod'homme, Hugo; Ordonez-Miranda, Jose; Ezzahri, Younès; Drévillon, Jérémie; Joulain, Karl

2018-05-01

We study a radiative thermal transistor analogous to an electronic one made of a VO2 base placed between two silica semi-infinite plates playing the roles of the transistor collector and emitter. The fact that VO2 exhibits an insulator to metal transition is exploited to modulate and/or amplify heat fluxes between the emitter and the collector, by applying a thermal current on the VO2 base. We extend the work of precedent studies considering the case where the base can be semi-transparent so that heat can be exchanged directly between the collector and the emitter. Both near and far field cases are considered leading to 4 typical regimes resulting from the fact that the emitter-base and base-collector separation distances can be larger or smaller than the thermal wavelength for a VO2 layer opaque or semi-transparent. Thermal currents variations with the base temperatures are calculated and analyzed. It is found that the transistor can operate in an amplification mode as already stated in [1] or in a switching mode as seen in [2]. An optimum configuration for the base thickness and separation distance maximizing the thermal transistor modulation factor is found.

A nanowire based triboelectric nanogenerator for harvesting water wave energy and its applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoyi Li

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The ocean wave energy is one of the most promising renewable and clean energy sources for human life, which is the so-called “Blue energy.” In this work, a nanowire based triboelectric nanogenerator was designed for harvesting wave energy. The nanowires on the surface of FEP largely raise the contacting area with water and also make the polymer film hydrophobic. The output can reach 10 μ A and 200 V. When combined with a capacitor, an infrared emitter, and a receiver, a self-powered wireless infrared system is fabricated, which can be used in the fields of communication and detecting.

SAW Humidity Sensor Sensitivity Enhancement via Electrospraying of Silver Nanowires

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farid Sayar Irani

2016-11-01

Full Text Available In this research, we investigated the influence of the surface coatings of silver nanowires on the sensitivity of surface acoustic wave (SAW humidity sensors. Silver nanowires, with poly(vinylpyrrolidone (PVP, which is a hydrophilic capping agent, were chemically synthesized, with an average length of 15 µm and an average diameter of 60 nm. Humidity sensors, with 433 MHz frequency dual-port resonator Rayleigh-SAW devices, were coated by silver nanowires (AgNWs using the electrospray coating method. It was demonstrated that increasing thickness of coated AgNW on the surfaces of SAW devices results in increased sensitivity. The highest frequency shift (262 kHz in these SAW devices was obtained with an injection of 0.5 mL of the AgNW solution with a concentration of 0.5 mg/mL at an injection rate of 1 mL/h. It also showed the highest humidity sensitivity among the other prepared SAW devices.

Fabrication and optical properties of TiO sub 2 nanowire arrays made by sol-gel electrophoresis deposition into anodic alumina membranes

CERN Document Server

Lin, Y; Yuan, X Y; Xie, T; Zhang, L D

2003-01-01

Ordered TiO sub 2 nanowire arrays have been successfully fabricated into the nanochannels of a porous anodic alumina membrane by sol-gel electrophoretic deposition. After annealing at 500 deg. C, the TiO sub 2 nanowire arrays and the individual nanowires were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and x-ray diffraction (XRD). SEM and TEM images show that these nanowires are dense and continuous with a uniform diameter throughout their entire length. XRD and SAED analysis together indicate that these TiO sub 2 nanowires crystallize in the anatase polycrystalline structure. The optical absorption band edge of TiO sub 2 nanowire arrays exhibits a blue shift with respect of that of the bulk TiO sub 2 owing to the quantum size effect.

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.

High-performance supercapacitors of Cu-based porous coordination polymer nanowires and the derived porous CuO nanotubes.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Meng-Ke; Zhou, Jiao-Jiao; Yi, Fei-Yan; Chen, Chen; Li, Yan-Li; Li, Qin; Tao, Kai; Han, Lei

2017-12-12

Electrode materials for supercapacitors with one-dimensional porous nanostructures, such as nanowires and nanotubes, are very attractive for high-efficiency storage of electrochemical energy. Herein, ultralong Cu-based porous coordination polymer nanowires (copper-l-aspartic acid) were used as the electrode material for supercapacitors, for the first time. The as-prepared material exhibits a high specific capacitance of 367 F g -1 at 0.6 A g -1 and excellent cycling stability (94% retention over 1000 cycles). Moreover, porous CuO nanotubes were successfully fabricated by the thermal decomposition of this nanowire precursor. The CuO nanotube exhibits good electrochemical performance with high rate capacity (77% retention at 12.5 A g -1 ) and long-term stability (96% retention over 1000 cycles). The strategy developed here for the synthesis of porous nanowires and nanotubes can be extended to the construction of other electrode materials for more efficient energy storage.

Development of highly-transparent protein/starch-based bioplastics.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez-Gutierrez, J; Partal, P; Garcia-Morales, M; Gallegos, C

2010-03-01

Striving to achieve cost-competitive biomass-derived materials for the plastics industry, the incorporation of starch (corn and potato) to a base formulation of albumen and glycerol was considered. To study the effects of formulation and processing, albumen/starch-based bioplastics containing 0-30 wt.% starch were prepared by thermo-plastic and thermo-mechanical processing. Transmittance measurements, DSC, DMTA and tensile tests were performed on the resulting bioplastics. Optical and tensile properties were strongly affected by starch concentration. However, DMTA at low deformation proved to be insensitive to starch addition. Thermo-mechanical processing led to transparent albumen/starch materials with values of strength at low deformation comparable to commodity plastics. Consequently, albumen biopolymers may become a biodegradable alternative to oil-derived plastics for manufacturing transparent packaging and other plastic stuffs. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An effective surface-enhanced Raman scattering template based on a Ag nanocluster-ZnO nanowire array

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deng, S; Zhang, X; Loh, K P; Fan, H M; Sow, C H; Cheng, C-L; Foo, Y L

2009-01-01

An effective surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) template based on a 3D hybrid Ag nanocluster (NC)-decorated ZnO nanowire array was fabricated through a simple process of depositing Ag NCs on ZnO nanowire arrays. The effects of particle size and excitation energy on the Raman scattering in these hybrid systems have been investigated using rhodamine 6G as a standard analyte. The results indicate that the hybrid nanosystem with 150 nm Ag NCs produces a larger SERS enhancement factor of 3.2 x 10 8 , which is much higher than that of 10 nm Ag NCs (6.0 x 10 6 ) under 532 nm excitation energy. The hybrid nanowire arrays were further applied to obtain SERS spectra of the two-photon absorption (TPA) chromophore T7. Finite-difference time-domain simulations reveal the presence of an enhanced field associated with inter-wire plasmon coupling of the 150 nm Ag NCs on adjacent ZnO nanowires; such a field was absent in the case of the 10 nm Ag NC-coated ZnO nanowire. Such hybrid nanosystems could be used as SERS substrates more effectively than assembled Ag NC film due to the enhanced light-scattering local field and the inter-wire plasmon-enhanced electromagnetic field.

Polyaniline nanowires-gold nanoparticles hybrid network based chemiresistive hydrogen sulfide sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Shirsat, Mahendra D.; Bangar, Mangesh A.; Deshusses, Marc A.; Myung, Nosang V.; Mulchandani, Ashok

2009-02-01

We report a sensitive, selective, and fast responding room temperature chemiresistive sensor for hydrogen sulfide detection and quantification using polyaniline nanowires-gold nanoparticles hybrid network. The sensor was fabricated by facile electrochemical technique. Initially, polyaniline nanowires with a diameter of 250-320 nm bridging the gap between a pair of microfabricated gold electrodes were synthesized using templateless electrochemical polymerization using a two step galvanostatic technique. Polyaniline nanowires were then electrochemically functionalized with gold nanoparticles using cyclic voltammetry technique. These chemiresistive sensors show an excellent limit of detection (0.1 ppb), wide dynamic range (0.1-100 ppb), and very good selectivity and reproducibility.

Tuneable complementary metamaterial structures based on graphene for single and multiple transparency windows.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Jun; Arigong, Bayaner; Ren, Han; Zhou, Mi; Shao, Jin; Lu, Meng; Chai, Yang; Lin, Yuankun; Zhang, Hualiang

2014-08-22

Novel graphene-based tunable plasmonic metamaterials featuring single and multiple transparency windows are numerically studied in this paper. The designed structures consist of a graphene layer perforated with quadrupole slot structures and dolmen-like slot structures printed on a substrate. Specifically, the graphene-based quadrupole slot structure can realize a single transparency window, which is achieved without breaking the structure symmetry. Further investigations have shown that the single transparency window in the proposed quadrupole slot structure is more likely originated from the quantum effect of Autler-Townes splitting. Then, by introducing a dipole slot to the quadrupole slot structure to form the dolmen-like slot structure, an additional transmission dip could occur in the transmission spectrum, thus, a multiple-transparency-window system can be achieved (for the first time for graphene-based devices). More importantly, the transparency windows for both the quadrupole slot and the dolmen-like slot structures can be dynamically controlled over a broad frequency range by varying the Fermi energy levels of the graphene layer (through electrostatic gating). The proposed slot metamaterial structures with tunable single and multiple transparency windows could find potential applications in many areas such as multiple-wavelength slow-light devices, active plasmonic switching, and optical sensing.

Influence factors of the inter-nanowire thermal contact resistance in the stacked nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Dongxu; Huang, Congliang; Zhong, Jinxin; Lin, Zizhen

2018-05-01

The inter-nanowire thermal contact resistance is important for tuning the thermal conductivity of a nanocomposite for thermoelectric applications. In this paper, the stacked copper nanowires are applied for studying the thermal contact resistance. The stacked copper nanowires are firstly made by the cold-pressing method, and then the nanowire stacks are treated by sintering treatment. With the effect of the volumetric fraction of nanowires in the stack and the influence of the sintering-temperature on the thermal contact resistance discussed, results show that: The thermal conductivity of the 150-nm copper nanowires can be enlarged almost 2 times with the volumetric fraction increased from 32 to 56% because of the enlarged contact-area and contact number of a copper nanowire. When the sintering temperature increases from 293 to 673 K, the thermal conductivity of the stacked 300-nm nanowires could be enlarged almost 2.5 times by the sintering treatment, because of the improved lattice property of the contact zone. In conclusion, application of a high volumetric fraction or/and a sintering-treatment are effectivity to tune the inter-nanowire thermal contact resistance, and thus to tailor the thermal conductivity of a nanowire network or stack.

Field effect transistors and phototransistors based upon p-type solution-processed PbS nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Giraud, Paul; Hou, Bo; Pak, Sangyeon; Inn Sohn, Jung; Morris, Stephen; Cha, SeungNam; Kim, Jong Min

2018-02-01

We demonstrate the fabrication of solution processed highly crystalline p-type PbS nanowires via the oriented attachment of nanoparticles. The analysis of single nanowire field effect transistor (FET) devices revealed a hole conduction behaviour with average mobilities greater than 30 cm2 V-1 s-1, which is an order of magnitude higher than that reported to date for p-type PbS colloidal nanowires. We have investigated the response of the FETs to near-infrared light excitation and show herein that the nanowires exhibited gate-dependent photo-conductivities, enabling us to tune the device performances. The responsivity was found to be greater than 104 A W-1 together with a detectivity of 1013 Jones, which benefits from a photogating effect occurring at negative gate voltages. These encouraging detection parameters are accompanied by relatively short switching times of 15 ms at positive gate voltages, resulting from a combination of the standard photoconduction and the high crystallinity of the nanowires. Collectively, these results indicate that solution-processed PbS nanowires are promising nanomaterials for infrared photodetectors as well as p-type nanowire FETs.

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.

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.

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.

Hybrid nanocomposites based on conducting polymer and silicon nanowires for photovoltaic application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chehata, Nadia; Ltaief, Adnen; Ilahi, Bouraoui; Salem, Bassem; Bouazizi, Abdelaziz; Maaref, Hassen; Baron, Thierry

2014-01-01

Hybrid nanocomposites based on a nanoscale combination of organic and inorganic semiconductors are a promising way to enhance the performance of solar cells through a higher aspect ratio of the interface and the good processability of polymers. Nanocomposites are based on a heterojunction network between poly (2-methoxy-5-(2-ethyhexyl-oxy)-p-phenylenevinylene) (MEH-PPV) as an organic electron donor and silicon nanowires (SiNWs) as an inorganic electron acceptor. Nanowires (NWs) seem to be a promising material for this purpose, as they provide a large surface area for contact with the polymer and a designated conducting pathway whilst their volume is low. In this paper, silicon nanowires are introduced by mixing them into the polymer matrix. Hybrid nanocomposites films were deposited onto ITO substrate by spin coating method. Optical properties and photocurrent response were investigated. Charge transfer between the polymer and SiNWs has been demonstrated through photoluminescence measurements. The photocurrent density of ITO/MEH-PPV:SiNWs/Al structures have been obtained by J–V characteristics. The J sc value is about 0.39 µA/cm 2 . - Highlights: • SiNWs synthesis by Vapor–Liquid–Solid (VLS) mechanism. • SiNWs contribution to absorption spectra enhancement of MEH-PPV:SiNWs nanocomposites. • Decrease of PL intensity of MEH-PPV by addition of SiNWs. • Charge transfer process was taken place. • ITO/MEH-PPV:SiNWs/Al structure shows a photovoltaic effect, with a FF of 0.32

Quantum interferometer based on GaAs/InAs core/shell nanowires connected to superconducting contacts

Science.gov (United States)

Haas, F.; Dickheuer, S.; Zellekens, P.; Rieger, T.; Lepsa, M. I.; Lüth, H.; Grützmacher, D.; Schäpers, Th

2018-06-01

An interferometer structure was realized based on a GaAs/InAs core/shell nanowire and Nb superconducting electrodes. Two pairs of Nb contacts are attached to the side facets of the nanowire allowing for carrier transport in three different orientations. Owing to the core/shell geometry, the current flows in the tubular conductive InAs shell. In transport measurements with superconducting electrodes directly facing each other, indications of a Josephson supercurrent are found. In contrast for junctions in diagonal and longitudinal configuration a deficiency current is observed, owing to the weaker coupling on longer distances. By applying a magnetic field along the nanowires axis pronounced h/2e flux-periodic oscillations are measured in all three contact configurations. The appearance of these oscillations is explained in terms of interference effects in the Josephson supercurrent and long-range phase-coherent Andreev reflection.

Towards low-dimensional hole systems in Be-doped GaAs nanowires

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ullah, A. R.; Gluschke, J. G.; Jeppesen, Peter Krogstrup

2017-01-01

-gates produced using GaAs nanowires with three different Be-doping densities and various AuBe contact processing recipes. We show that contact annealing only brings small improvements for the moderately doped devices under conditions of lower anneal temperature and short anneal time. We only obtain good......GaAs was central to the development of quantum devices but is rarely used for nanowire-based quantum devices with InAs, InSb and SiGe instead taking the leading role. p-type GaAs nanowires offer a path to studying strongly confined 0D and 1D hole systems with strong spin–orbit effects, motivating...... our development of nanowire transistors featuring Be-doped p-type GaAs nanowires, AuBe alloy contacts and patterned local gate electrodes towards making nanowire-based quantum hole devices. We report on nanowire transistors with traditional substrate back-gates and EBL-defined metal/oxide top...

Time-dependent optical response of three-dimensional Au nanoparticle arrays formed on silica nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Di Mario, Lorenzo; Otomalo, Tadele Orbula; Catone, Daniele; O'Keeffe, Patrick; Tian, Lin; Turchini, Stefano; Palpant, Bruno; Martelli, Faustino

2018-03-01

We present stationary and transient absorption measurements on 3D Au nanoparticle (NP)-decorated Si O2 nanowire arrays. The 3D NP array has been produced by the dewetting of a thin Au film deposited on silica nanowires produced by oxidation of silicon nanowires. The experimental behaviors of the spectral and temporal dynamics observed in the experiment are accurately described by a two-step, three-temperature model. Using an arbitrary set of Au NPs with different aspect ratios, we demonstrate that the width of the experimental spectra, the energy shift of their position with time, and the asymmetry between the two positive wings in the dynamical variation of absorption can all be attributed to the nonuniform shape distribution of the Au NPs in the sample.

Pattern analysis of aligned nanowires in a microchannel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeon, Young Jin; Kang, Hyun Wook; Ko, Seung Hwan; Sung, Hyung Jin

2013-01-01

An image processing method for evaluating the quality of nanowire alignment in a microchannel is described. A solution containing nanowires flowing into a microchannel will tend to deposit the nanowires on the bottom surface of the channel via near-wall shear flows. The deposited nanowires generally form complex directional structures along the direction of flow, and the physical properties of these structures depend on the structural morphology, including the alignment quality. A quantitative analysis approach to characterizing the nanowire alignment is needed to estimate the useful features of the nanowire structures. This analysis consists of several image processing methods, including ridge detection, texton analysis and autocorrelation function (ACF) calculation. The ridge detection method improved the ACF by extracting nanowire frames 1–2 pixels in width. Dilation filters were introduced to permit a comparison of the ACF results calculated from different images, regardless of the nanowire orientation. An ACF based on the FFT was then calculated over a square interrogation window. The alignment angle probability distribution was obtained using texton analysis. Monte Carlo simulations of artificially generated images were carried out, and the new algorithm was applied to images collected using two types of microscopy. (paper)

Nanoscale Electronic Conditioning for Improvement of Nanowire Light-Emitting-Diode Efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

May, Brelon J; Belz, Matthew R; Ahamed, Arshad; Sarwar, A T M G; Selcu, Camelia M; Myers, Roberto C

2018-04-24

Commercial III-Nitride LEDs and lasers spanning visible and ultraviolet wavelengths are based on epitaxial films. Alternatively, nanowire-based III-Nitride optoelectronics offer the advantage of strain compliance and high crystalline quality growth on a variety of inexpensive substrates. However, nanowire LEDs exhibit an inherent property distribution, resulting in uneven current spreading through macroscopic devices that consist of millions of individual nanowire diodes connected in parallel. Despite being electrically connected, only a small fraction of nanowires, sometimes current in the ensemble devices. Burn-in electronic conditioning is performed by applying a short-term overload voltage; the nanoshorts experience very high current density, sufficient to render them open circuits, thereby forcing a new current path through more nanowire LEDs in an ensemble device. Current-voltage measurements of individual nanowires are acquired using conductive atomic force microscopy to observe the removal of nanoshorts using burn-in. In macroscopic devices, this results in a 33× increase in peak EL and reduced leakage current. Burn-in conditioning of nanowire ensembles therefore provides a straightforward method to mitigate nonuniformities inherent to nanowire devices.

Direct observation of Au/Ga2O3 peapodded nanowires and their plasmonic behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Po-Han; Hsieh, Chin-Hua; Chen, Sheng-Yu; Wu, Chen-Hwa; Wu, Yi-Jen; Chou, Li-Jen; Chen, Lih-Juann

2010-09-08

Gold-peapodded Ga(2)O(3) nanowires were fabricated successfully in a well-controlled manner by thermal annealing of core-shell gold-Ga(2)O(3) nanowires. During the heating process, the core gold nanowires were broken up into chains of nanoparticles at sufficiently high temperature by the mechanism of Rayleigh instability. In addition, the size, shape, and interspacing between the particles can be manipulated by varying the annealing time and/or the forming gas. The plasmonic behaviors of these nanostructures are investigated by optical spectroscopy. A single nanowire optical device was designed, and its photonic characteristics were investigated. A remarkably high on/off photocurrent ratio in response to a 532 nm Nd:YAG laser light was found. As the size of the particle (pea) increases, the corresponding spectra are red-shifted. In addition, morphological changes of the peas lead to a distinct spectral response. The results may usher in the diverse applications in optoelectronics and biosensing devices with peapod nanostructures.

Constricted nanowire with stabilized magnetic domain wall

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sbiaa, R.; Al Bahri, M.

2016-01-01

Domain wall (DW)-based magnetic memory offers the possibility for increasing the storage capacity. However, stability of DW remains the major drawback of this scheme. In this letter, we propose a stepped nanowire for pinning DW in a desirable position. From micromagnetic simulation, the proposed design applied to in-plane magnetic anisotropy materials shows that by adjusting the nanowire step size and its width it is possible to stabilize DW for a desirable current density range. In contrast, only a movement of DW could be seen for conventional nanowire. An extension to a multi-stepped nanowire could be used for multi-bit per cell magnetic memory. - Highlights: • A stepped nanowire is proposed to pin domain wall in desired position. • The new structure can be made by a simple off set of two single nanowires. • The critical current for moving domain wall from one state to the other could be tuned by adjusting the geometry of the device. • The device could be used for multi-bit per cell memory by extending the steps in the device.

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.

Clearly Transparent Nanopaper from Highly Concentrated Cellulose Nanofiber Dispersion Using Dilution and Sonication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takaaki Kasuga

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Nanopaper prepared from holocellulose pulp is one of the best substrates for flexible electronics because of its high thermal resistance and high clear transparency. However, the clearness of nanopaper decreases with increasing concentration of the starting cellulose nanofiber dispersion—with the use of a 2.2 wt % dispersion, for example—resulting in translucent nanopaper with a high haze of 44%. To overcome this problem, we show that the dilution of this high-concentration dispersion with water followed by sonication for 10 s reduces the haze to less than 10% while maintaining the high thermal resistance of the nanopaper. Furthermore, the combination of water dilution and a short sonication treatment improves the clearness of the nanopaper, which would translate into cost savings for the transportation and storage of this highly concentrated cellulose nanofiber dispersion. Finally, we demonstrate the improvement of the electrical conductivity of clear transparent nanopaper prepared from an initially high-concentration dispersion by dropping and heating silver nanowire ink on the nanopaper. These achievements will pave the way toward the realization of the mass production of nanofiber-based flexible devices.

Multi-spectral optical absorption in substrate-free nanowire arrays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Junpeng; Chia, Andrew; Boulanger, Jonathan; LaPierre, Ray, E-mail: lapierr@mcmaster.ca [Department of Engineering Physics, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L7 (Canada); Dhindsa, Navneet; Khodadad, Iman; Saini, Simarjeet [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 (Canada); Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 (Canada)

2014-09-22

A method is presented of fabricating gallium arsenide (GaAs) nanowire arrays of controlled diameter and period by reactive ion etching of a GaAs substrate containing an indium gallium arsenide (InGaP) etch stop layer, allowing the precise nanowire length to be controlled. The substrate is subsequently removed by selective etching, using the same InGaP etch stop layer, to create a substrate-free GaAs nanowire array. The optical absorptance of the nanowire array was then directly measured without absorption from a substrate. We directly observe absorptance spectra that can be tuned by the nanowire diameter, as explained with rigorous coupled wave analysis. These results illustrate strong optical absorption suitable for nanowire-based solar cells and multi-spectral absorption for wavelength discriminating photodetectors. The solar-weighted absorptance above the bandgap of GaAs was 94% for a nanowire surface coverage of only 15%.

Triboelectric-Based Transparent Secret Code.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Zuqing; Du, Xinyu; Li, Nianwu; Yin, Yingying; Cao, Ran; Zhang, Xiuling; Zhao, Shuyu; Niu, Huidan; Jiang, Tao; Xu, Weihua; Wang, Zhong Lin; Li, Congju

2018-04-01

Private and security information for personal identification requires an encrypted tool to extend communication channels between human and machine through a convenient and secure method. Here, a triboelectric-based transparent secret code (TSC) that enables self-powered sensing and information identification simultaneously in a rapid process method is reported. The transparent and hydrophobic TSC can be conformed to any cambered surface due to its high flexibility, which extends the application scenarios greatly. Independent of the power source, the TSC can induce obvious electric signals only by surface contact. This TSC is velocity-dependent and capable of achieving a peak voltage of ≈4 V at a resistance load of 10 MΩ and a sliding speed of 0.1 m s -1 , according to a 2 mm × 20 mm rectangular stripe. The fabricated TSC can maintain its performance after reciprocating rolling for about 5000 times. The applications of TSC as a self-powered code device are demonstrated, and the ordered signals can be recognized through the height of the electric peaks, which can be further transferred into specific information by the processing program. The designed TSC has great potential in personal identification, commodity circulation, valuables management, and security defense applications.

Fully solution-processing route toward highly transparent polymer solar cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Fei; Kubis, Peter; Stubhan, Tobias; Li, Ning; Baran, Derya; Przybilla, Thomas; Spiecker, Erdmann; Forberich, Karen; Brabec, Christoph J

2014-10-22

We report highly transparent polymer solar cells using metallic silver nanowires (AgNWs) as both the electron- and hole-collecting electrodes. The entire stack of the devices is processed from solution using a doctor blading technique. A thin layer of zinc oxide nanoparticles is introduced between photoactive layer and top AgNW electrode which plays decisive roles in device functionality: it serves as a mechanical foundation which allows the solution-deposition of top AgNWs, and more importantly it facilitates charge carriers extraction due to the better energy level alignment and the formation of ohmic contacts between the active layer/ZnO and ZnO/AgNWs. The resulting semitransparent polymer:fullerene solar cells showed a power conversion efficiency of 2.9%, which is 72% of the efficiency of an opaque reference device. Moreover, an average transmittance of 41% in the wavelength range of 400-800 nm is achieved, which is of particular interest for applications in transparent architectures.

Threshold switching uniformity in In2Se3 nanowire-based phase change memory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Jian; Du Gang; Liu Xiao-Yan

2015-01-01

The uniformity of threshold voltage and threshold current in the In 2 Se 3 nanowire-based phase change memory (PCM) devices is investigated. Based on the trap-limited transport model, amorphous layer thickness, trap density, and trap depth are considered to clarify their influences upon the threshold voltage and threshold current through simulations. (paper)

Properties of TiO{sub 2}-based transparent conducting oxides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hitosugi, Taro [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), 213-0012 Kawasaki (Japan); Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR), Tohoku University, 980-8577 Sendai (Japan); Yamada, Naoomi; Nakao, Shoichiro [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), 213-0012 Kawasaki (Japan); Hirose, Yasushi; Hasegawa, Tetsuya [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), 213-0012 Kawasaki (Japan); Department of Chemistry, University of Tokyo, 113-0033 Tokyo (Japan)

2010-07-15

The development and properties of titanium dioxide (TiO{sub 2})-based transparent conducting oxides (TCO), which exhibit properties comparable to those of In{sub 2-x}Sn{sub x}O{sub 3} (ITO), are reviewed in this article. An epitaxial thin film of anatase Ti{sub 0.94}Nb{sub 0.06}O{sub 2} exhibited a resistivity ({rho}) of 2.3 x 10{sup -4}{omega} cm and internal transmittance of {proportional_to}95% in the visible light region. Furthermore, we prepared polycrystalline films with {rho} of 6.4 x 10{sup -4}{omega} cm at room temperature on glass substrates by using sputtering. We focus on characteristics unique to TiO{sub 2}-based TCO, such as a high refractive index, high transmittance in infrared, and high stability in reducing atmospheres. Possible applications of TiO{sub 2}-based TCOs, as well as the mechanism of the transparent conducting properties found in this d-electron-based TCO, are discussed in this review. Photograph showing TiO{sub 2}-based TCO on a transparent plastic film. Note that the film appears greenish due to interference in the film originating from its high refractive index. This high refractive index is one of the unique characteristics of TiO{sub 2}-based TCO. (Abstract Copyright [2010], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Characteristics of AlN/GaN nanowire Bragg mirror grown on (001) silicon by molecular beam epitaxy

KAUST Repository

Heo, Junseok

2013-10-01

GaN nanowires containing AlN/GaN distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) heterostructures have been grown on (001) silicon substrate by molecular beam epitaxy. A peak reflectance of 70% with normal incidence at 560 nm is derived from angle resolved reflectance measurements on the as-grown nanowire DBR array. The measured peak reflectance wavelength is significantly blue-shifted from the ideal calculated value. The discrepancy is explained by investigating the reflectance of the nanoscale DBRs with a finite difference time domain technique. Ensemble nanowire microcavities with In0.3Ga 0.7N nanowires clad by AlN/GaN DBRs have also been characterized. Room temperature emission from the microcavity exhibits considerable linewidth narrowing compared to that measured for unclad In0.3Ga0.7N nanowires. The resonant emission is characterized by a peak wavelength and linewidth of 575 nm and 39 nm, respectively. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

Development of high efficient visible light-driven N, S-codoped TiO2 nanowires photocatalysts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Yanlin; Liu, Peihong; Wu, Honghai

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A facile hydrothermal route to synthesize N, S-codoped TiO 2 nanowires. • The codoped TiO 2 nanowires have TiO 2 (B) and anatase phase. • The significant shift of the optical absorption edge toward the visible region. • The photocatalyst showed high photocatalytic activity for atrazine. - Abstract: One-dimensional (1D) nanowire material (especially nonmetal doped 1D nanowires) synthesized by a facile way is of great significance and greatly desired as it has higher charge carrier mobility and lower carrier recombination rate. N, S-codoped TiO 2 nanowires were synthesized using titanium sulfate as a precursor and isopropanol as a protective capping agent by a hydrothermal route. The obtained doped nanowires were characterized by XRD, SEM, HRTEM, SAED, XPS, BET and UV–vis absorption spectrum. The incorporation of N and S into TiO 2 NWs can lead to the expansion of its lattice and remarkably lower its electron-transfer resistance. Photocatalytic activity measurement showed that the N, S-codoped TiO 2 nanowires with high quantum efficiency revealed the best photocatalytic performance for atrazine degradation under visible light irradiation compared to N, S-codoped TiO 2 nanoparticles and S-doped TiO 2 nanowires, which was attributed to (i) the synergistic effect of N and S doping in narrowing the band gap, separating electron–hole pairs and increasing the photoinduced electrons, and (ii) extending the anatase-to-rutile transformation temperature above 600 °C

Functionalised Silver Nanowire Structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrew, Piers; Ilie, Adelina

2007-01-01

Crystalline silver nanowires 60-100 nm in diameter and tens of micrometres in length have been fabricated using a low temperature, solution synthesis technique. We explore the potential of this method to produce functional nanowire structures using two different strategies to attach active molecules to the nanowires: adsorption and displacement. Initially, as-produced silver nanowires capped with a uniaxial-growth-inducing polymer layer were functionalised by solution adsorption of a semiconducting conjugated polymer to generate fluorescent nanowire structures. The influence of nanowire surface chemistry was investigated by displacing the capping polymer with an alkanethiol self-assembled monolayer, followed by solution adsorption functionalisation. The success of molecular attachment was monitored by electron microscopy, absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy and confocal fluorescence microscopy. We examined how the optical properties of such adsorbed molecules are affected by the metallic nanowires, and observed transfer of excitation energy between dye molecules mediated by surface plasmons propagating on the nanowires. Non-contact dynamic force microscopy measurements were used to map the work-function of individual wires, revealing inhomogeneity of the polymer surface coverage

Understanding the vapor-liquid-solid growth and composition of ternary III-V nanowires and nanowire heterostructures

Science.gov (United States)

Dubrovskii, V. G.

2017-11-01

Based on the recent achievements in vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) synthesis, characterization and modeling of ternary III-V nanowires and axial heterostructures within such nanowires, we try to understand the major trends in their compositional evolution from a general theoretical perspective. Clearly, the VLS growth of ternary materials is much more complex than in standard vapor-solid epitaxy techniques, and even maintaining the necessary control over the composition of steady-state ternary nanowires is far from straightforward. On the other hand, VLS nanowires offer otherwise unattainable material combinations without introducing structural defects and hence are very promising for next-generation optoelectronic devices, in particular those integrated with a silicon electronic platform. In this review, we consider two main problems. First, we show how and by means of which parameters the steady-state composition of Au-catalyzed or self-catalyzed ternary III-V nanowires can be tuned to a desired value and why it is generally different from the vapor composition. Second, we present some experimental data and modeling results for the interfacial abruptness across axial nanowire heterostructures, both in Au-catalyzed and self-catalyzed VLS growth methods. Refined modeling allows us to formulate some general growth recipes for suppressing the unwanted reservoir effect in the droplet and sharpening the nanowire heterojunctions. We consider and refine two approaches developed to date, namely the regular crystallization model for a liquid alloy with a critical size of only one III-V pair at high supersaturations or classical binary nucleation theory with a macroscopic critical nucleus at modest supersaturations.

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.

The effects of the impurity distribution on the electrical and optical properties of Cr2+:ZnSe nanowires: First-principles study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shenyu Dai

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The structural, electrical and mid-infrared optical properties of wurtzite structured ZnSe nanowires with different Chromium impurity distribution are investigated using first-principles calculation based on density-functional theory (DFT. The formation energies have been calculated to study the relative stabilities of different Cr doping positions. It is shown that when the Cr doping position shifted from the center to the edge, the splitting energy between 5T2 and 5E levels of Cr d-orbitals is decreased and a redshift is observed in the calculated infrared absorption spectra. A probable reason for these effects of the impurity distribution is discussed. Keywords: First-principles, Nanowires, Impurity distribution, Cr-doped ZnSe

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.

Quantified Hole Concentration in AlGaN Nanowires for High-Performance Ultraviolet Emitters

KAUST Repository

Zhao, Chao; Ebaid, Mohamed; Zhang, Huafan; Priante, Davide; Janjua, Bilal; Zhang, Daliang; Wei, Nini; Alhamoud, Abdullah; Shakfa, M. Khaled; Ng, Tien Khee; Ooi, Boon S.

2018-01-01

P-type doping in wide bandgap and new classes of ultra-wide bandgap materials has long been a scientific and engineering problem. The challenges arise from the large activation energy of dopants and high densities of dislocations in materials. We report here, a significantly enhanced p-type conduction using high-quality AlGaN nanowires. For the first time, the hole concentration in Mg-doped AlGaN nanowires is quantified. The incorporation of Mg into AlGaN was verified by correlation with photoluminescence and Raman measurements. The open-circuit potential measurements further confirmed the p-type conductivity; while Mott-Schottky experiments measured a hole concentration of 1.3×1019 cm-3. These results from photoelectrochemical measurements allow us to design prototype ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) incorporating the AlGaN quantum-disks-in-nanowire and optimized p-type AlGaN contact layer for UV-transparency. The ~335-nm LEDs exhibited a low turn-on voltage of 5 V with a series resistance of 32 Ω, due to the efficient p-type doping of the AlGaN nanowires. The bias-dependent Raman measurements further revealed the negligible self-heating of devices. This study provides an attractive solution to evaluate electrical properties of AlGaN, which is applicable to other wide bandgap nanostructures. Our results are expected to open doors to new applications for wide and ultra-wide bandgap materials.

Quantified Hole Concentration in AlGaN Nanowires for High-Performance Ultraviolet Emitters

KAUST Repository

Zhao, Chao

2018-05-29

P-type doping in wide bandgap and new classes of ultra-wide bandgap materials has long been a scientific and engineering problem. The challenges arise from the large activation energy of dopants and high densities of dislocations in materials. We report here, a significantly enhanced p-type conduction using high-quality AlGaN nanowires. For the first time, the hole concentration in Mg-doped AlGaN nanowires is quantified. The incorporation of Mg into AlGaN was verified by correlation with photoluminescence and Raman measurements. The open-circuit potential measurements further confirmed the p-type conductivity; while Mott-Schottky experiments measured a hole concentration of 1.3×1019 cm-3. These results from photoelectrochemical measurements allow us to design prototype ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) incorporating the AlGaN quantum-disks-in-nanowire and optimized p-type AlGaN contact layer for UV-transparency. The ~335-nm LEDs exhibited a low turn-on voltage of 5 V with a series resistance of 32 Ω, due to the efficient p-type doping of the AlGaN nanowires. The bias-dependent Raman measurements further revealed the negligible self-heating of devices. This study provides an attractive solution to evaluate electrical properties of AlGaN, which is applicable to other wide bandgap nanostructures. Our results are expected to open doors to new applications for wide and ultra-wide bandgap materials.

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.

Fabrication of multilayer nanowires

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaur, Jasveer, E-mail: kaurjasveer89@gmail.com; Singh, Avtar; Kumar, Davinder [Department of Physics, Punjabi University Patiala, 147002, Punjab (India); Thakur, Anup; Kaur, Raminder, E-mail: raminder-k-saini@yahoo.com [Department of Basic and Applied Sciences, Punjabi University Patiala, 147002, Punjab (India)

2016-05-06

Multilayer nanowires were fabricated by potentiostate ectrodeposition template synthesis method into the pores of polycarbonate membrane. In present work layer by layer deposition of two different metals Ni and Cu in polycarbonate membrane having pore size of 600 nm were carried out. It is found that the growth of nanowires is not constant, it varies with deposition time. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is used to study the morphology of fabricated multilayer nanowires. An energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) results confirm the composition of multilayer nanowires. The result shows that multilayer nanowires formed is dense.

Fabrication of multilayer nanowires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaur, Jasveer; Singh, Avtar; Kumar, Davinder; Thakur, Anup; Kaur, Raminder

2016-01-01

Multilayer nanowires were fabricated by potentiostate ectrodeposition template synthesis method into the pores of polycarbonate membrane. In present work layer by layer deposition of two different metals Ni and Cu in polycarbonate membrane having pore size of 600 nm were carried out. It is found that the growth of nanowires is not constant, it varies with deposition time. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is used to study the morphology of fabricated multilayer nanowires. An energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) results confirm the composition of multilayer nanowires. The result shows that multilayer nanowires formed is dense.

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.

Corporate transparency in a non-listed environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schøler, Finn

Our aim is to examine the reduction of the cost-of-capital in non-listed companies (SME’s) through exercising a high level of corporate accounting transparency. We see a tendency towards greater stakeholder inclusivity, reflecting a shift away from the dominance of agency theory frameworks...... selected sample of 385 Danish annual financial reports (official paper-version). The proxies for transparency involve management commentary , accounting notes, number of text units in management commentary, use of numbers in management commentary and description of accounting practice. Our findings support...

TiO2 nanowire-templated hierarchical nanowire network as water-repelling coating

Science.gov (United States)

Hang, Tian; Chen, Hui-Jiuan; Xiao, Shuai; Yang, Chengduan; Chen, Meiwan; Tao, Jun; Shieh, Han-ping; Yang, Bo-ru; Liu, Chuan; Xie, Xi

2017-12-01

Extraordinary water-repelling properties of superhydrophobic surfaces make them novel candidates for a great variety of potential applications. A general approach to achieve superhydrophobicity requires low-energy coating on the surface and roughness on nano- and micrometre scale. However, typical construction of superhydrophobic surfaces with micro-nano structure through top-down fabrication is restricted by sophisticated fabrication techniques and limited choices of substrate materials. Micro-nanoscale topographies templated by conventional microparticles through surface coating may produce large variations in roughness and uncontrollable defects, resulting in poorly controlled surface morphology and wettability. In this work, micro-nanoscale hierarchical nanowire network was fabricated to construct self-cleaning coating using one-dimensional TiO2 nanowires as microscale templates. Hierarchical structure with homogeneous morphology was achieved by branching ZnO nanowires on the TiO2 nanowire backbones through hydrothermal reaction. The hierarchical nanowire network displayed homogeneous micro/nano-topography, in contrast to hierarchical structure templated by traditional microparticles. This hierarchical nanowire network film exhibited high repellency to both water and cell culture medium after functionalization with fluorinated organic molecules. The hierarchical structure templated by TiO2 nanowire coating significantly increased the surface superhydrophobicity compared to vertical ZnO nanowires with nanotopography alone. Our results demonstrated a promising strategy of using nanowires as microscale templates for the rational design of hierarchical coatings with desired superhydrophobicity that can also be applied to various substrate materials.

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...

Copper vanadate nanowires-based MIS capacitors: Synthesis, characterization, and their electrical charge storage applications

KAUST Repository

Shahid, Muhammad

2013-07-14

Copper vanadate (CVO) nanowires were grown on Si/SiO2 substrates by thermal annealing technique. A thin film of a CVO precursor at 550 C under an ambient atmosphere could also be prepared. The electrical properties of the nanowires embedded in the dielectrical layer were examined by capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements. The C-V curves for Au/CVO nanowires embedded in an hafnium oxide layer/SiO2/p-Si capacitor at 298 K showed a clockwise hysteresis loop when the gate bias was swept cyclically. The hysteresis characteristics were studied further at different frequencies, which clearly indicated that the traps in the nanowires have a large charging-discharging time and thus the as-synthesized nanowires can be utilized for electrical charge storage devices. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Copper vanadate nanowires-based MIS capacitors: synthesis, characterization, and their electrical charge storage applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shahid, Muhammad, E-mail: shahid@skku.edu [King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Material Science and Engineering (Saudi Arabia); Nafady, Ayman [King Saud University, Department of Chemistry, College of Science (Saudi Arabia); Shakir, Imran; Rana, Usman Ali; Sarfraz, Mansoor [King Saud University, Sustainable Energy Technologies (SET) Center, College of Engineering (Saudi Arabia); Warsi, Muhammad Farooq [The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Department of Chemistry (Pakistan); Hussain, Rafaqat [Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Ibnu Sina Institute for Fundamental Science Studies (Malaysia); Ashiq, Muhammad Naeem [Bahauddin Zakaryia University, Institute of Chemical Sciences (Pakistan)

2013-08-15

Copper vanadate (CVO) nanowires were grown on Si/SiO{sub 2} substrates by thermal annealing technique. A thin film of a CVO precursor at 550 Degree-Sign C under an ambient atmosphere could also be prepared. The electrical properties of the nanowires embedded in the dielectrical layer were examined by capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements. The C-V curves for Au/CVO nanowires embedded in an hafnium oxide layer/SiO{sub 2}/p-Si capacitor at 298 K showed a clockwise hysteresis loop when the gate bias was swept cyclically. The hysteresis characteristics were studied further at different frequencies, which clearly indicated that the traps in the nanowires have a large charging-discharging time and thus the as-synthesized nanowires can be utilized for electrical charge storage devices.

Copper vanadate nanowires-based MIS capacitors: Synthesis, characterization, and their electrical charge storage applications

KAUST Repository

Shahid, Muhammad; Nafady, Ayman; Shakir, Imran; Rana, Usman Ali; Sarfraz, Mansoor M.; Warsi, Muhammad Farooq; Hussain, Rafaqat; Ashiq, Muhammad Naeem

2013-01-01

Copper vanadate (CVO) nanowires were grown on Si/SiO2 substrates by thermal annealing technique. A thin film of a CVO precursor at 550 C under an ambient atmosphere could also be prepared. The electrical properties of the nanowires embedded in the dielectrical layer were examined by capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements. The C-V curves for Au/CVO nanowires embedded in an hafnium oxide layer/SiO2/p-Si capacitor at 298 K showed a clockwise hysteresis loop when the gate bias was swept cyclically. The hysteresis characteristics were studied further at different frequencies, which clearly indicated that the traps in the nanowires have a large charging-discharging time and thus the as-synthesized nanowires can be utilized for electrical charge storage devices. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

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.

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 .

Paper-based transparent flexible thin film supercapacitors

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Kezheng; Shao, Ziqiang; Wu, Xue; Wang, Xi; Zhang, Yunhua; Wang, Wenjun; Wang, Feijun

2013-05-01

Paper-based transparent flexible thin film supercapacitors were fabricated using CNF-[RGO]n hybrid paper as an electrode material and charge collector. Owing to the self-anti-stacking of distorted RGO nanosheets and internal electrolyte nanoscale-reservoirs, the device exhibited good electrochemical performance (about 1.73 mF cm-2), and a transmittance of about 56% (at 550 nm).Paper-based transparent flexible thin film supercapacitors were fabricated using CNF-[RGO]n hybrid paper as an electrode material and charge collector. Owing to the self-anti-stacking of distorted RGO nanosheets and internal electrolyte nanoscale-reservoirs, the device exhibited good electrochemical performance (about 1.73 mF cm-2), and a transmittance of about 56% (at 550 nm). Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental, TEM image, IR spectra, and XRD spectra of cellulose nanofibers, TEM image, and XRD spectra of RGO, graphite, GO nanosheets, CNF paper, and CNF-[RGO]20 hybrid paper, high-resolution C1s spectra of GO, Raman spectra of GO nanosheets, cross-sectional FESEM image of CNF-[RGO]20 hybrid paper and stress-strain curve of T-SC-20. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr00674c

Highly transparent, low-haze, hybrid cellulose nanopaper as electrodes for flexible electronics

KAUST Repository

Xu, Xuezhu

2016-06-01

Paper is an excellent candidate to replace plastics as a substrate for flexible electronics due to its low cost, renewability and flexibility. Cellulose nanopaper (CNP), a new type of paper made of nanosized cellulose fibers, is a promising substrate material for transparent and flexible electrodes due to its potentially high transparency and high mechanical strength. Although CNP substrates can achieve high transparency, they are still characterized by high diffuse transmittance and small direct transmittance, resulting in high optical haze of the substrates. In this study, we proposed a simple methodology for large-scale production of high-transparency, low-haze CNP comprising both long cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) and short cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). By varying the CNC/CNF ratio in the hybrid CNP, we could tailor its total transmittance, direct transmittance and diffuse transmittance. By increasing the CNC content, the optical haze of the hybrid CNP could be decreased and its transparency could be increased. The direct transmittance and optical haze of the CNP were 75.1% and 10.0%, respectively, greatly improved from the values of previously reported CNP (31.1% and 62.0%, respectively). Transparent, flexible electrodes were fabricated by coating the hybrid CNP with silver nanowires (AgNWs). The electrodes showed a low sheet resistance (minimum 1.2 Ω sq-1) and a high total transmittance (maximum of 82.5%). The electrodes were used to make a light emitting diode (LED) assembly to demonstrate their potential use in flexible displays. © 2016 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

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)

Transparency in Organizing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Albu, Oana Brindusa

This dissertation provides a critical analysis of transparency in the context of organizing. The empirical material is based on qualitative studies of international cooperative organizations. The dissertation seeks to contribute to transparency and organizing scholarship by adopting a communication...... centred approach to explore the implications of pursuing ideals of transparency in organizational relationships. The dissertation is comprised of four papers each contributing to extant debates in organizational studies and transparency literature. The findings indicate that transparency, in contrast...... to being a solution for efficiency and democratic organizing, is a communicatively contested process which may lead to unintended consequences. The dissertation shows that transparency is performative: it can impact authority by de/legitimating action, shape the processes of organizational identity co...

Healable, Transparent, Room-Temperature Electronic Sensors Based on Carbon Nanotube Network-Coated Polyelectrolyte Multilayers.

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Shouli; Sun, Chaozheng; Yan, Hong; Sun, Xiaoming; Zhang, Han; Luo, Liang; Lei, Xiaodong; Wan, Pengbo; Chen, Xiaodong

2015-11-18

Transparent and conductive film based electronics have attracted substantial research interest in various wearable and integrated display devices in recent years. The breakdown of transparent electronics prompts the development of transparent electronics integrated with healability. A healable transparent chemical gas sensor device is assembled from layer-by-layer-assembled transparent healable polyelectrolyte multilayer films by developing effective methods to cast transparent carbon nanotube (CNT) networks on healable substrates. The healable CNT network-containing film with transparency and superior network structures on self-healing substrate is obtained by the lateral movement of the underlying self-healing layer to bring the separated areas of the CNT layer back into contact. The as-prepared healable transparent film is assembled into healable transparent chemical gas sensor device for flexible, healable gas sensing at room temperature, due to the 1D confined network structure, relatively high carrier mobility, and large surface-to-volume ratio. The healable transparent chemical gas sensor demonstrates excellent sensing performance, robust healability, reliable flexibility, and good transparency, providing promising opportunities for developing flexible, healable transparent optoelectronic devices with the reduced raw material consumption, decreased maintenance costs, improved lifetime, and robust functional reliability. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Study of optical absorbance in porous silicon nanowires for photovoltaic applications

KAUST Repository

Charrier, Joël

2013-10-01

Porous silicon nanowires (PSiNWs) layers fabrication was reported. Reflectance spectra were measured as a function of the nanowire length and were inferior to 0.1% and a strong photoluminescence (PL) signal was measured from samples. Models based on cone shape of nanowires located in circular and rectangular bases were used to calculate the reflectance using the transfer matrix formalism (TMF) of PSiNWs layer. The modeling of the reflectance permits to explain this value by taking account into the shape of the nanowires and its porosity. Optical absorbance and transmission were also theoretically studied. The absorbance was superior to that obtained with silicon nanowires and the ultimate efficiency was about equal to 25% for normal incidence angle. These results could be applied to the potential application in low-cost and high efficiency PSiNWs based solar cells. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Quantification of nanowire uptake by live cells

KAUST Repository

Margineanu, Michael B.

2015-05-01

Nanostructures fabricated by different methods have become increasingly important for various applications at the cellular level. In order to understand how these nanostructures “behave” and for studying their internalization kinetics, several attempts have been made at tagging and investigating their interaction with living cells. In this study, magnetic iron nanowires with an iron oxide layer are coated with (3-Aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES), and subsequently labeled with a fluorogenic pH-dependent dye pHrodo™ Red, covalently bound to the aminosilane surface. Time-lapse live imaging of human colon carcinoma HCT 116 cells interacting with the labeled iron nanowires is performed for 24 hours. As the pHrodo™ Red conjugated nanowires are non-fluorescent outside the cells but fluoresce brightly inside, internalized nanowires are distinguished from non-internalized ones and their behavior inside the cells can be tracked for the respective time length. A machine learning-based computational framework dedicated to automatic analysis of live cell imaging data, Cell Cognition, is adapted and used to classify cells with internalized and non-internalized nanowires and subsequently determine the uptake percentage by cells at different time points. An uptake of 85 % by HCT 116 cells is observed after 24 hours incubation at NW-to-cell ratios of 200. While the approach of using pHrodo™ Red for internalization studies is not novel in the literature, this study reports for the first time the utilization of a machine-learning based time-resolved automatic analysis pipeline for quantification of nanowire uptake by cells. This pipeline has also been used for comparison studies with nickel nanowires coated with APTES and labeled with pHrodo™ Red, and another cell line derived from the cervix carcinoma, HeLa. It has thus the potential to be used for studying the interaction of different types of nanostructures with potentially any live cell types.

Nanowire Electrodes for Advanced Lithium Batteries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, Lei; Wei, Qiulong; Sun, Ruimin; Mai, Liqiang, E-mail: mlq518@whut.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, WUT-Harvard Joint Nano Key Laboratory, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan (China)

2014-10-27

Since the commercialization of lithium ion batteries (LIBs) in the past two decades, rechargeable LIBs have become widespread power sources for portable devices used in daily life. However, current demands require higher energy density and power density of batteries. The electrochemical energy storage performance of LIBs could be improved by applying nanomaterial electrodes, but their fast capacity fading is still one of the key limitations and the mechanism need to be clearly understood. Single nanowire electrode devices are considered as a versatile platform for in situ probing the direct relationship between electrical transport, structure change, and other properties of the single nanowire electrode along with the charge/discharge process. The results indicate that the conductivity decrease of the nanowire electrode and the structural disorder/destruction during electrochemical reaction limit the cycling performance of LIBs. Based on the in situ observations, some feasible optimization strategies, including prelithiation, coaxial structure, nanowire arrays, and hierarchical structure architecture, are proposed and utilized to restrain the conductivity decrease and structural disorder/destruction. Further, the applications of nanowire electrodes in some “beyond Li-ion” batteries, such as Li-S and Li-air batteries are also described.

Nanowire Electrodes for Advanced Lithium Batteries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei eHuang

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Since the commercialization of lithium ion batteries (LIBs in the past two decades, rechargeable LIBs have become widespread power sources for portable devices used in daily life. However, current demands require higher energy density and power density of batteries. The electrochemical energy storage performance of LIBs could be improved by applying nanomaterial electrodes, but their fast capacity fading is still one of the key limitations and the mechanism needs to be clearly understood. Single nanowire electrode devices are considered as a versatile platform for in situ probing the direct relationship between electrical transport, structure change, and other properties of the single nanowire electrode along with the charge/discharge process. The results indicate the conductivity decrease of the nanowire electrode and the structural disorder/destruction during electrochemical reactions which limit the cycling performance of LIBs. Based on the in situ observations, some feasible structure architecture strategies, including prelithiation, coaxial structure, nanowire arrays and hierarchical structure architecture, are proposed and utilized to restrain the conductivity decrease and structural disorder/destruction. Further, the applications of nanowire electrodes in some beyond Li-ion batteries, such as Li-S and Li-air battery, are also described.

Nanowire Electrodes for Advanced Lithium Batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Lei; Wei, Qiulong; Sun, Ruimin; Mai, Liqiang

2014-01-01

Since the commercialization of lithium ion batteries (LIBs) in the past two decades, rechargeable LIBs have become widespread power sources for portable devices used in daily life. However, current demands require higher energy density and power density of batteries. The electrochemical energy storage performance of LIBs could be improved by applying nanomaterial electrodes, but their fast capacity fading is still one of the key limitations and the mechanism need to be clearly understood. Single nanowire electrode devices are considered as a versatile platform for in situ probing the direct relationship between electrical transport, structure change, and other properties of the single nanowire electrode along with the charge/discharge process. The results indicate that the conductivity decrease of the nanowire electrode and the structural disorder/destruction during electrochemical reaction limit the cycling performance of LIBs. Based on the in situ observations, some feasible optimization strategies, including prelithiation, coaxial structure, nanowire arrays, and hierarchical structure architecture, are proposed and utilized to restrain the conductivity decrease and structural disorder/destruction. Further, the applications of nanowire electrodes in some “beyond Li-ion” batteries, such as Li-S and Li-air batteries are also described.

Dynamic characterization of silicon nanowires using a terahertz optical asymmetric demultiplexer-based pump-probe scheme

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ji, Hua; Cleary, C. S.; Dailey, J. M.

2012-01-01

Dynamic phase and amplitude all-optical responses of silicon nanowires are characterized using a terahertz optical asymmetric demultiplexer (TOAD) based pump-probe scheme. Ultra-fast recovery is observed for moderate pump powers....

Nanostructures and thin films of transparent conductive oxides studied by perturbed angular correlations

CERN Document Server

Barbosa, M B; Redondo-Cubero, A; Miranda, S M C; Simon, R; Kessler, P; Brandt, M; Henneberger, F; Nogales, E; Méndez, B; Johnston, K; Alves, E; Vianden, R; Araújo, J P; Lorenz, K; Correia, J G

2013-01-01

The versatility of perturbed angular correlations (PAC) in the study of nanostructures and thin films is demonstrated, namely for the specific cases of ZnO/Cd$_x$Zn$_{1-x}$O thin films and Ga$_2$O$_3$ powder pellets and nanowires, examples of transparent conductive oxides. PAC measurements as a function of annealing temperature were performed after implantation of $^{111m}$Cd$/^{111}$Cd (T$_{1/2}$=48$\\,$min.) and later compared to density functional theory simulations. For ZnO, the substitution of Cd probes at Zn sites was observed, as well as the formation of a probe-defect complex. The ternary Cd$_x$Zn$_{1-x}$O (x=0.16) showed good macroscopic crystal quality but revealed some clustering of local defects around the probe Cd atoms, which could not be annealed. In the Ga$_2$O$_3$ samples, the substitution of the Cd probes in the octahedral Ga-site was observed, demonstrating the potential of ion-implantation for the doping of nanowires.

Fabricating ZnO single microwire light-emitting diode with transparent conductive ITO film