Synthesis and optical properties of ZnTe single-crystalline nanowires

Single-crystalline ZnTe nanowires with the zincblende structure have been synthesized on silicon (Si) substrates via a vapor phase transport method. The ZnTe (99.99%) powders were used as the source, and 10 nm-thick thermal evaporated gold (Au) film was used as the catalyst. The as-prepared ZnTe nanowires have diameters of 30-80 nm and lengths of more than 10 microm. The products were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Optical properties of these nanowires were investigated by room-temperature Raman scattering spectrum and temperature-dependent photoluminescence measurements. The results show that the as-prepared ZnTe nanowires are of high crystal quality.     

Structure and elemental distribution of (Ga,Mn)N nanowires

(Ga,Mn)N nanowires were grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on p-type Si(111) substrates. Chemical composition and elemental distribution of single nanowires were analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealing an inhomogeneous Mn distribution decreasing from the surface of the nanowires toward the inner core region. The average Mn concentration within the nanowires is found to be below 1%. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy shows the presence of planar defects perpendicular to the growth direction in undoped and Mn-doped GaN nanowires. The density of planar defects dramatically increases under Mn supply.     

Structural,optical, and electrical properties of ZnTe:Cu thin films by PLD

In this work, ZnTe and ZnTe:Cu films were obtained by pulsed laser deposition using the co-deposition method. ZnTe and Cu₂Te were used as targets and the shots ratio were varied to obtain 0.61, 1.47, 1.72, and 3.46% Cu concentration. Doping of ZnTe films with Cu was performed with the purpose of increasing the p-type carrier concentration and establishing the effect of concentration of Cu on structural, optical, and electrical properties of ZnTe thin films to consider their potential application in electronic devices. According to X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV–visible spectroscopy, and Hall effect results, ZnTe and ZnTe:Cu films correspond to polycrystalline zinc–blende phase with preferential orientation in (111) plane. Optical characterization results indicate that as-deposited films (band gap?=?2.16 eV) exhibit a band gap decrease as function of the increase of Cu concentration (2.09–1.64 eV), while, annealed films exhibit a decrease from 1.75 to 1.46 eV, as the Cu concentration increases. Lastly, Hall effect results show that ZnTe films correspond to a p-type semiconductor with a carrier concentration of 3?×?10¹³ cm^?3 and a resistivity of 1.64?×?10⁵ Ω?cm. ZnTe:Cu films remain like a p-type material and present an increasing carrier concentration (from 3.8?×?10¹⁵ to 1.26?×?10¹⁹ cm^?3) as function of Cu concentration and a decreasing resistivity (from 7.01?×?103 to 2.6?×?10^?1 Ω cm). ZnTe and ZnTe:Cu thin films, with the aforementioned characteristics, can find potential application in electronic devices, such as, solar cells and photodetectors.     

The growth and characterization of ZnO/ZnTe core-shell nanowires and the electrical properties of ZnO/ZnTe core-shell nanowire field effect transistor

Vertically aligned ZnO/ZnTe core-shell nanowires were grown on a-plane sapphire substrate by using chemical vapor deposition with gold as catalyst for the growth of ZnO core and then followed by growing ZnTe shell using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and Raman scattering indicate that the core-shell nanostructures have good crystalline quality. Three-dimensional fluorescence images obtained by using laser scanning confocal microscope demonstrate that the nanowires have good optical properties. The core-shell nanowire was then fabricated into single nanowire field effect transistor by standard e-beam photolithography. Electrical measurements reveals that the p-type ZnO/ZnTe FET device has a turn on voltage of -1.65 V and the hole mobility is 13.3 cm2/V s.     

Electronic structure of P-doped ZnO films with p-type conductivity

The electronic structure of laser-deposited P-doped ZnO films was investigated by X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy (XANES) at the O K-, Zn K-, and Zn L3-edges. While the O K-edge XANES spectrum of the n-type P-doped ZnO demonstrates that the density of unoccupied states, primarily O 2p-P 3sp hybridized states, is significantly high, the O K-edge XANES spectrum of the p-type P-doped ZnO shows a sharp decrease in intensity of the corresponding feature indicating that P replaces O sites in the ZnO lattice, and thereby generating P(O). This produces holes to maintain charge neutrality that are responsible for the p-type behavior of P-doped ZnO. Both the Zn K-, and Zn L3-edge XANES spectra of the P-doped ZnO reveal that Zn plays no significant role in the p-type behavior of ZnO:P.     

Zn(1-x)Mg(x)Te nanowires grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy

This paper reports on the epitaxial growth of single-crystalline ternary Zn(1-x)Mg(x)Te nanowires covering a broad compositional range of molar fraction 0≤x≤0.75. The nanowires were grown on (100), (110), and (111) GaAs substrates using a vapor-liquid-solid mechanism. Solid source molecular beam epitaxy and an Au-based nanocatalyst were used for these purposes. The composition of nanowires can be adjusted by changing the ratio of Mg to Zn molecular beam fluxes. Electron microscopy images show that the nanowires are smooth and slightly tapered. The diameters of the obtained nanowires are from?30 to 70?nm and their length is around 1?μm. X-ray diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy reveal that the nanowires have a zinc-blende structure throughout the whole range of obtained compositions, and have a [Formula: see text] growth axis. The Raman measurements reveal both the expected splitting and shift of phonon lines with increasing Mg content, thus proving the substitutional incorporation of Mg into metallic sites of the ZnTe lattice.     

Zn(1-x)MnxTe diluted magnetic semiconductor nanowires grown by molecular beam epitaxy

It is shown that the growth of II-VI diluted magnetic semiconductor nanowires is possible by the catalytically enhanced molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Zn(1-x)MnxTe NWs with manganese content up to x=0.60 were produced by this method. X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and temperature dependent photoluminescence measurements confirm the incorporation of Mn(2+) ions in the cation substitutional sites of the ZnTe matrix of the NWs.     

Development of electrodeposited ZnTe layers as window materials in ZnTe/CdTe/CdHgTe multi-layer solar cells

Zinc telluride (ZnTe) thin films have been deposited on glass/conducting glass substrates using a low-cost electrodeposition method. The resulting films have been characterized using various techniques in order to optimize growth parameters. X-ray diffraction (XRD) has been used to identify the phases present in the films. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell and optical absorption measurements have been performed to determine the electrical conductivity type, and the bandgap of the layers, respectively. It has been confirmed by XRD measurement that the deposited layers mainly consist of ZnTe phases. The PEC measurements indicate that the ZnTe layers are p-type in electrical conduction and optical absorption measurements show that their bandgap is in the range 2.10–2.20 eV. p-Type ZnTe window materials have been used in CdTe based solar cell structures, following new designs of graded bandgap multi-layer solar cells. The structures of FTO/ZnTe/CdTe/metal and FTO/ZnTe/CdTe/CdHgTe/metal have been investigated. The results are presented in this paper using observed experimental data.     

Structural,photoluminescence and picosecond nonlinear optical effect of In-doped ZnO nanowires

In-doped ZnO (IZO) nanowires were grown using the chemical vapour deposition method. The IZO nanowires have been characterized by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), photoluminescence (PL) and UV–Visible spectroscopy. The PL results demonstrated a larger band-gap for the IZO nanowires in comparison to the undoped ZnO. Two major emission peaks were observed for the IZO nanowires, one originated from the free exciton recombination (ultraviolet emission) and another possibly related to the deep-level emission (visible emission). Furthermore, the nonlinear optical characteristic of the nanowires was studied using picosecond Z-scan technique. The experimental results show that the two and three-photon absorption coefficient of samples were able to be observed. These studies make the promising potential applications of the samples in the development of multifunctional all-optical devices.     

Synthesis of ZnTe nanowires onto TiO2 nanotubular arrays by pulse-reverse electrodeposition

Growth of ZnTe nanowires using a pulse-reverse electrodeposition technique from a non-aqueous solution is reported. ZnTe nanowires were grown on to an ordered nanotubular TiO₂ template in a propylene carbonate solution at 130 °C inside a controlled atmosphere glove box. The pulse-reverse electro deposition process consisted of a cathodic pulse at − 0.62 V and an anodic pulse at 0.75 V Vs Zn²⁺/Zn. Stoichiometry growth of crystalline ZnTe nanowires was observed in the as-deposited condition. The anodic pulse cycle of the pulse-reverse electrodeposition process presumably introduced zinc vacancies as deep level acceptors at an energy level of E_v + 0.47 eV. The resultant ZnTe nanowires showed p-type semiconductivity with a resistivity of 7.8 × 10⁴ Ω cm and a charge carrier density of 1.67 × 10¹⁴ cm^− 3. Annihilation of the defects occurred upon thermal annealing that resulted in marginal decrease in the defect density.     

High resistivity In-doped ZnTe: electrical and optical properties

Semi-insulating <111> ZnTe prepared by In doping during Bridgman growth was found to have a resistivity of 5.74 × 10⁷ ohm-cm, the highest reported so far in ZnTe, with hole concentration of 2.4 × 10⁹/cm³ and hole mobility of 46 cm² /V.s at 300 K. The optical band gap was 2.06 eV at 293 K compared with 2.26 eV for undoped semiconducting ZnTe. Thermally stimulated current (TSC) studies revealed 2 trap levels at depths of 202–222 meV and 412–419 meV, respectively. Photoluminescence (PL) studies at 10 K showed strong peaks at 1.37 eV and 1.03 eV with a weak shoulder at 1.43 eV. Short anneal for 3 min at 250°C led to conversion to a p-type material with resistivity, 14.5 ohm-cm, indicating metastable behaviour. Raman studies carried out on undoped and In-doped samples showed small but significant differences. Possible models for semi-insulating behaviour and meta-stability are proposed.     

One-step growth of curled GaN nanowires using chemical vapor deposition method

The studies of curled GaN nanowires grown on sapphire and silicon substrate using chemical vapor deposition method have been reported in this article. The mean diameters of the nanowires grown on sapphire and silicon were 108.1 nm and 98 nm respectively. A growth model was proposed to describe the growth of nanowires. X-ray diffraction pattern and Raman spectroscopy revealed that the nanowires were hexagonal wurtzite in structure. Gaussian fitting was done on photoluminescence spectra, which revealed two sub-bands that could be attributed to band emission and surface disorder caused by impurities. The absence of yellow luminescence signified undoped case and minimal shallow level defects.     

Single-crystalline branched zinc phosphide nanostructures: synthesis, properties, and optoelectronic devices

Hierarchical tree-shaped nanostructures, nanobelts, and nanowires of Zn3P2 were synthesized in a thermal assisted laser ablation process. All nanostructures are tetragonal phased Zn3P2 with excellent crystallinity and are free from an oxidization layer according to electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses. Optical measurement revealed a strong absorption from the ultraviolet to near-infrared regions. Optoelectronic devices fabricated using individual nanowires demonstrate a high sensitivity and rapid response to impinging light. A crossed heterojunction of an n-type ZnO nanowire and a p-type Zn3P2 nanowire has been characterized, and it offers a great potential for a high efficient spatial resolved photon detector.     

Synthesis and Ex situ doping of ZnTe and ZnSe nanostructures with extreme aspect ratios

We report synthesis windows for growth of millimeter-long ZnTe nanoribbons and ZnSe nanowires using vapor transport. By tuning the local conditions at the growth substrate, high aspect ratio nanostructures can be synthesized. A Cu-ion immersion doping method was applied, producing strongly p-type conduction in ZnTe and ionic conduction in ZnSe. These extreme aspect ratio wide-bandgap semiconductors have great potential for high density nanostructured optoelectronic circuits.      

Submicrometre resolved optical characterization of green nanowire-based light emitting diodes

The electroluminescent properties of InGaN/GaN nanowire-based light emitting diodes (LEDs) are studied at different resolution scales. Axial one-dimensional heterostructures were grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE) directly on a silicon (111) substrate and consist of the following sequentially deposited layers: n-type GaN, three undoped InGaN/GaN quantum wells, p-type AlGaN electron blocking layer and p-type GaN. From the macroscopic point of view, the devices emit light in the green spectral range (around 550 nm) under electrical injection. At 100 mA DC current, a 1 mm2 chip that integrates around 10(7) nanowires emits an output power on the order of 10 μW. However, the emission of the nanowire-based LED shows a spotty and polychromatic emission. By using a confocal microscope, we have been able to improve the spatial resolution of the optical characterizations down to the submicrometre scale that can be assessed to a single nanowire. Detailed μ-electroluminescent characterization (emission wavelength and output power) over a representative number of single nanowires provides new insights into the vertically integrated nanowire-based LED operation. By combining both μ-electroluminescent and μ-photoluminescent excitation, we have experimentally shown that electrical injection failure is the major source of losses in these nanowire-based LEDs.     

Structural and optical properties of Al-doped SnO2 nanowires

We report a facile thermal evaporation method for the syntheses of Al-doped SnO₂ nanowires using Al-doped SnO₂ nanoparticles as precursors. High-density, single-crystalline Al-doped SnO₂ nanowires were directly grown on the 6H-SiC substrates without any catalyst. X-ray diffraction patterns show that the Al dopants are incorporated into the rutile SnO₂ nanowires. The X-ray photoelectron spectra confirm the SnO₂ nanowires doped with 5 at.% Al. The photoluminescence spectra of the Al-doped SnO₂ nanowires exhibit that the large blue shift of the emission band can be observed in the Al-doped SnO₂ nanowires compared with undoped nanowires. The distortion of the crystal lattices caused by incorporation of Al atoms at the interstitials should be responsible for the large blue shift of the emission band.     

Controlling phosphorus doping concentration in ZnO nanorods by low temperature hydrothermal method

Phosphorous-doped ZnO nanorods (NRs) were synthesized with controllable morphology and doping concentration on top of the array of undoped natural n-type ZnO NRs by hydrothermal process. By changing the concentration of NH₄OH to adjust the pH of the reactant solution containing zinc acetate, hexamethylenetetramine, and ammonium phosphate, it was possible to control the morphology, doping concentration, and band structure of the ZnO nanostructures formed on the top side of the undoped NRs array. When the NH₄OH concentration was 1 vol% substitutional dopant P formed shallow acceptor levels in the ZnO NRs, while higher NH₄OH concentration resulted in the formation of donor levels as well as the compensation of the acceptors. A model p–n homojunction device based on the P-doped ZnO NRs consecutively attached to the initially synthesized n-type NRs showed a rectifying junction behavior confirming the formation of the p-type ZnO NRs with low doping concentration of P.     

Electronic level scheme in boron- and phosphorus-doped silicon nanowires

We report the first observation of the electronic level scheme in boron (B)- and phosphorus (P)-doped nanowires (NWs). The NWs' morphology dramatically depends on the doping impurity while a few deep electronic levels appear in both kinds of nanowires, independently of the doping type. We demonstrate that the doping impurities induce the same shallow levels as in bulk silicon. The presence of two donor levels in the lower half-bandgap is also revealed. In both kinds of NWs, B- and P-doped, the donor level (0/+) at E(v) + 0.36 eV of the gold-hydrogen complex is observed. This means that the gold diffusion from the NW tip introduces an electronically active level, which might negatively affects the electrical characteristics of the NWs. In P-doped NWs, we observed a further donor level at 0.26 eV above the valence band due to the phosphorus-vacancy pairs, the E-center, well-known in bulk silicon. These findings seriously question both diffusion modeling of impurities in NWs and the technological aspects arising from this.     

Fabrication of p-type ZnO nanowires based heterojunction diode

Vertically aligned p-type ZnO (Li–N co-doped) nanowires have been synthesized by hydrothermal method on n-type Si substrate. X-ray diffraction pattern indicated a strong peak from (0 0 0 2) planes of ZnO. The appearance of a strong peak at 437 cm⁻¹ in Raman spectra was attributed to E₂ mode of ZnO. Fourier transformed infrared studies indicated the presence of a distinct characteristic absorption peaks at 490 cm⁻¹ for ZnO stretching mode. Compositional studies revealed the formation of Li–N co-doped ZnO, where Li was bonded with both O and N. The junction properties of p-type ZnO nanowires/n-Si heterojunction diodes were evaluated by measuring I–V and C–V characteristics. I–V characteristics exhibited the rectifying behavior of a typical p–n junction diode.     

A novel transparent pn junction based on indium tin oxides

p-Type indium-doped SnO₂ thin films were successfully fabricated on degenerate n⁺ indium tin oxide glass and quartz glass by sol gel dip-coating method. It was found from the X-ray diffraction results that indium-doped SnO₂ thin films were in the same rutile structure as that of undoped SnO₂. Hall effect measurement results showed that for In/Sn ratio≤0.33 and process temperature approximately 525 °C, the indium-doped tin oxide were p-type. The I–V curve measurement of a prototype transparent pn⁺ junction consisting of a layer of p-type indium-doped SnO₂ and a layer of degenerate n⁺ tin-doped indium oxide showed typical rectifying characteristics.