Electrodeposition and characterization of CdSe semiconductor thin films

The electrodeposition of cadmium selenide alloy on glassy carbon and gold electrodes has been studied by electrochemical techniques. Potentiostatic I-t transients were recorded to obtain the nucleation mechanism, while cyclic voltammetry was used to characterize the system. Structural information on the electrodeposited layers was obtained by X-ray diffraction. The experimental results clearly show that the deposition of cadmium selenide alloy on glassy carbon and gold electrodes is a diffusion-controlled process. The nucleation is progressive, and the number of nucleation sites decreases with increasing bath temperature. The deposition of CdSe alloy results in well-defined crystals with hexagonal shape. The films were characterized by optical absorption and electrical resistivity measurements. Films showed a direct band gap of 3.56 eV.     

Optical antenna effect in semiconducting nanowires

We report on investigations of the interaction of light with nanoscale antennae made from crystalline GaP nanowires (NWs). Using Raman scattering, we have observed strong optical antenna effects which we identify with internal standing wave photon modes of the wire. The antenna effects were probed in individual NWs whose diameters are in the range 40 < d < 300 nm. The data and our calculations show that the nature of the backscattered light is critically dependent on the interplay between a photon confinement effect and bulk Raman scattering. At small diameter, d < 65 nm, the NWs are found to act like a nearly perfect dipole antenna and the bulk Raman selection rules are masked leading to a polarized scattering intensity function I R approximately cos4 theta. Underscoring the importance of this work is the realization that a fundamental understanding of the "optical antenna effect" in semiconducting NWs is essential to the analysis of all electro-optic effects in small diameter filaments.     

Sonochemical synthesis of CdS and CdSe nanowires

A convenient sonochemical route was developed to fabricate one-dimensional (1D) CdS or CdSe assemblies via a simple template method with two-steps: Firstly, the colloid one dimensional cadmium hydroxide particles were prepared as templates under sonication; then, the colloid particles were converted into 1D CdS or CdSe assemblies via a replacement reaction after the surface nucleation and crystal growth processes. The as-prepared CdS and CdSe nanowires were characterized by XRD, TEM, XPS, and UV-visible Spectroscopy. The effects of the ultrasonic irradiation were discussed. It is believed that the ultrasound irradiation played a positive role in both the assembly of the colloid cadmium hydroxide particles into the 1D structure and the growth of CdSe and CdS nanowires. The effects of pH on the morphologies of the cadmium hydroxide template were also discussed. The band gaps of the as-prepared 1D CdSe and CdS assemblies were calculated to be 3.1 eV and 4.9 eV, respectively, indicating the quantum size effect. The as-prepared products might have potential applications in nanodevices in future.     

Proton implantation effect on CdSe nanowires

Semiconducting nanowires represent an exclusive system for analyzing phenomena at the nanoscale and are also believed to play an important role in future nanoscale electronic and optoelectronic devices. The one dimensional nanostructures bring about significant alterations in their properties on implantation; depending on the energy, dose and fluence of the bombarding ions. In this view, effects of implantation with 250 keV protons on structural, optical and electrical properties of CdSe nanowires of 80 nm were studied for different fluencies. Implantation led to substantial change in the electrical conductivity at various fluencies as compared to pristine which may be attributed to the ionization effects. A drop in conductivity value above fluence of 10¹² ions/cm² may be ascribed to the passivation of some donor levels due to the presence of hydrogen. The optical band gap was also found to vary with implantation. This study opens up new avenues for research to modulate opto-electronic properties of CdSe nanowires for the novel device applications.     

Laser-induced charge separation in CdSe nanowires

A combination of electrostatic force microscopy and optical microscopy was used to investigate the charge state of individual CdSe nanowires upon local illumination with a focused laser beam. The nanowires were found to be positively charged at the excitation spot and negatively charged at the distant end(s). For high laser powers, the amount of accumulated charges increases logarithmically with the laser power. These effects are described by a diffusion-based model where the results are in good agreement with the experimentally observed effects. On the basis of this model the charge imbalance along the nanowire should establish in the course of nanoseconds. The net charge separation within homogeneous nanowires upon local illumination is of importance for several electronic devices.     

Pristine semiconducting [110] silicon nanowires

We report results of ab initio calculations on silicon nanowires oriented along the [110] direction and show for the first time that these pristine silicon nanowires are indirect band gap semiconductors. The nanowires have bulk Si core and are bounded by two (100) and two (110) planes in lateral directions. The (100) planes are atomically reconstructed with dimerization in a manner similar to the (100) surface of bulk Si but the dimer arrays are perpendicular to each other on the two (100) planes. An interesting consequence of surface reconstruction is the possibility of polytypism in thicker nanowires. We discuss its effects on the electronic structure. These findings could have important implications for the use of silicon nanowires in nanoscale devices as experimentally [110] nanowires have been found to grow preferentially in the small diameter range.     

A novel and high yield synthesis of CdSe nanowires

CdSe nanowires (CdSe-NWs) at large scale were obtained through a simple and clean method. The reaction was carried out without complexing agents which often facilitate the preferential nanostructure growth. In this work, CdSe-NWs with lineal and zigzag shape around 40 and 130 nm in diameter with a wurtzite-type structure were synthesized. Quantitative EDX analysis indicated the stoichiometric formation of CdSe, while both HRTEM and HAADF-STEM analysis ruled out the presence of other phases such as CdO or nanotubes formation, respectively. Diameter and length of the nanowires varied with the reaction time and temperature. This synthesis method makes the nanostructures purification process easier and also is non-toxic and its high conversion make it an efficient method for obtaining CdSe-NWs.     

Controlled deposition of gold nanowires on semiconducting and nonconducting surfaces

One of the pressing problems in advancing nanoelectronic applications and systems is to develop a simple means of freely connecting at a nanometric level electronic components under ambient conditions without the need for vacuum or electron or ion beam operational steps. Such environments may have detrimental effects on the molecular or biomolecular constituents of molecular electronic circuits. Although there has been defined progress in connecting structures that are of nanometric dimension, new methods in this area of nanotechnology with general applicability add to the arsenal of tools for addressing this standing problem. This paper addresses freely placing under ambient conditions, with fountain pen nanolithography, a 120 nm dimension line of gold nanocolloids deposited with precise registration in a 100 nm gap between two 250 nm wide conducting electrodes patterned by electron beam lithography.     

Electrodeposition of nickel nanowires and nanotubes using various templates

Nickel nanotubes and nanowires are grown by galvanostatic electrodeposition in the pores of 1000, 100, and 15 nm polycarbonate as well as in anodised alumina membranes at a current density of 10 mA cm^?2. The effects of pore size, porosity, electrodeposition time, effective current density, and pore aspect ratio are investigated. Nickel nanotube structures are obtained with 1000 nm pore size polycarbonate membrane without any prior treatment method. At the early stages of electrodeposition hollow nickel nanotubes are produced and nanotubes turn into nanowires at longer depositon times. As effective current density accounting for the membrane porosity decreases, the axial growth direction is favoured yielding nanowires rather than nanotubes. However, for smaller pore size polycarbonate membranes, nanowires are obtained even though effective current densities were higher. We believe that when the pore diameter is below a critical size, nanowires grow regardless of current density since narrow pores promote layer by layer growth of nanorods due to smaller surface area of the pore bottom compared to pore walls. Pore size has a dominant effect over effective current density in determining the structure of the fibres produced for small pores. Nickel nanowires are also obtained in the small pores of anodised alumina, which has higher aspect ratios. High aspect ratio membranes favour the fabrication of nanowires regardless of current density.     

Photoluminescence of CdSe nanowires grown with and without metal catalyst

We present temperature and power dependent photoluminescence measurements on CdSe nanowires synthesized via vapor-phase with and without the use of a metal catalyst. Nanowires produced without a catalyst can be optimized to yield higher quantum efficiency, and narrower and spatially uniform emission, when compared to the catalyst-assisted ones. Emission at energies lower than the band-edge is also found in both cases. By combining spatially-resolved photoluminescence and electron microscopy on the same nanowires, we show that catalyst-free nanowires exhibit a low-energy peak with sharp phonon replica, whereas for catalyst-assisted nanowires low-energy emission is linked to the presence of nanostructures with extended morphological defects.      

Silver nanowires with semiconducting ligands for low-temperature transparent conductors

Metal nanowire networks represent a promising candidate for the rapid fabrication of transparent electrodes with high transmission and low sheet-resistance values at very low deposition temperatures. A commonly encountered challenge in the formation of conductive nanowire electrodes is establishing high-quality electronic contact between nanowires to facilitate long-range current transport through the network. A new system involving nanowire ligand removal and replacement with a semiconducting sol-gel tin oxide matrix has enabled the fabrication of high-performance transparent electrodes at dramatically reduced temperatures with minimal need for post-deposition treatment.

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沉积电位对CdSe纳米晶薄膜的结构、形貌和光学性质的影响

使用电化学法在ITO玻璃上制备了CdSe纳米晶薄膜.研究了沉积电位对薄膜晶体结构、表面形貌及光学性质的影响,并讨论了所得样品禁带宽度与晶粒尺寸的关系.X-ray衍射结果表明:沉积电位在-600～-700mV之间均可得到立方相CdSe,晶粒尺寸随沉积电位降低而增大.原子力显微镜观察表明,沉积电位较高时,粒子聚集为块状或柱状,沉积电位较低时,粒子呈现不均匀团聚.透射光谱测试显示:在350～850nm波段范围内,随沉积电位降低,透过率降低,吸收边红移.所得样品的禁带宽度均比体相CdSe大,且随晶粒尺寸的增大而减小,表现出明显的量子尺寸效应.     

Synthesis and properties of semiconducting iron pyrite (FeS2) nanowires

We report the growth and structural, electrical, and optical characterization of vertically oriented single-crystalline iron pyrite (FeS(2)) nanowires synthesized via thermal sulfidation of steel foil for the first time. The pyrite nanowires have diameters of 4-10 nm and lengths greater than 2 μm. Their crystal phase was identified as cubic iron pyrite using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction. Electrical transport measurements showed the pyrite nanowires to be highly p-doped, with an average resistivity of 0.18 ± 0.09 Ω cm and carrier concentrations on the order of 10(21) cm(-3). These pyrite nanowires could provide a platform to further study and improve the physical properties of pyrite nanostructures toward solar energy conversion.     

Electrodeposition of CdSe on nanopatterned pillar arrays for photonic and photovoltaic applications

This work investigates the electrodeposition of CdSe photonic nanostructures into two dimensional (2D) resist templates generated by X-ray lithography. This templated electrolytic infiltration process is particularly interesting for photonic and photovoltaic applications. Both current and voltage controlled electrochemical depositions have been performed to infiltrate CdSe onto the 2D templates. Followed by the removal of the template, triangular arrays of CdSe pillars or networks with more than 1 μm in height were obtained. The detailed studies of deposition parameters such as applied voltage, current density, deposition time, concentrations of electrolytes and temperatures were carried out to determine the optimum conditions to obtain high quality 2D CdSe photonic crystals (PhCs). The full optical and structural characterization of the CdSe nanostructures showed that the CdSe films prepared have a cubic structure with nanometer grain size. Optical absorption studies reveal a bandgap of 2.1 eV for the thin film grown CdSe, blue-shifted from the characteristic 1.7 eV of bulk CdSe, resulting from size quantization effect. Preliminary optical characterization by a micro-reflectance technique is performed in order to assess the performance of the fabricated samples as 2D PhCs.     

Chemical synthesis and magnetotransport of magnetic semiconducting Fe1-xCoxSi alloy nanowires

We report single-crystal nanowires of magnetic semiconducting Fe1-xCoxSi alloys synthesized using a two-component single source precursor approach. Extending our previous syntheses of FeSi and CoSi nanowires from Fe(SiCl3)2(CO)4 and Co(SiCl3)(CO)4 precursors, we found that a homogeneous solution formed upon mixing these two precursors due to melting point suppression. This liquid constitutes the single-source precursor suitable for delivery through chemical vapor deposition, which enables the chemical synthesis of Fe1-xCoxSi alloy nanowires on silicon substrates covered with a thin (1-2 nm) SiO2 layer. Using scanning and transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and mapping, we demonstrate two homogenously mixed alloy nanowire samples with very different Co substitution concentrations (x): 6+/-5%, the ferromagnetic semiconductor regime, and 44+/-5%, the helical magnetic regime. The magnetotransport properties of these alloy nanowires are pronouncedly different from that of the host structures FeSi and CoSi, as well as from one another, and consistent with the physical properties as expected for their corresponding compositions. These novel magnetic semiconducting silicide nanowires will be important building blocks for silicon-based spintronic nanodevices.     

Temperature effects on electrical transport in semiconducting nanoporous carbon nanowires

In this paper we report on the effect of temperature on the electrical conductivity of amorphous and nanoporous (pores size around 0.5?nm) carbon nanowires. Poly(furfuryl alcohol) nanowires with diameter varying from 150 to 250?nm were synthesized by a template-based technique and upon pyrolysis yielded amorphous carbon nanowires with nanosized pores in them. We observed significant (as high as 700%) decrease in electrical resistance when the nanowire surface temperature was increased from room temperature to 160?°C. On the basis of the experimental and microscopy evidence, we infer a thermally activated carrier transport mechanism to be the primary electrical transport mechanism, at elevated temperatures, in these semiconducting, amorphous, and nanoporous carbon nanowires.     

Electrodeposition and characterization of cuprous oxide

Films of cuprous oxide were electrodeposited potentiostatically and galvanostatically on a variety of substrates. The usable range of deposition parameters was determined and discussed. Uniform and adherent films of thickness up to 6 μm could be deposited galvanostatically and to higher values potentiostatically. The films were polycrystalline with grains of a few micrometers in size when deposited at 60 °C and one order of magnitude smaller when deposited at 49 °C. Regardless of the mode of deposition, the temperature of deposition and also the type of substrate, deposited films were highly oriented along the (100) plane parallel to the substrate surface. The composition of the films was found to be Cu₂O with an optical band gap of 1.95 eV.     

Single-crystal CdSe nanowires prepared via vapor-phase growth assisted with silicon

Hexagonal cadmium selenide (CdSe) nanowires, with diameter around 20 nm, were synthesized using a simple vapor-phase growth. Silicon (Si) powder acts as a source material assisting the synthesis, which is very important to the formation of the CdSe nanowires. We also suggest that self-catalysis at the Cd-terminated (0001) surface, together with the assistance action of Si, leads to the formation of wire-like structures to be formed. Meanwhile, the assistance of Si is responsible for the fineness and uniformity of the CdSe nanowires. The possible growth mechanism of the CdSe nanowires is proposed, and the optical property of the as-grown CdSe nanowires is characterized.