ZnO/TiO2复合材料在染敏太阳能电池中的应用研究进展

ZnO/TiO2复合材料综合了TiO2光电转换效率较高和ZnO易于空间定向生长、形貌丰富、能量损耗较少等优点,可有效减少由于电子复合而产生的能量损耗,拓宽光吸收波长,增加光电子的利用率,并进一步提高染料敏化太阳能电池的光伏特性。系统介绍了ZnO/TiO2复合材料的导电原理,综述了近年来国内外关于ZnO/TiO2复合材料应用于染料敏化太阳能电池光阳极的研究进展,并分析了该材料研究的发展方向。     

Piezo‐Phototronic Effect on Selective Electron or Hole Transport through Depletion Region of Vis–NIR Broadband Photodiode

Silicon underpins nearly all microelectronics today and will continue to do so for some decades to come. However, for silicon photonics, the indirect band gap of silicon and lack of adjustability severely limit its use in applications such as broadband photodiodes. Here, a high‐performance p‐Si/n‐ZnO broadband photodiode working in a wide wavelength range from visible to near‐infrared light with high sensitivity, fast response, and good stability is reported. The absorption of near‐infrared wavelength light is significantly enhanced due to the nanostructured/textured top surface. The general performance of the broadband photodiodes can be further improved by the piezo‐phototronic effect. The enhancement of responsivity can reach a maximum of 78% to 442 nm illumination, the linearity and saturation limit to 1060 nm light are also significantly increased by applying external strains. The photodiode is illuminated with different wavelength lights to selectively choose the photogenerated charge carriers (either electrons or holes) passing through the depletion region, to investigate the piezo‐phototronic effect on electron or hole transport separately for the first time. This is essential for studying the basic principles in order to develop a full understanding about piezotronics and it also enables the development of the better performance of optoelectronics.     

Preparation and Photolunlinescence of Ordered ZnO Nanowire Arrays

Ordered ZnO nanowire arrays embedded in anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes were fabricated by electrochemical deposition of Zn(NO3)2+H3BO3 solution in a boiling bath. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation results show that the polycrystalline ZnO nanowires with diameters around 100 nm were uniformly assembled into the ordered nanochannels of the AAO. The results of the investigation into photoluminescence (PL) and electronic paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements reveal that the interfaces between the ZnO nanowires and the pore walls of the AAO create a lot of oxygen vacancies, which are responsible for the green light emission (peaking around 512 nm) and the huge enhancement of the PL emission.     

Vacancy defect-induced d0 ferromagnetism in undoped ZnO nanostructures: Controversial origin and challenges

ZnO-based dilute magnetic semiconductors have attracted great interest for their promising application potential in spintronics. Observation of ferromagnetic-like behavior in oxides in general directs the recent focus to defect-rich undoped ZnO thin films and nanostructures. Such magnetic properties are generally mediated by the defects exclusive of magnetic ion doping, thus called defect-induced d0 ferromagnetism (FM). However the intrinsic origin of d0 FM in such materials is controversially reported. In this review we aim to locate the root of the controversy by revisiting the way how the defects were characterized and correlated with the d0 FM in each situation. We found that the main cause of controversy is rooted in a long term debate on the nature of native defects concerning the unintentional n-type conductivity in as-grown ZnO. It is particularly manifested in the assignment of the green luminescence center in photoluminescence spectra and electron paramagnetic resonance signals near g = 1.96 and g = 2.0. Only through X-ray-based microscopy and spectroscopy analysis, can the intrinsic origin of d0 FM in undoped ZnO be unambiguously attributed to the O 2p orbitals arising from zinc vacancies, rather than the Zn 3d orbitals and oxygen vacancies. In spite of the complex defect state in the nanostructures, certain parameters that influence the d0 FM in undoped ZnO systems can be extracted from various reports. Finally, we summarize the challenges and general conclusions on the d0 FM in undoped ZnO nanostructures, followed by outlooks on potential device application in spintronics. It is clear that an important step to promote d0 FM in ZnO for spintronics is to stabilize enough V_Zn in ZnO nanostructures, either through acceptor doping or epitaxial growth of strained films, without diminishing the crystalline quality of the structure. Future research focusing on this direction will hopefully produce new breakthrough in device applications.     

ZnO薄膜的制备和结构性能分析

ZnO作为一种宽带隙半导体材料,近几年来已经成为国际上紫外半导体光电子材料和器件领域的研究热点.激光分子束外延(L-MBE)系统是获得器件级ZnO外延薄膜的先进技术之一.高质量精密ZnO陶瓷靶材对于该工艺的实施是十分关键的,本文中采用高纯原料,在洁净条件下制备了大面积、薄片型、尺寸可控的符合理想化学配比的高纯ZnO陶瓷靶材.采用所制备的靶材,利用L-MBE技术在(0001)蓝宝石基片上进行了ZnO薄膜的外延生长,在280 ℃～300 ℃低温条件下所生长的薄膜样品具有(0001)取向的纤锌矿晶体结构,薄膜光学性能良好,论文中对ZnO薄膜的低温L-MBE生长机理进行了探讨.     

Influence of sputtering parameters on crystalline structure of ZnO thin films

The relations between the sputtering parameters and the crystalline microstructure of ZnO thin films are presented. The energetic bombardment of substrate by neutral atoms, ions and electrons during sputtering is characterized by total energy flux density which affects the film. This parameter can be estimated by RF power, substrate bias voltage and concentration of reactive gases. Substrate temperature and total energy flux density are the major parameters which have a significant influence on ZnO thin film crystalline structure.     

Electrodeposition of ZnO nanowires with controlled dimensions for photovoltaic applications: Role of buffer layer

The role of a ZnO buffer layer on the electrodeposition of ZnO nanowire arrays was analyzed. ZnO buffer layers were deposited on conducting glass substrates by spray pyrolysis and electrodeposition. The electrodeposited ZnO buffer layer resulted in a collection of open-packed small grains (∼ 20 nm), while the sprayed layers were comprised of close-packed grains with size in the range of 15-100 nm. The ZnO nanowire arrays electrodeposited on ZnO buffer layers exhibited increased nanowire density (by factors of 6× and 3×, for electrodeposited and sprayed buffer layers, respectively) compared to arrays deposited directly on naked substrates, demonstrating that ZnO nanocrystalline layers can be used to increase nucleation sites for nanowire growth. On the other hand, nanowire diameters were tailored from 45 to 160 nm as a function of the size of the grains in the buffer layer. The influence of crystallographic orientation of the buffer layer was also analyzed.     

Mechanical properties of Al2O3-doped (2 wt.%) ZnO films

We report a new method of evaluating the adhesion of Al₂O₃-doped (2 wt.%) ZnO (AZO) thin films. The AZO films were deposited by DC reactive magnetron sputtering on plastic film (PET: polyethyleneterephthalate) at various sputtering pressures, power, and reactive gas-flow ratios. The adhesion test of the films was carried out using the nanoindentation system. The fracture point as determined by the load-displacement curve occurred at the time of separation between the thin film and the substrate. The integration value of load and displacement to the fracture point is defined as the degree of adhesion (S_W). The AZO films showed that adhesion increase as sputtering power increases and sputtering pressure decreases.