Strategies to Improve Field Emission Performance of Nanostructural ZnO

Nanostructural ZnO is a good candidate for field emission (FE) because of its high aspect ratio, controllable electrical conductivity, and good thermal and chemical stability. In order to improve the FE performance, ZnO nanopins, gallium-doped nanofibers, periodic nanorod arrays, and aligned nanotubes were designed and fabricated by a vapor-phase transport method using ZnO + C and ZnO + C + Ga₂O₃ powder mixtures, electrochemical deposition, and hydrothermal decomposition, respectively. The FE behaviors including threshold of electric field, emission current density, field enhancement factor, and stability are reviewed in this paper based on our previous works. Some strategies to improve the performance of the nanostructural ZnO field emitters are demonstrated.     

Effect of low energy proton beam irradiation on structural and electrical properties of ZnO:Al thin films

In this study, we report the structural modification and change in electrical behaviour of aluminium doped zinc oxide by low energy (100 keV) proton irradiation. Aluminium doped zinc oxide films were deposited using DC magnetron sputtering and then annealed for a short duration at 600 °C before irradiation. Structural and defect studies of the films carried out using XRD and Raman spectroscopy. It suggests that the crystalline ordering increases at higher fluences due to annealing of defects in the film. The increase in crystallinity at higher fluences decreases the grain boundary scattering and causes low resistivity. There is no significant change in carrier concentration after the irradiation, however the mobility and resistivity of the Al doped ZnO films change with proton irradiated fluences. The development of defect due to irradiation has been confirmed through Raman spectroscopic studies. The increase in activation energy of particles has been suggested by low energy proton irradiations at higher fluences in the annealed Al doped ZnO thin films. The uniform particle distribution increases with fluences of the irradiation that may be helpful for spintronics and sensor device technology.     

Enhanced performance in inverted polymer solar cells employing microwave-annealed sol-gel ZnO as electron transport layers

In this work, we propose a facile microwave-assisted approach for annealing sol-gel derived ZnO films to serve as electron transport layers (ETLs) for inverted bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells. We have demonstrated an impressive enhancement in performance for devices based on a poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT): (6,6)-phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester (PC₆₁BM) system employing the microwave-annealed ZnO (ZnO (MW)) ETLs in comparison to the cases using the conventional hotplate-annealed ZnO (ZnO (HP)) ones. The better electron transport in the device with the ZnO (MW) ETL is mainly ascribed to the preferable interfacial contact as evidenced by the morphology characteristics. Furthermore, the comprehensive analyses conducted from the light intensity dependent photocurrent and photovoltage measurements, the capacitance-voltage characteristics, and the alternating current impedance spectra suggest that the utilization of the ZnO (MW) ETLs can effectively suppress trap-assisted recombination as well as charge accumulation at the interface between P3HT: PC₆₁BM layers and ZnO layers, which is responsible for the enhanced device performance.     

ZnO薄膜的制备及其光学性能

以柠檬酸为络合剂、采用无机盐溶胶 -凝胶法 ,在玻璃基片上用提拉法制备了多孔ZnO薄膜。利用红外光谱、DTA -TG、XRD、SEM、UV -VIS透射等分析测试 ,考察了溶胶 -凝胶制备特征、热处理过程和热处理温度下薄膜的成相、表面形貌以及光学性能。结果表明 4 0 0℃热处理 1h的ZnO薄膜已开始晶化 ,晶型是六方纤锌矿 ;6 0 0℃热处理 1h的薄膜表面为多孔结构 ,粒径和孔径均匀 ;在可见光范围 ,薄膜的光透射率超过 85 % ,在波长 380nm开始出现紫外吸收 ;从而为该材料制作染料敏化的太阳能电池阳极薄膜打下良好的基础。     

Enhanced photoluminescence properties of Cu-doped ZnO thin films deposited by simultaneous RF and DC magnetron sputtering

Copper (Cu)-doped ZnO thin films were grown on unheated glass substrates at various doping concentrations of Cu (0, 5.1, 6.2 and 7.5 at%) by simultaneous RF and DC magnetron sputtering technique. The influence of Cu atomic concentration on structural, electrical and optical properties of ZnO films was discussed in detail. Elemental composition from EDAX analysis confirmed the presence of Cu as a doping material in ZnO host lattice. XRD patterns show that the films were polycrystalline in nature with (002) as a predominant reflection of ZnO exhibited hexagonal wurtzite structure toward c-axis. From AFM analysis, films displayed needle-like shaped grains throughout the substrate surface. The electrical resistivity was found to be increased with increase of Cu content from 0 to 7.5 at%. Films have shown an average optical transmittance about 80% in the visible region and decreased optical band gap values from 3.2 to 3.01 eV with increasing of Cu doping content from 0 to 7.5 at% respectively. Furthermore, remarkably enhanced photoluminescence (PL) properties have been observed with prominent violet emission band corresponding to 3.06 eV (405 nm) in the visible region through the increase of Cu doping content in ZnO host lattice.     

溅射和激光淀积的ZnO多晶薄膜的结构和发光性质

我们分别通过直流反应溅射及脉冲激光淀积法制备了ZnO多晶薄膜。X射线衍射结果显示出薄膜的c轴取向。原子力显微镜证实薄膜的多晶结构。两种方法制备的ZnO在光子激发下都发射较强的带边荧光。绿色荧光未被观察到。激光淀积在(001)硅表面的ZnO的发光源自“自由激子”辐射。激光淀积在(0001)氧化铝晶体表面的ZnO的发光机制则在相当宽的激发强度范围内都呈现出电子．空穴等离子体(electron-hole plasma)的复合特性。     

环形钛酸锶元件电性能的控制研究

研究了不同LiOH掺杂量和烧结温度对环形钛酸锶元件电性能的影响。实验结果表明,随着LiOH含量的增加,压敏电压先降低,后升高,在x(LiOH)为4.5%时,电压呈现最低值;同时,烧结温度也是影响电性能的重要因素之一,1400℃是电性能发生明显变化的转折点。借助SEM对样品进行了观察和分析,发现LiOH主要是通过影响晶界的行为来控制元件宏观的电性能。     

ZnO紫外光电阴极制备及激活工艺技术

采用磁控溅射方法,探索ZnO薄膜制备的最佳工艺。研究了氧氩比、基片温度,对晶粒质量的影响,以及表面电阻与溅射时间之间的关系,使薄膜具有高电阻率,并研究了激活前后光暗电流的关系,满足薄膜在紫外探测器领域的应用。     

Surface acoustic wave characteristics of ZnO films grown on a polycrystalline 3C-SiC buffer layer

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films were deposited onto a polycrystalline (poly) 3C-SiC buffer layer for surface acoustic wave (SAW) applications using a magnetron sputtering system. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that the ZnO grown on 3C-SiC/Si had a smooth surface, a dominant c-axis orientation and a lower residual stress in ZnO thin film compared to that grown directly onto Si substrate. In order to evaluate the SAW characteristics of ZnO films on a 3C-SiC buffer layer, the two-port SAW resonators, based on inter-digital transducer (IDT)/ZnO/3C-SiC/Si and IDT/ZnO/Si structures, were fabricated and measured within a temperature range of 25-135 °C. The resulting 3C-SiC buffer layer improved the insertion loss by approximately 7.3 dB within the SAW resonator and enhanced the temperature stability with TCF = −22 ppm/°C up to 135 °C in comparison to that of TCF = −45 ppm/°C within a temperature range of 25-115 °C of the ZnO/Si structure.     

High thermal annealing effect on structural and optical properties of ZnO–SiO2 nanocomposite

The effect of annealing temperature on photoluminescence (PL) of ZnO–SiO₂ nanocomposite was investigated. The ZnO–SiO₂ nanocomposite was annealed at different temperatures from 600 °C to 1000 °C with a step of 100 °C. High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope (HR-TEM) pictures showed ZnO nanoparticles of 5 nm are capped with amorphous SiO₂ matrix. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) pictures showed that samples exhibit spherical morphology up to 800 °C and dumbbell morphology above 800 °C. The absorption spectrum of ZnO–SiO₂ nanocomposite suffers a blue-shift from 369 nm to 365 nm with increase of temperature from 800 °C to 1000 °C. The PL spectrum of ZnO–SiO₂ nanocomposite exhibited an UV emission positioned at 396 nm. The UV emission intensity increased as the temperature increased from 600 °C to 700 °C and then decreased for samples annealed at and above 800^°C. The XRD results showed that formation of willemite phase starts at 800 °C and pure willemite phase formed at 1000 °C. The decrease of the intensity of 396 nm emission peak at 900 °C and 1000 °C is due to the collapse of the ZnO hexagonal structure. This is due to the dominant diffusion of Zn into SiO₂ at these temperatures. At 1000 °C, an emission peak at 388 nm is observed in addition to UV emission of ZnO at 396 nm and is believed to be originated from the willemite.