Hak Dong Cho

Vertical ZnO nanorod/Si contact light-emitting diode

Blue-white light emission was obtained from glass/indium tin oxide (ITO)/n-ZnO nanorod array (NRA)/p+-Si vertical contact light emitting diodes (VCLEDs). The nanoscale p-n heterojunction VCLEDs were formed by direct engagement n−-tips of n-ZnO NRA grown vertically on an ITO/glass substrate with p+-Si wafer. Proposed configuration of the VCLED allows creating a high density (∼109 cm−2) of self-assembled ZnO/Si nanodiodes with point junctions of high quality due to structural perfection of the Si wafer and the tips of ZnO nanorods as well as providing a high injection current and light emission from the NRA VCLED required for solid state lighting.

Photovoltaic device on a single ZnO nanowire p?n homojunction

A 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 conditions. Our results demonstrate that the 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 nanoscale electronic, optoelectronic and medical devices.

Highly efficient CNT functionalized cotton fabrics for flexible/wearable heating applications

In this work, a highly efficient, flexible electro thermal heater based on highly conductive carbon nanotube functionalized cotton fabrics has been studied. Cotton fabrics were functionalized with single walled carbon nanotubes through a simple dip coating method. To explore their potential as heaters, electrothermal performances of the devices were studied in terms of applied voltage, heating rate and input power density. The highly flexible heater is constructed based on uniformly interconnected CNT networks, which yields an effective and rapid heating of the heater at low input power. The investigation results suggest promising applications of these devices in wearable electronics and beyond and they could also be woven into textile materials.

Thermal Conductivity of ZnO Nanowires Embedded in Poly(methyl methacrylate) Matrix

The thermal conductivity of ZnO nanowires (NWs) was determined from the thermal conductivity measurement of the ZnO NW/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) composite in the temperature range of 30–300 K. The thermal conductivity of ZnO NWs at room temperature is approximately two times lower than that of bulk ZnO. The results of this study show that the thermal conductivity of ZnO NWs is mainly determined by the scattering of phonons on the defects, as well as by the increased phonon-surface boundary scattering. These results could be useful for the design of ZnO nanowire-based devices.

Zinc blende GaN grown by radio frequency plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy

Abstract We investigate the influence of nitridation on the growth of GaN films. We present undoped α- and β-GaN on 3C-SiC coated Si (0 0 1) with and without nitridation, respectively, using radio frequency plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy. In the case without nitridation, the RHEED (2 × 2) streak pattern at both [1 0 0] and [1 1 0] azimuths shows that the high-quality zinc blende GaN films are grown. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows that (0 0 2) zinc blende GaN is observed at 2 θ = 39.53°. At 10 K, PL of the zinc blende GaN is dominated by band edge emission at 3.362 eV. On the other hand, α-GaN films are obtained it nitridation that exhibit the (0 0 0 2) wurtzite GaN peak at 34.25° in the XRD measurement.

Formation of self-assembled nanoscale graphene/graphene oxide photomemristive heterojunctions using photocatalytic oxidation

Photocatalytic oxidation of graphene with ZnO nanoparticles was found to create self-assembled graphene oxide/graphene (G/GO) photosensitive heterostructures, which can be used as memristors. Oxygen groups released during photodecomposition of water molecules on the nanoparticles under ultraviolet light, oxidized graphene, locally forming the G/GO heterojunctions with ultra-high density. The G/GO nanostructures have non-linear current-voltage characteristics and switch the resistance in the dark and under white light, providing four resistive states at room temperature. Photocatalytic oxidation of graphene with ZnO nanoparticles is proposed as an effective method for creating two-dimensional memristors with a photoresistive switching for ultra-high capacity non-volatile memory.

Highly Sensitive Flexible Photodetectors Based on Self-Assembled Tin Monosulfide Nanoflakes with Graphene Electrodes

Tin monosulfide (SnS) nanostructures have attracted huge attention recently because of their high absorption coefficient, high photoconversion efficiencies, low energy cost, ease of deposition, and so on. Here, in this paper, we report on the low-cost hydrothermal synthesis of the self-assembled SnS nanoflake-like structures in terms of performance for the photodetectors. High-performance photodetectors were fabricated using SnS nanoflakes as active layers and graphene as the lateral electrodes. The SnS photodetectors exhibited excellent photoresponse properties with a high responsivity of 1.7 × 104 A/W and have fast response and recovery times. In addition, the photodetectors exhibited long-term stability and strong dependence of photocurrent on light intensity. These excellent characteristics were attributed to the larger surface-to-volume ratio of the self-assembled SnS nanoflakes and the effective separation of the photogenerated carriers at graphene/SnS interfaces. Additionally, a flexible photodetector based on SnS nanoflakes was also fabricated on a flexible substrate that demonstrated similar photosensitive properties. Furthermore, this study also demonstrates the potential of hydrothermal-processed SnS nanoflakes for high-performance photodetectors and their application in flexible low-cost optoelectronic devices.

A patterned single layer graphene resistance temperature sensor

Micro-fabricated single-layer graphenes (SLGs) on a silicon dioxide (SiO2)/Si substrate, a silicon nitride (SiN) membrane, and a suspended architecture are presented for their use as temperature sensors. These graphene temperature sensors act as resistance temperature detectors, showing a quadratic dependence of resistance on the temperature in a range between 283 K and 303 K. The observed resistance change of the graphene temperature sensors are explained by the temperature dependent electron mobility relationship (~T−4) and electron-phonon scattering. By analyzing the transient response of the SLG temperature sensors on different substrates, it is found that the graphene sensor on the SiN membrane shows the highest sensitivity due to low thermal mass, while the sensor on SiO2/Si reveals the lowest one. Also, the graphene on the SiN membrane reveals not only the fastest response, but also better mechanical stability compared to the suspended graphene sensor. Therefore, the presented results show that the temperature sensors based on SLG with an extremely low thermal mass can be used in various applications requiring high sensitivity and fast operation.

Electroluminescence in a rectifying graphene/InGaN junction

A graphene-InGaN Schottky junction has been successfully fabricated by transferring graphene layers onto n-type In0.23Ga0.77N/GaN/Al2O3 substrates. Current–voltage (I–V) measurement across the junction demonstrates the rectifying behaviour. Temperature dependent I–V characteristics in a range of 10 K to 300 K reveal that the charge transport mechanism is dominated by thermionic emission. Also, it is observed that the charge-transfer induced variation of Fermi energy of graphene affects the flow of current. This graphene/InGaN junction shows electroluminescence (EL) characteristics under a forward bias, producing bright blue emission (430 nm) at room temperature. As the temperature increases, the EL peak is shifted to a lower energy with a reduced peak intensity due to the increased nonradiative recombination rate. The dependence of EL intensity on the current of the graphene/InGaN junction confirms the band-to-band recombination mechanism in the InGaN layer by the bimolecular radiative recombination. Therefore, the observed results provide an insight for implementing graphene based Schottky-junction devices with tunable emission by utilizing the variable bandgap of the InGaN layer.

Effect of Si Growth Temperature on Fabrication of Si-ZnO Coaxial Nanorod Heterostructure on (100) Si Substrate

The realization and application of optoelectronics, photonics, and sensing, such as in solar diode sensors and photodiodes, which are potentially useful from ultraviolet to infrared light sensing, is dramatically advanced when ZnO is integrated into semiconductor nanostructures, especially when compatible with mature silicon technology. Here, we compare and analyze the fundamental features of the Si-ZnO coaxial nanorod heterostructures (Si@ZnO NRs) grown on semi-insulating (100)-oriented Si substrates at growing temperatures of 500°C, 600°C, 650°C, and 700°C of the Si layer for device applications. ZnO NRs were grown by a vapor phase transport, and Si layers were made by rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition. X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and Raman experiments showed that ZnO NRs were single crystals with a würtzite structure, while the Si layer was polysilicon with a zincblende structure. Furthermore, FESEM revealed that Si shell thickness of the Si@ZnO NRs increases with increasing growing temperatures of Si from 500°C to 700°C.