Jia Grace Lu

ZnO nanowire field-effect transistor and oxygen sensing property

Single-crystal ZnO nanowires are synthesized using a vapor trapping chemical vapor deposition method and configured as field-effect transistors. Electrical transport studies show n-type semiconducting behavior with a carrier concentration of ∼107cm−1 and an electron mobility of ∼17cm2∕Vs. The contact Schottky barrier between the Au/Ni electrode and nanowire is determined from the temperature dependence of the conductance. Thermionic emission is found to dominate the transport mechanism. The effect of oxygen adsorption on electron transport through the nanowires is investigated. The sensitivity to oxygen is demonstrated to be higher with smaller radii nanowires. Moreover, the oxygen detection sensitivity can be modulated by the gate voltage. These results indicate that ZnO holds high potential for nanoscale sensing applications.

Gate-refreshable nanowire chemical sensors

ZnO nanowire field effect transistors were implemented as highly sensitive chemical sensors for detection of NO2 and NH3 at room temperature. Due to a Debye screening length comparable to the nanowire diameter, the electric field applied over the back gate electrode was found to significantly affect the sensitivity as it modulates the carrier concentration. A strong negative field was utilized to refresh the sensors by an electrodesorption mechanism. In addition, different chemisorbed species could be distinguished from the “refresh” threshold voltage and the temporal response of the conductance. These results demonstrated a refreshable field effect sensor with a potential gas identification function.

High-performance ZnO nanowire field effect transistors

ZnO nanowires with high crystalline and optical properties are characterized, showing strong effect of the surface defect states. In order to optimize the performance of devices based on these nanowires, a series of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor compatible surface passivation procedures is employed. Electrical transport measurements demonstrate significantly reduced subthreshold swing, high on/off ratio, and unprecedented field effect mobility.

Electrical properties of ZnO nanowire field effect transistors characterized with scanning probes

Single ZnO nanowires are configured as field effect transistors and their electrical properties are characterized using scanning probe microscopy (SPM). Scanning surface potential microscopy is used to map the electric potential distribution on the nanowire. Potential drop along the nanowire and at the contacts are resolved, and contact resistances are estimated. Furthermore, conductive SPM tip is used as a local gate to manipulate the electrical property. The local change of electron density induced by a negatively biased tip significantly affects the current transport through the nanowire.

Controlled p- and n-type doping of Fe2O3 nanobelt field effect transistors

Pure α-Fe2O3 nanobelts are configured as field effect transistors and electrical transport studies demonstrate their n-type behavior. In order to control the electrical properties of the fabricated transistor, the nanobelt channels are doped with zinc. Depending on the doping condition, α-Fe2O3 nanobelts can be modified to either p-type or n-type with enhanced conductivity and electron mobility. Such behavior change is exhibited in the variation of the current-voltage (I-V) and I-Vg characteristics.

Conductometric chemical sensor based on individual CuO nanowires

CuO nanowires with high crystalline quality are synthesized via a simple thermal oxidation method. Charge conduction on individual nanowires under a transverse electric field exhibits an intrinsic p-type semiconducting behavior. Variations in signal transducer in different chemical gas environments are measured on individual CuO nanowire field effect transistors. They demonstrate good performance to both NO(2) and ethanol gasses. In particular, the nanowire chemical sensor reveals a reverse response to ethanol vapor under temperature variation. Experimental results and first-principles calculations indicate that ethanol is oxidized in air at high temperature, resulting in the production of CO(2) and H(2)O. The strong H(2)O adsorption leads to the reversal behavior, due to the electron transfer from H(2)O molecules to the CuO surface.

Finite size effect in ZnO nanowires

To clarify the size effect in semiconductor nanowires with decreasing diameters but not yet reaching the quantum confinement region, single crystalline zinc oxide nanowires with diameters around 10nm are synthesized. Electrical transport measurements of these thin nanowires show significant increase in conductivity accompanied by diminished gate modulation and reduced mobility. This phenomenon is a result of the enrichment of surface states owing to the increased surface-to-volume ratio. The enhanced surface effect is confirmed by the temperature dependent photoluminescence measurements and contributes to the “anomalous” blueshift. This study shows that surface states play a dominant role in the electrical and optical properties of quasi-one-dimensional materials.

Chemical sensing with ZnO nanowire field-effect transistor

Zinc oxide nanowires are configured as n-channel FETs. These transistors are implemented as chemical sensors for detection of various chemical gases. It is observed that the nanowire conductance is reduced when it is exposed to oxygen, nitrogen dioxide, ammonia gases at room temperature. Its ammonia sensing behavior is observed to switch from oxidizing to reducing when temperature is increased to 500 K. This effect is mainly attributed to the temperature dependent Fermi level shift. In addition, carbon monoxide is found to increase the nanowire conductance in the presence of oxygen. Furthermore, the detection sensitivity dependence on the nanowire radius is presented

Formation of Anodic Aluminum Oxide with Serrated Nanochannels

We report a simple and robust method to self-assemble porous anodic aluminum oxide membranes with serrated nanochannels by anodizing in phosphoric acid solution. Due to high field conduction and anionic incorporation, an increase of anodizing voltage leads to an increase of the impurity levels and also the field strength across barrier layer. On the basis of both experiment and simulation results, the initiation and formation of serrated channels are attributed to the evolution of oxygen gas bubbles followed by plastic deformation in the oxide film. Alternating anodization in oxalic and phosphoric acids is applied to construct multilayered membranes with smooth and serrated channels, demonstrating a unique way to design and construct a three-dimensional hierarchical system with controllable morphology and composition.

β-Ga2O3 nanowires: Synthesis, characterization, and p-channel field-effect transistor

Quasione-dimensional Ga2O3 nanowires are synthesized via catalytic chemical vapor deposition method. Their morphology and crystal structure are characterized by electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction techniques, and their optical property is studied by photoluminescence measurement. To develop their future application in nanoelectronic devices, the as-grown Ga2O3 nanowires are doped with zinc to increase its carrier concentration and subsequently fabricated into field-effect transistors. Electron transport measurements show that the doped nanowires exhibit p-type semiconducting behavior with a significant enhancement of conductivity.