The piezotronic effect is a coupling effect of semiconductor and piezoelectric properties. The piezoelectric potential is used to adjust the p-n junction barrier width and Schottky barrier height to control carrier transportation. At present, it has been applied in the fields of sensors, human–machine interaction, and active flexible electronic devices. The piezo-phototronic effect is a three-field coupling effect of semiconductor, photoexcitation, and piezoelectric properties. The piezoelectric potential generated by the applied strain in the piezoelectric semiconductor controls the generation, transport, separation, and recombination of carriers at the metal–semiconductor contact or p-n junction interface, thereby improving optoelectronic devices performance, such as photodetectors, solar cells, and light-emitting diodes (LED). Since then, the piezotronics and piezo-phototronic effects have attracted vast research interest due to their ability to remarkably enhance the performance of electronic and optoelectronic devices. Meanwhile, ZnO has become an ideal material for studying the piezotronic and piezo-phototronic effects due to its simple preparation process and better biocompatibility. In this review, first, the preparation methods and structural characteristics of ZnO nanowires (NWs) with different doping types were summarized. Then, the theoretical basis of the piezotronic effect and its application in the fields of sensors, biochemistry, energy harvesting, and logic operations (based on piezoelectric transistors) were reviewed. Next, the piezo-phototronic effect in the performance of photodetectors, solar cells, and LEDs was also summarized and analyzed. In addition, modulation of the piezotronic and piezo-phototronic effects was compared and summarized for different materials, structural designs, performance characteristics, and working mechanisms’ analysis. This comprehensive review provides fundamental theoretical and applied guidance for future research directions in piezotronics and piezo-phototronics for optoelectronic devices and energy harvesting.
The piezophototronic effect has been widely explored to improve the performance of optoelectronic devices. However, modulation of piezoelectric charges varies with different energy band structures. Thus, it is important to investigate the specific role of the piezophototronic effect from a theoretical perspective. Herein, the piezophototronic effect in anisotype p‐Si/n‐ZnO heterojunction photodiodes with type‐II energy band diagrams through analytical derivation and numerical simulation is thoroughly studied. It is found that both the depletion region and quasineutral region have a decisive effect on photocurrent in their respective regions. Specifically, modulations of piezoelectric charges on depletion region current and quasineutral region current are opposite and compensate each other, resulting in reduced piezophototronic effect. Heterojunctions under short diode conditions are preferred for better piezophototronic effect as modulation on quasineutral region current is weakened while that on depletion region current remains unchanged. The effects of doping concentration, absorption coefficient, and minority carrier lifetime of semiconductor materials on device characteristics are also studied. This work provides deeper insight into the underlying device physics of the piezophototronic effect.
eration, separation, recombination, and transportation of charge carriers at the interface or junction through the piezoelectric potential. [1] The novel optoelectronic devices with high performance can be realized though the piezo-phototronic effect. The piezo-phototronic effect utilize the piezo-charges and piezo-potential generated at the interface to tune the height of the barrier, and exponentially control the photogenerated carriers transport at metal-semiconductor, anisotype and isotype heterojunction photodiode. [2,3] Piezo-phototronic devices have attracted much research interest because they can directly convert mechanical signals into electrical signals. This unique energy conversion method has been used in solar cells, [4][5][6] light-emitting diodes, [7][8][9] touchscreen electronics, [10,11] light detection and imaging, [12,13] high electron mobility transistors, [14] and so on.In recent years, research on piezophototronic effect has made great progress. Generally speaking, the current research is focused on two directions. On the one hand, 1D and 2D materials with different piezoelectric coefficients are used in conventional device structures such as metal-semiconductor, [15][16][17][18][19] homogeneous p-n junction, and heterogeneous p-n junction. [20][21][22] On the other hand, different device structures are investigated to enhance the efficiency of piezoelectric polarization charges,
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