Generation of electric current is observed when GaAs nanowires with wurtzite crystal structure are bent by the probe of an atomic force microscope. The current originates from a piezo active phase in the nanowires due to the piezoelectric effect. Increasing of the piezo-potential in bent nanowires enhances tunneling through the probe-nanowire Schottky barrier due to the thermionic field emission. Laser illumination amplifies short-circuit current pulses by two orders of magnitude from 9 pA to 1 nA due to the piezo-phototronic effect. Utilization of such piezo-phototronic effect in GaAs nanowires is a solution to accelerate the efficiency of hybrid energy sources "piezoelectric nanogenerator À solar cell" comprised of III-V nanowires.

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The anomalous piezoelectric effect in GaAs nanowires was detected (the piezoelectric strain coefficient up to d33 ≈ 26 pC/N) that is 12 times larger than the theoretically estimated value. This result is explained by the dominant content of the phase with the wurtzite‐type crystal structure in GaAs nanowires and an increased pressing force by the contact layer on the nanowire. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

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