Barrier height change in GaAs Schottky diodes induced by piezoelectric effect

Chung, Ki Woong; Wang, Z.; Costa, J. C.; Williamson, F.; Ruden, P. P.; Nathan, M. I.

doi:10.1063/1.105499

Applied Physics Letters

1991

DOI: 10.1063/1.105499

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Barrier height change in GaAs Schottky diodes induced by piezoelectric effect

Ki Woong Chung

Z. Wang

J. C. Costa

et al.

Abstract: A novel manifestation of piezoelectric effects in GaAs has been observed. The change of barrier height, φB, of Schottky diodes induced by uniaxial stresses, S, along 〈100〉, 〈011〉, 〈01̄1〉, and 〈111〉 has been measured. Shifts in φB due to the appearance of piezoelectric polarization charges at the semiconductor-metal interface for directions other than 〈100〉 are observed.

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Cited by 58 publications

(55 citation statements)

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“…It has been reported that the SBHs of GaAs, 30,31 GaN, 32 and GaAlN 33 Schottky barrier shift under stress and strain due to the band structure change and piezoelectric effect. Experiments and calculations have shown that the band gap changes under strain and stress.…”

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confidence: 99%

Flexible Piezotronic Strain Sensor

et al. 2008

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Strain sensors based on individual ZnO piezoelectric fine-wires (PFWs; nanowires, microwires) have been fabricated by a simple, reliable, and cost-effective technique. The electromechanical sensor device consists of a single electrically connected PFW that is placed on the outer surface of a flexible polystyrene (PS) substrate and bonded at its two ends. The entire device is fully packaged by a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) thin layer. The PFW has Schottky contacts at its two ends but with distinctly different barrier heights. The I-V characteristic is highly sensitive to strain mainly due to the change in Schottky barrier height (SBH), which scales linear with strain. The change in SBH is suggested owing to the strain induced band structure change and piezoelectric effect. The experimental data can be well-described by the thermionic emission-diffusion model. A gauge factor of as high as 1250 has been demonstrated, which is 25% higher than the best gauge factor demonstrated for carbon nanotubes. The strain sensor developed here has applications in strain and stress measurements in cell biology, biomedical sciences, MEMS devices, structure monitoring, and more.

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confidence: 99%

Flexible Piezotronic Strain Sensor

et al. 2008

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“…The band structure effect may be attributed to straininduced change in band gap. The effect of piezoelectric polarization on the SBH arises because the polarization produces charges at the metal-semiconductor interface, 16 which will shift the local Fermi level and modify the local conduction band profile. Thus, both of the band structure and piezoelectric polarization effects will affect the SBH and consequently the transport property of the devices, as elaborated in follows.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They can be screened by the external electrons but cannot be completely depleted. 16 This means that the effect of piezoelectric charges still preserved, although at a reduced level, even ZnO has a moderate conductivity. The effect of piezoelectric polarization to the SBH can be qualitatively described as follows.…”

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confidence: 99%

Piezoelectric-Potential-Controlled Polarity-Reversible Schottky Diodes and Switches of ZnO Wires

et al. 2008

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Using a two-end bonded ZnO piezoelectric-fine-wire (PFW) (nanowire, microwire) on a flexible polymer substrate, the strain-induced change in I-V transport characteristic from symmetric to diode-type has been observed. This phenomenon is attributed to the asymmetric change in Schottky-barrier heights at both source and drain electrodes as caused by the strain-induced piezoelectric potential-drop along the PFW, which have been quantified using the thermionic emission-diffusion theory. A new piezotronic switch device with an "on" and "off" ratio of ∼120 has been demonstrated. This work demonstrates a novel approach for fabricating diodes and switches that rely on a strain governed piezoelectric-semiconductor coupling process.Binary switching is the principle of many electronic devices for applications such as data storage and logic circuits. Up to now most of the nanoscale switches are operated by an electrostatic force between a suspended carbon nanotube (CNTs)/nanowire and its counter electrode to switch between "on" and "off" depending on mechanical contact. [1][2][3] As the size of the devices reaching nanoscale, a small gap of ∼10 nm is required to be maintained between the CNTs/nanowire and the electrode for electro-mechanical switching. In such a case, the van der Waals interaction between the CNT and the electrode may be strong enough to bind the two together so that the device cannot perform the "off" function as required. Furthermore, the random thermal vibration at the tip of CNT may also become sufficiently large at conventional operating temperatures, which can strongly increase the device instability. 4 As a result, the reliability, lifetime and manufacturability of these devices are challenged.The Schottky barrier diode, a metal-semiconductor (MS) rectifying junction that generally exhibits switching effect, may overcome the drawbacks. ZnO, a material that exhibits semiconductor and piezoelectric properties, is likely a candidate for fabricating diode-based switching devices.Recently, various novel devices have been fabricated using ZnO nanowires/nanobelts by utilizing its coupled piezoelectric and semiconducting properties (piezotronic effect), such as nanogenerators, 5,6 piezoelectric field effect transistors and chemical sensors, 7,8 piezoelectric diodes, 9 triggers, 10 transducer and actuator, 11 and flexible piezotronic strain sensors. 12 In this letter, we report a new type flexible piezotronic switch device that is built using a single ZnO piezoelectric fine wire (PFW) (nanowire, microwire). Its operation mechanism relies on the piezoelectric potential induced asymmetric change in Schottky-barrier height (SBH) at the source and drain electrodes. The change of SBH is caused by the combined effects from strain-induced band structure change and piezoelectric potential. The device demonstrated here presents a new electromechanical switch built based on piezotronic effect. 13 For this study, the device was fabricated by bonding an ultralong ZnO PFW laterally on a polystyrene (PS) substrate,...

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“…One is the gating effect of the piezoelectric potential across the wire, 3 and the other is the strain-induced piezoresistance 26 or change in barrier height. 27 With the consideration of asymmetric strain distribution across the wire at the stretched and compressed sides, the effect caused by an increased bandgap at the compressive side is likely balanced by that of a decreased bandgap at the tensile side. Moreover, a strained ZnO most likely has an increased conductivity, 26 which is in contrast to what we have observed here.…”

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confidence: 99%

Mechanical−Electrical Triggers and Sensors Using Piezoelectric Micowires/Nanowires

et al. 2008

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We demonstrate a mechanical-electrical trigger using a ZnO piezoelectric fine-wire (PFW) (microwire, nanowire). Once subjected to mechanical impact, a bent PFW creates a voltage drop across its width, with the tensile and compressive surfaces showing positive and negative voltages, respectively. The voltage and current created by the piezoelectric effect could trigger an external electronic system, thus, the impact force/ pressure can be detected. The response time of the trigger/sensor is ∼10 ms. The piezoelectric potential across the PFW has a lifetime of ∼100 s, which is long enough for effectively "gating" the transport current along the wire; thus a piezoelectric field effect transistor is possible based on the piezotronic effect.One-dimensional semiconducting nanomaterials have profound applications in nanosensors, 1-4 nano-optoelectronics, 5 nanoelectronics, and nanophotonics. [6][7][8][9][10][11] Most of the existing nanodevices are made of individual nanowires/nanotubes/ nanobelts, which typically have diameters of 20-100 nm and lengths of a few micrometers. The largely reduced device size, much improved performance, and the extremely small power consumption make them very attractive for applications in implantable biological devices, nanorobotics, security monitoring, and defense technology. A near future transition in paradigm from fabricating individual nanodevices to building complete nanosystems will revolutionize the applications of nanosensors, nanoelectronics, and nanophotonics. Although a large effort has been devoted to the fabrication of a diverse range of nanodevices, 12,13 batteries are generally required to power them. The size of a battery is usually much larger than that of the nanodevice. Therefore, the size of a multicomponent nanosystem is mainly dictated by the size of the battery. The lifetime, size, weight, and toxicity of the battery become critical issues, especially for in vivo biomedical applications. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a self-powered nanosystem that harvests energy from the environment so that it operates wirelessly, remotely, and independently with a sustainable energy supply.In this paper, we report a force/pressure trigger built using a piezoelectric fine-wire (PFW) (microwire, nanowire) that electrically self-ignites once subjected to an external applied impact/displacement. No external power source is required to excite the trigger. The design of the "zero power" trigger is based on piezotronics 14 that relies on the piezoelectricsemiconducting coupled properties of the PFW.The design of the trigger is based on the principle of piezotronics. [15][16][17] For a vertical ZnO wire, once it is bent by an external force, a potential drop is created across the PFW, with the stretched surface being positive and the compressed surface being negative. 15 On the basis of a static model calculation for a case in which the force is uniformly applied to the PFW along its length, and without considering the conductivity of ZnO, the piezoelectric pote...

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Barrier height change in GaAs Schottky diodes induced by piezoelectric effect

Cited by 58 publications

References 10 publications

Flexible Piezotronic Strain Sensor

Flexible Piezotronic Strain Sensor

Piezoelectric-Potential-Controlled Polarity-Reversible Schottky Diodes and Switches of ZnO Wires

Mechanical−Electrical Triggers and Sensors Using Piezoelectric Micowires/Nanowires

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