Piezotronic Activity Study by AFM Tip (Al) Top Electrode of Single ZnO Nanofiber Deposited on TiNx/c-Si Substrate |
| F. Bechiria, b, Y. Bakhac, M. Zerdalib
aUniversité Abd el Hamid Ibn Badis de Mostaganem, Département de Génie Electrique, Faculté des Sciences et de la Technologie, Route de Belhacel, BP 27000, Mostaganem, Algeria bUniversité des Sciences et de la Technologie d'Oran Mohamed Boudiaf, Departement Technologie des Matériaux, Laboratoire de Microscopie Electronique & Sciences des Matériaux, Faculté de Physique, BP 1505 El Mnaouer, USTO MB, BP 31123, Oran, Algeria cPlateforme Technologique en Microsystémes Electromecaniques (P-MEMS), Centre de Développement des Technologies Avancées (CDTA), Cité du 20 août 1956 Baba Hassen, BP 16081, Alger, Algeria |
| Full Text PDF |
| ZnO nanofibers were synthesized via a hydrothermal method. A single nanofiber was delicately transferred and deposited onto a TiNx thin film on a silicon substrate to facilitate the investigation of its piezotronic properties. An aluminum-coated atomic force microscope tip was employed in contact mode as a top nanoscale electrode to locally induce bending deformation in the individual ZnO nanofiber. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics recorded between the top atomic force microscope tip electrode and the bottom TiNx surface exhibited rectifying behavior, indicative of the formation of a Schottky junction upon the application of a minimum bending force of 25 nN by the atomic force microscope tip. This force threshold was necessary to ensure adequate contact between the atomic force microscope probe and the ZnO nanofiber. However, upon exceeding the 25 nN bending force perpendicular to the c-axis, the forward current underwent a substantial reduction, eventually leading to complete suppression of the Schottky junction under further increments in the bending force. Finite element method simulations elucidated the presence of piezoelectric activity within the ZnO nanofiber, which was responsible for the observed attenuation in the forward current. The Cheung-Cheung method was employed to quantify the increase in barrier height at the Schottky junction as a function of the applied bending force. |
DOI:10.12693/APhysPolA.146.174 topics: ZnO nanofibers (ZnO-NFs), atomic force microscope (AFM), I-V, piezopotential |