Photosensitive and temperature-dependent I–V characteristics of p-NiO film/n-ZnO nanorod array heterojunction diode

• A p-NiO film/n-ZnO nanorod array heterojunction was prepared.
• The heterojunction shows good morphology and crystal properties.
• The diode exhibits excellent rectifying behavior.
• The diode exhibits strong temperature dependent I–V properties.
• The hybrid diode shows good photosensitivity under the ultraviolet irradiation.

A p-NiO film/n-ZnO nanorod (NR) array heterojunction was prepared by deposition of NiO film on ZnO NRs using radio-frequency reactive magnetron sputtering. The well-aligned ZnO NRs were fabricated by a simple and economic hydrothermal method on a ZnO:Al-coated glass substrate. Good morphology and crystal properties of the fabricated ZnO NRs and NiO film were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The p–n heterojunction exhibits excellent rectifying behaviour and strong temperature-dependent current–voltage properties in the range from −50 to 80 °C. The hybrid NR heterojunction diode shows good photosensitivity under the irradiation of 365 nm ultraviolet light. These results present potential applications in future microelectronic devices based on NiO films and the one-dimensional ZnO nanomaterials.