Enhanced fabrication process of zinc oxide nanowires for optoelectronics

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires (NWs) based ultraviolet (UV) sensors have been fabricated using different assembly techniques to form functional structures, aiming at the improvement of the performance of NW-based sensors for optoelectronic applications. NWs with diameters and lengths varying between 90-870 nm and 2-20 μm, respectively, were synthesized by controlling the growth conditions in a chemical vapor transport system. Optical properties of NWs were studied by means of transmission spectroscopy. Electrical properties of single ZnO NW-based sensors were analyzed in dark and under UV illumination (at photon wavelength of λ < 370 nm) as a function of the NW diameter. Results of the study indicate that reduction of the NW diameter below 200 nm leads to an improvement of the photocurrent (at λ < 370 nm) up to 102 μA and a decrease of the decay time around 150 s. These enhancements may help to improve the performance of ZnO-based optoelectronic devices.