ZnO-based nanostructures by PLD: growth mechanism, doping and geometry

The present work covers investigation of the growth mechanism and growth kinetics of the ZnO nanowires and nanoneedles fabricated by using high-pressure pulsed laser deposition. The growth model based on the combination of four different flows of the interfacial particles is introduced. A variation of the free energy is given as a major reason of the change of the growth mechanism which appears by using different doped seed layers, growth temperature and the doping of the deposited material. A fabrication of the ultrathin nanowires with a diameter of d < 10 nm at CMOS compatible growth temperature of T = 400°C is demonstrated. The diameter of these nanowires is comparable with the Bohr radius. The growth of the Al and Ga doped and undoped ZnO nanoneedles with a sharp tip was shown. The doping of the nanowires and nanoneedles can be promising for their applications. By using a patterned sapphire substrate, an unidirectional growth of the nanowires and nanoneedles was achieved. These nanostructures are tilted by 58°ZnO with respect to the surface normal.:Bibliographic Record Contents 1 Introduction I Basics and Methods 2 Basic properties and growth concept 2.1 ZnO nanowires and nanoneedles 2.1.1 Applications 2.2 Nanowire and nanoneedle fabrication 2.2.1 Growth mechanisms which require a catalyst 2.2.2 Catalyst-free epitaxial growth mechanism 2.3 Free energy and the growth mechanism 2.4 NW growth techniques 2.5 Aligned tilted growth 3 Growth and characterization 3.1 Preparation of the seed layers by CVD 3.2 Preparation of the seed layers by low pressure PLD 3.3 HP PLD for the NW and NN growth 3.4 Characterization techniques 3.4.1 X-ray Diffraction 3.4.2 Atomic Force Microscopy 3.4.3 Scanning electron microscopy 3.4.4 Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy 3.4.5 Spectroscopic Ellipsometry 3.4.6 Cathodoluminescence 3.4.7 Angle-varied X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy 3.4.8 Etching of the seed layers 4 Seed layer characterization 4.1 Doping concentration 4.2 Surface morphology 4.3 Crystalline quality 4.4 Surface polarity 4.5 Summary of the Chapter II NW growth: results 5 NW growth characteristics 5.1 Material free energy and the deposited material parameters 5.2 Growth kinetics 5.3 Summary of the Chapter 6 NW growth on doped seed layers 6.1 Al doped seed layers 6.2 NW growth on Ga doped seed layers 6.3 Optical characteristics of the ZnO NWs 6.4 Summary of the Chapter 7 Growth of ZnO(Al) and ZnO(Ga) NWs 7.1 Al-doped ZnO NWs grown on ZnO(Al) seed layers 7.2 Ga-doped ZnO NWs grown on ZnO(Ga) seed layers 7.3 Summary of the Chapter 8 Growth of tilted ZnO NWs and NNs 8.1 Patterning of the substrates . 8.2 Growth of tilted NNs 8.3 Growth of tilted NWs 8.4 Optical properties of the tilted nanostructures 8.5 Summary of the Chapter 9 Summary and outloock 9.1 Summary 9.2 Outlook Acknowledgements Curriculum Vitae List of own Articles List of own Conference Talks and Posters Reference

Electronic, magnetic and optical properties of oxide surfaces, heterostructures and interfaces: role of defects

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Pulsed Laser Deposition of Transition Metal Dichalcogenides-Based Heterostructures for Efficient Photodetection

From the past few decades, photodetectors (PDs) are being regarded as crucial components of many photonic devices which are being used in various important applications. However, the PDs based on the traditional bulk semiconductors still face a lot of challenges as far as the device performance is concerned. To overcome these limitations, a novel class of two-dimensional materials known as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) has shown great promise. The TMDCs-based PDs have been reported to exhibit competitive figures of merit to the state-of-the-art PDs, however, their production is still limited to laboratory scale due to limitations in the conventional fabrication methods. Compared to these traditional synthesis approaches, the technique of pulsed laser deposition (PLD) offers several merits. PLD is a physical vapor deposition approach, which is performed in an ultrahigh-vacuum environment. Therefore, the products are expected to be clean and free from contaminants. Most importantly, PLD enables actualization of large-area thin films, which can have a significant potential in the modern semiconductor industry. In the current chapter, the growth of TMDCs by PLD for applications in photodetection has been discussed, with a detailed analysis on the recent advancements in this area. The chapter will be concluded by providing an outlook and perspective on the strategies to overcome the shortcomings associated with the current devices

Progress in pulsed laser deposited two-dimensional layered materials for device applications

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2D semiconductor nanomaterials and heterostructures : controlled synthesis and functional applications

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors beyond graphene represent the thinnest stable known nanomaterials. Rapid growth of their family and applications during the last decade of the twenty-first century have brought unprecedented opportunities to the advanced nano- and opto-electronic technologies. In this article, we review the latest progress in findings on the developed 2D nanomaterials. Advanced synthesis techniques of these 2D nanomaterials and heterostructures were summarized and their novel applications were discussed. The fabrication techniques include the state-of-the-art developments of the vapor-phase-based deposition methods and novel van der Waals (vdW) exfoliation approaches for fabrication both amorphous and crystalline 2D nanomaterials with a particular focus on the chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD) of 2D semiconductors and their heterostructures as well as on vdW exfoliation of 2D surface oxide films of liquid metals

Light-Material Interactions Using Laser and Flash Sources for Energy Conversion and Storage Applications.

This review provides a comprehensive overview of the progress in light-material interactions (LMIs), focusing on lasers and flash lights for energy conversion and storage applications. We discuss intricate LMI parameters such as light sources, interaction time, and fluence to elucidate their importance in material processing. In addition, this study covers various light-induced photothermal and photochemical processes ranging from melting, crystallization, and ablation to doping and synthesis, which are essential for developing energy materials and devices. Finally, we present extensive energy conversion and storage applications demonstrated by LMI technologies, including energy harvesters, sensors, capacitors, and batteries. Despite the several challenges associated with LMIs, such as complex mechanisms, and high-degrees of freedom, we believe that substantial contributions and potential for the commercialization of future energy systems can be achieved by advancing optical technologies through comprehensive academic research and multidisciplinary collaborations