A Au/CuNiCoS₄/p-Si photodiode: electrical and morphological characterization

• Adem Koçyiğit,
• Adem Sarılmaz,
• Teoman Öztürk,
• Faruk Ozel and
• Murat Yıldırım

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 984–994, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.74

• have revealed that the bandgap value is suitable for optoelectronic devices. To the best of our knowledge, there is no study on the electrical properties of CuNiCoS4-based photodiodes. The usage of different materials as interfacial layers in metal–semiconductor devices is a hot research topic

• regarding the development of more efficient metal–semiconductor devices such as photodiodes, photodetectors, and transistors [14][15][16]. The interfacial layer controls the current flow between metal and semiconductor and produces charge carriers under illumination [17][18]. Thiospinel CuNiCoS4

• nanocrystals can be inserted between metal and semiconductor as interfacial layer to increase the effect of the illumination and to control electrical properties of the metal–semiconductor device. In this work, CuNiCoS4 nanocrystals were successfully obtained as interlayer of Schottky diodes. The electrical

Molecular assemblies on surfaces: towards physical and electronic decoupling of organic molecules

• Sabine Maier and
• Meike Stöhr

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 950–956, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.71

• dielectric layers on top of the surface [34][35] or a chemical modification of the surface to saturate the dangling bonds. In surface-science-based studies, for the latter approach hydrogenation of semiconductor surfaces is frequently applied as effective passivation against chemisorption of adsorbates [36

• ][37][38][39], while also B deposition was shown to result in effective passivation of the Si surface [40][41]. In particular for electronic devices, oxidized semiconductor surfaces (e.g., silicon dioxide layers formed on bare silicon) are mostly used as substrates for fabricating devices [42]. Most of

9.1% efficient zinc oxide/silicon solar cells on a 50 μm thick Si absorber

• Rafal Pietruszka,
• Bartlomiej S. Witkowski,
• Monika Ozga,
• Katarzyna Gwozdz,
• Ewa Placzek-Popko and
• Marek Godlewski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 766–774, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.60

• difference was observed in the open-circuit voltage. The basic SC parameters JSC, VOC, FF, and Eff. as functions of the temperature are presented in Figure 7. According to [23][24], temperature has a relevant impact on semiconductor properties and the operation of solar cells. The most important equations

Prediction of Co and Ru nanocluster morphology on 2D MoS₂ from interaction energies

• Cara-Lena Nies and
• Michael Nolan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 704–724, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.56

• wide range of potential applications due to the properties of a single layer, which often differ from the bulk material. They are of particular interest as ultrathin diffusion barriers in semiconductor device interconnects and as supports for low-dimensional metal catalysts. Understanding the

• is a naturally occurring transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) and one of the most frequently studied 2D materials. Unlike graphene, MoS2 is a semiconductor, which gives it an increased number of possible applications [11][29]. Our previous first principles study [28] of the interaction of Cu species

• adsorption. The metal d-orbital contribution increases for both Co and Ru as more adatoms are added, causing the total DOS to become increasingly more metallic compared to bare MoS2, which is a semiconductor. Metal d-orbital states appear in the bandgap for as little as a single adatom. These increase in

Electromigration-induced formation of percolating adsorbate islands during condensation from the gaseous phase: a computational study

• Alina V. Dvornichenko,
• Vasyl O. Kharchenko and
• Dmitrii O. Kharchenko

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 694–703, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.55

• observed on silicon substrates [12][13]. Strong effects of EM were manifested in the processes of evolution of vanadium surface morphology [14], and in the epitaxial growth of semiconductor heterostructures [15]. It was found that at low deposition temperatures the growth of surface structures occurs

Nanogenerator-based self-powered sensors for data collection

• Yicheng Shao,
• Maoliang Shen,
• Yuankai Zhou,
• Xin Cui,
• Lijie Li and
• Yan Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 680–693, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.54

• largely influenced by the surface carrier density on the surface of the nanowires. The adsorption of gas molecules can change the surface carrier density by the shielding effect, so the output of the sensor is very sensitive to the gas concentration. Compared with traditional metal oxide semiconductor

A review of defect engineering, ion implantation, and nanofabrication using the helium ion microscope

• Frances I. Allen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 633–664, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.52

• (Figure 1c). The motivation for this study at the time was to investigate the invasiveness of the helium ion beam with respect to nanofabrication tasks in the semiconductor industry. Yet, the impact of this work has been far-reaching, providing a valuable benchmark for a range of applications focused on

• et al. also observed semiconductor–insulator–metal transitions for increasing dose, noting preferential sputtering of selenium [29]. Here it was found that for a given dose, hole transport was degraded more than electron transport. The authors went on to demonstrate a lateral p–n-like homojunction by

• by localized helium ion irradiation. For example, using a helium ion dose of 5 × 1014 ions/cm2, permanent local tuning of the charge density in an amorphous thin film of the semiconductor indium gallium zinc oxide (film thickness 50 nm) has been demonstrated, thereby enabling activation of the

Nanoporous and nonporous conjugated donor–acceptor polymer semiconductors for photocatalytic hydrogen production

• Zhao-Qi Sheng,
• Yu-Qin Xing,
• Yan Chen,
• Guang Zhang,
• Shi-Yong Liu and
• Long Chen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 607–623, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.50

• semiconductor via photoinduced D→A charge transfer. Structures of triazine-based conjugated polymers. Proposed model fragments and electron density differences of M1–M3 in P8. Adapted with permission from [49]. Copyright (2019) American Chemical Society. This content is not subject to CC BY 4.0. Schematic

Impact of GaAs(100) surface preparation on EQE of AZO/Al₂O₃/p-GaAs photovoltaic structures

• Piotr Caban,
• Rafał Pietruszka,
• Jarosław Kaszewski,
• Monika Ożga,
• Bartłomiej S. Witkowski,
• Krzysztof Kopalko,
• Piotr Kuźmiuk,
• Katarzyna Gwóźdź,
• Ewa Płaczek-Popko,
• Krystyna Lawniczak-Jablonska and
• Marek Godlewski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 578–592, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.48

• arsenide is a known and intensively studied phenomenon in semiconductor industry [4]. The air exposure of GaAs surface results in an immediate appearance of different oxides of various compositions (e.g., AsO, As2O, As2O3, GaO, Ga2O, Ga2O3, GaAsO3, and GaAsO4) as well as of elemental arsenic [5][6][7]. The

• presence of an amorphous film of native oxides gives rise to midgap surface states in GaAs [8] which results in Fermi-level pinning [9]. Due to a high surface-related recombination velocity, a decrease in the photoluminescence (PL) of the semiconductor is also observed [7]. These phenomena have strong and

• negative impact on the performance of GaAs-based microelectronic and optoelectronic devices [10][11]. Therefore, in order to take advantage of the properties of gallium arsenide [12], its interface with a dielectric or other semiconductor partner must be carefully prepared. This can be obtained either by

Interface interaction of transition metal phthalocyanines with strontium titanate (100)

• Reimer Karstens,
• Thomas Chassé and
• Heiko Peisert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 485–496, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.39

• theoretical approaches [6]. Possible applications of STO/organic interfaces include FETs [7][8], photodiodes [9], and organic spin valves[10]. Strontium titanate is a semiconductor with an indirect band gap of 3.25 eV [11] crystallizing in a perovskite structure with cubic unit cell. The conductivity can be

• slightly different position of the Fermi level in the gap of the STO semiconductor. Upon evaporation of the organic molecules, no changes of the peak shape can be detected, pointing to the absence of chemical interactions involving Ti atoms at the interface. However, we note that the surface sensitivity at

Boosting of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution via chlorine doping of polymeric carbon nitride

• Malgorzata Aleksandrzak,
• Michalina Kijaczko,
• Wojciech Kukulka,
• Daria Baranowska,
• Martyna Baca,
• Beata Zielinska and
• Ewa Mijowska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 473–484, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.38

• semiconductor polymer, as a metal-free and visible-light-responsive photocatalyst, has attracted dramatically growing attention in the field of visible-light-induced hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). It is characterized by facile synthesis, easy functionalization, attractive electronic band structure, and

Spontaneous shape transition of Mn_xGe_1−x islands to long nanowires

• S. Javad Rezvani,
• Luc Favre,
• Gabriele Giuli,
• Yiming Wubulikasimu,
• Isabelle Berbezier,
• Augusto Marcelli,
• Luca Boarino and
• Nicola Pinto

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 366–374, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.30

• the wires. For instance, Au, generally used as catalyst for the growth of various semiconductor NWs, acts as a deep-level trap in germanium bulk and NWs, modifying the electronic transport properties [5]. Strain-induced elongation is a mechanism [34] that can lead to either epitaxial or endotaxial

Nickel nanoparticle-decorated reduced graphene oxide/WO₃ nanocomposite – a promising candidate for gas sensing

• Ilka Simon,
• Alexandr Savitsky,
• Rolf Mülhaupt,
• Vladimir Pankov and
• Christoph Janiak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 343–353, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.28

• 200 to 400 °C, which means a high power consumption [4]. WO3 is a wide-bandgap [12][13] n-type semiconductor [14][15] with good sensitivity towards NO2 [16] and CO [17]. Known successful routes to improve the MOS gas sensing performance are doping with transition metals, decoration with noble metals

• , and greater stability than pure WO3 [20]. WO3 decorated with palladium nanoparticles on the surface can be used as an improved and reusable gas sensor for NH3 [21]. Metal oxide semiconductor junctions can either be formed between two p-type MOS or two n-type MOS (p–p/n–n homojunctions) or between a p

• high response to gas molecules at room temperature [30]. A disadvantage of rGO gas sensors is the long recovery time because of the high binding force between gas molecules and the graphene material [31]. rGO is a p-type semiconductor and can be used for gas sensing of low concentrations of NO2 at room

Extended iron phthalocyanine islands self-assembled on a Ge(001):H surface

• Rafal Zuzak,
• Marek Szymonski and
• Szymon Godlewski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 232–241, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.19

• analysis of single FePc molecules trapped at surface defects indicates that the molecules stay intact upon adsorption and can be manipulated away from surface defects onto a perfectly hydrogenated surface. This allows for their isolation from the germanium surface. Keywords: hydrogenated semiconductor

• on hydrogen-passivated Si or Ge surfaces [36][37][38][39]. For instance, it has been shown that on Ge(001):H those molecules form hexagonal islands composed from flat-lying molecules that are sufficiently decoupled from the underlying semiconductor [36]. Vicinal Si(001):H has been applied in order to

• from the influence of the underlying germanium by the passivating hydrogen layer. This is in line with previous reports showing that other organic compounds are well decoupled from the surface by hydrogen, unless they are contacted with the underlying semiconductor through atomic-scale defects, that is

ZnO and MXenes as electrode materials for supercapacitor devices

• Ameen Uddin Ammar,
• Ipek Deniz Yildirim,
• Feray Bakan and
• Emre Erdem

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 49–57, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.4

• and 3D materials will be of utmost benefit to the interested community. Review ZnO as electrode material for supercapacitors Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a highly defective semiconductor material, regardless of its synthesis route, that has a large bandgap energy (Eg) at room temperature. However, defect types

• the existence of the defects. Owing to the extreme sensitivity of EPR spectroscopy (1011 spins/g) to paramagnetically active defect centers, one may correlate the information on the local electronic configuration from EPR spectra with Raman and PL spectra. Thus, when such semiconductor materials are

• semiconductor metal oxide, here ZnO, is processed chemically or physically as an electrode. This is rather complicated and it is important which method is used to test the electrical properties. The common method is the three-point method in which the material is tested with a counter and a reference electrode

Atomic layer deposited films of Al₂O₃ on fluorine-doped tin oxide electrodes: stability and barrier properties

• Hana Krýsová,
• Michael Neumann-Spallart,
• Hana Tarábková,
• Pavel Janda,
• Ladislav Kavan and
• Josef Krýsa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 24–34, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.2

• alumina coatings was ascribed to its capability of passivating semiconductor/electrolyte interfaces, thus reducing photogenerated charge-carrier recombination (e.g., on BiVO4 [16]). In this work, Al2O3 films were deposited via ALD on thermally grown SiO2 on silicon or on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO

• ), at sites that were not covered by the semiconductor, was blocked. This blocking layer (also called electron-selective layer) is a key component of dye-sensitized [19] and perovskite solar cells [21]. The blocking function consists in supporting vectorial electron transport from a photoexcited light

Bio-imaging with the helium-ion microscope: A review

• Matthias Schmidt,
• James M. Byrne and
• Ilari J. Maasilta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1–23, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.1

• years. Ionoluminescense in the HIM (IL-HIM) was used by Veligura et al. to investigate NaCl and semiconductor materials [21][22][23]. Franklin first investigated the suitability of IL-HIM for studying biological specimens tagged with fluorescent markers [24]. Another application in bio-imaging was

Free and partially encapsulated manganese ferrite nanoparticles in multiwall carbon nanotubes

• Saja Al-Khabouri,
• Salim Al-Harthi,
• Toru Maekawa,
• Mohamed E. Elzain,
• Ashraf Al-Hinai,
• Ahmed D. Al-Rawas,
• Abbsher M. Gismelseed,
• Ali A. Yousif and
• Myo Tay Zar Myint

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1891–1904, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.170

• , experimentally, bulk MnFe2O4 is known to have semiconductor properties [18]. The spectrum shown in Figure 1e contains a main peak at approx. 5.4 eV and weaker peaks at approx. 9.7 eV and 12.1 eV. By comparing the spectrum with the band structure calculations, the first peak (indicated by an arrow in the spectrum

Piezotronic effect in AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterojunction nanowires used as a flexible strain sensor

• Jianqi Dong,
• Liang Chen,
• Yuqing Yang and
• Xingfu Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1847–1853, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.166

• Jianqi Dong Liang Chen Yuqing Yang Xingfu Wang Institute of Semiconductor Science and Technology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China 10.3762/bjnano.11.166 Abstract 1D

• semiconductor nanowires (NWs) have been extensively studied in recent years due to the predominant mechanical flexibility caused by a large surface-to-volume ratio and unique electrical and optical properties induced by the 1D quantum confinement effect. Herein, we use a top-down two-step preparation method to

• effect; strain sensors; strain tests; top-down method; Introduction Due to the non-centrosymmetric structure of the group-III nitride semiconductor materials (e.g., GaN, AlN, and AlGaN), spontaneous polarization (Psp) and piezoelectric polarization induced by lattice mismatch (Plm) are inevitably

Unravelling the interfacial interaction in mesoporous SiO₂@nickel phyllosilicate/TiO₂ core–shell nanostructures for photocatalytic activity

• Bridget K. Mutuma,
• Xiluva Mathebula,
• Isaac Nongwe,
• Bonakele P. Mtolo,
• Boitumelo J. Matsoso,
• Rudolph Erasmus,
• Zikhona Tetana and
• Neil J. Coville

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1834–1846, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.165

• . The photoexcited electrons and the presence of holes result in the oxidization of organic dyes via a free-radical mechanism. However, TiO2 is a wide-bandgap semiconductor (3.0–3.3 eV), which can only absorb UV light and it easily undergoes electron–hole recombination [11]. To circumvent this problem

• heterogeneous catalysts is determined by the positions of the conduction band (CB) and the valence band (VB) for each semiconductor. For example, nickel-containing compounds with Ni2+ ions are known to have a lower CB edge than TiO2 [30][71]. Therefore, in this study, it can be postulated that a photoinduced

Nanocasting synthesis of BiFeO₃ nanoparticles with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity

• Thomas Cadenbach,
• Maria J. Benitez,
• A. Lucia Morales,
• Cesar Costa Vera,
• Luis Lascano,
• Francisco Quiroz,
• Alexis Debut and
• Karla Vizuete

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1822–1833, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.164

• the production of secondary waste products that require further treatment. Advanced oxidation processes, in general, and heterogeneous semiconductor photocatalysis, in particular, are promising candidates to efficiently treat wastewater as they are cost-effective and green treatment methods in which

• experiments with different scavengers, such as AgNO3, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), tert-butyl alcohol (TBA), and benzoquinone (BQ), was performed. It is generally well-accepted that in semiconductor photocatalysis the reaction of promoted electrons with molecular oxygen leads to superoxide anion

Mapping of integrated PIN diodes with a 3D architecture by scanning microwave impedance microscopy and dynamic spectroscopy

• Rosine Coq Germanicus,
• Peter De Wolf,
• Florent Lallemand,
• Catherine Bunel,
• Serge Bardy,
• Hugues Murray and
• Ulrike Lüders

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1764–1775, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.159

• microscopy (sMIM). sMIM allows for the characterization of the local electrical properties through the analysis of the microwave impedance of the metal–insulator–semiconductor nanocapacitor (nano-MIS capacitor) that is formed by tip and sample. A highly integrated monolithic silicon PIN diode with a 3D

• modes provide sub-10 nm two-dimensional maps of the electrical properties of doped semiconductor layers [1][6][7][8] when a fixed bias is applied to the nanoscale contact. In SSRM, a DC voltage is applied to the sample and the resulting current, flowing from the conductive tip through the sample to the

• back contact, is recorded using a logarithmic amplifier with a wide dynamic range [9][10]. Based on the measured current, the overall equivalent resistance, including the conductive tip resistance, the spreading resistance of the semiconductor under the contact, the bulk resistance of the sample, and

Absorption and photoconductivity spectra of amorphous multilayer structures

• Oxana Iaseniuc and
• Mihail Iovu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1757–1763, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.158

• applied field becomes higher than the internal electrical field. For amorphous semiconductors the barrier height of an Al–semiconductor contact, with a work function of φm = 4.18 eV, is φb = 0.40–0.75 eV [14][17]. This is very important from a practical point of view, because there is the possibility to

Direct observation of the Si(110)-(16×2) surface reconstruction by atomic force microscopy

• Tatsuya Yamamoto,
• Ryo Izumi,
• Kazushi Miki,
• Takahiro Yamasaki,
• Yasuhiro Sugawara and
• Yan Jun Li

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1750–1756, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.157

• high-performance metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (p-MOSFETs) [1][2] because the hole mobility of Si(110) is twice that of the other Si planes [3]. For surface science research, Si(110) has been used as a template substrate for self-assembled nanowires [4][5][6], nanomeshes [7], and

Seebeck coefficient of silicon nanowire forests doped by thermal diffusion

• Shaimaa Elyamny,
• Elisabetta Dimaggio and
• Giovanni Pennelli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1707–1713, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.153

• through a diffusion process, based on a solid source (see Methods section). The main point is that the diffusion process must be performed in a single step (predeposition step), because a drive-in step, typical of the standard diffusion processes currently applied in the semiconductor industry, would