We present highly stretchable polypyrrole (PPy)/polydimethylsiloxane strain sensors of highly improved sensitivity and durability fabricated by a chemical oxidative polymerization with oxygen plasma treatment (O PT). In this study, O PT was performed for 30, 60, and 90 s at each growth stage of the PPy film in three steps to investigate the effects on the sensor performance as well as the microstructural properties of the PPy films. Bonding characteristics with underlying layers and resistance to microcrack generation of the multi-layer PPy films under our given strained state were significantly enhanced by the O PT.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe investigated the effects of the crystalline state for seed layers (SLs) on the growth morphology and material characteristics for hydrothermally grown ZnO nanorods (NRs). For this, preheating (PH) at different temperatures (100-300 °C) and O plasma treatment (PT) for 9 min were performed during the growth of SLs on p-Si by the aqueous solution-based method to provide the characteristic change on the NR growth platform. An improvement in material properties was achieved from the ZnO NRs grown on the SL crystals of enhanced crystalline quality in terms of the increased preferred orientation (002), the higher UV emission with suppressed deep-level emissions, the recovery of O/Zn stoichiometry, and the reduction of various intrinsic defects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe crystalline quality of ZnO NR (nanorod) as a sensing material for visible blind ultraviolet PDs (photodetectors) critically depends on the SL (seed layer) material of properties, which is a key to high-quality nanocrystallite growth, more so than the synthesis method. In this study, we fabricated two different device structures of a gateless AlGaN/GaN HEMT (high electron mobility transistor) and a photoconductive PD structure with an IDE (interdigitated electrode) pattern implemented on a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) flexible substrate, and investigated the impact on device performance through the SL NO plasma treatment. In case of HEMT-based PD, the highest current on-off ratio (~7) and spectral responsivity (~1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe demonstrate an improvement in the photoresponse characteristics of ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors (PDs) using the NO plasma-treated ZnO nanorod (NR) gated AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structure. The PDs fabricated with ZnO NRs plasma-treated for 6 min show superior performance in terms of responsivity (∼1.54×10 A/W), specific detectivity (∼ 4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA growth scheme at a low processing temperature for high crystalline-quality of ZnO nanostructures can be a prime stepping stone for the future of various optoelectronic devices manufactured on transparent plastic substrates. In this study, ZnO nanorods (NRs) grown by the hydrothermal method at 150 °C through doping of transition metals (TMs), such as Co, Ni, or Co-plus-Ni, on polyethylene terephthalate substrates were investigated by various surface analysis methods. The TM dopants in ZnO NRs suppressed the density of various native defect-states as revealed by our photoluminescence and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs a developing technology for flexible electronic device fabrication, ultra-violet (UV) photodetectors (PDs) based on a ZnO nanostructure are an effective approach for large-area integration of sensors on nonconventional substrates, such as plastic or paper. However, photoconductive ZnO nanorods grown on flexible substrates have slow responses or recovery as well as low spectral responsivity because of the native defects and inferior crystallinity of hydrothermally grown ZnO nanorods at low temperatures. In this study, ZnO nanorod crystallites are doped with Cu or Ni/Cu when grown on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates in an attempt to improve the performance of flexible PDs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOwing to their intrinsic wide bandgap properties ZnO and GaN materials are widely used for fabricating passive-type visible-blind ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors (PDs). However, most of these PDs have a very low spectral responsivity , which is not sufficient for detecting very low-level UV signals. We demonstrate an active type UV PD with a ZnO nanorod (NR) structure for the floating gate of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT), where the AlGaN/GaN epitaxial layers are isolated by the nano-scale fins (NFIs) of two different fin widths (70 and 80 nm).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe examined the influence of O₂ plasma treatment for the ZnO seed layer (SL) crystallites on the material characteristics of ZnO nanorods (NRs) synthesized by the hydrothermal method. Diode photocurrent and photo-response transient characteristics of the p-Si/n-ZnO-NR heterojunction-based ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors were also examined according to the plasma treatment for the SLs. The superior optical properties of NRs were measured from the photoluminescence by exhibiting 4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, the ambient condition for the as-coated seed layer (SL) annealing at 350 °C is varied from air or nitrogen to vacuum to examine the evolution of structural and optical properties of ZnO nanorods (NRs). The NR crystals of high surface density (~240 rods/μm²) and aspect ratio (~20.3) show greatly enhanced (002) degree of orientation and crystalline quality, when grown on the SLs annealed in vacuum, compared to those annealed in air or nitrogen ambient.
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