Fabrication of high performance field-effect transistors and practical Schottky contacts using hydrothermal ZnO nanowires.

The production of large quantities of single crystalline semiconducting ZnO nanowires (NWs) at low cost can offer practical solutions to realizing several novel electronic/optoelectronic and sensor applications on an industrial scale. The present work demonstrates high-density single crystalline NWs synthesized by a multiple cycle hydrothermal process at ∼100 °C. The high carrier concentration in such ZnO NWs is greatly suppressed by a simple low cost thermal annealing step in ambient air at ∼450 °C. Single ZnO NW FETs incorporating these modified NWs are characterized, revealing strong metal work function-dependent charge transport, unobtainable with as-grown hydrothermal ZnO NWs. Single ZnO NW FETs with Al as source and drain (s/d) contacts show excellent performance metrics, including low off-state currents (fA range), high on/off ratio (10(5)-10(7)), steep subthreshold slope (<600 mV/dec) and excellent field-effect carrier mobility (5-11 cm(2)/V-s). Modified ZnO NWs with platinum s/d contacts demonstrate excellent Schottky transport characteristics, markedly different from a reference ZnO NW device with Al contacts. This included abrupt reverse bias current-voltage saturation characteristics and positive temperature coefficient (∼0.18 eV to 0.13 eV). This work is envisaged to benefit many areas of hydrothermal ZnO NW research, such as NW FETs, piezoelectric energy recovery, piezotronics and Schottky diodes.