The semiconductor ZnO has gained substantial interest in the research community in part because of its large exciton binding energy (60meV) which could lead to lasing action based on exciton recombination even above room temperature. Even though research focusing on ZnO goes back many decades, the renewed interest is fueled by availability of high-quality substrates and reports of p-type conduction and ferromagnetic behavior when doped with transitions metals, both of which remain controversial. It is this renewed interest in ZnO which forms the basis of this review. As mentioned already, ZnO is not new to the semiconductor field, with studies of its lattice parameter dating back to 1935 by Bunn [Proc. Phys. Soc. London 47, 836 (1935)], studies of its vibrational properties with Raman scattering in 1966 by Damen et al. [Phys. Rev. 142, 570 (1966)], detailed optical studies in 1954 by Mollwo [Z. Angew. Phys. 6, 257 (1954)], and its growth by chemical-vapor transport in 1970 by Galli and Coker [Appl. Phys. ...

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A comprehensive review of zno materials and devices

This critical review shows the basis of photocatalytic water splitting and experimental points, and surveys heterogeneous photocatalyst materials for water splitting into H2 and O2, and H2 or O2 evolution from an aqueous solution containing a sacrificial reagent Many oxides consisting of metal cations with d0 and d10 configurations, metal (oxy)sulfide and metal (oxy)nitride photocatalysts have been reported, especially during the latest decade The fruitful photocatalyst library gives important information on factors affecting photocatalytic performances and design of new materials Photocatalytic water splitting and H2 evolution using abundant compounds as electron donors are expected to contribute to construction of a clean and simple system for solar hydrogen production, and a solution of global energy and environmental issues in the future (361 references)

Heterogeneous photocatalyst materials for water splitting

Transparent electronic devices formed on flexible substrates are expected to meet emerging technological demands where silicon-based electronics cannot provide a solution. Examples of active flexible applications include paper displays and wearable computers1. So far, mainly flexible devices based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H)2,3,4,5 and organic semiconductors2,6,7,8,9,10 have been investigated. However, the performance of these devices has been insufficient for use as transistors in practical computers and current-driven organic light-emitting diode displays. Fabricating high-performance devices is challenging, owing to a trade-off between processing temperature and device performance. Here, we propose to solve this problem by using a novel semiconducting material—namely, a transparent amorphous oxide semiconductor from the In-Ga-Zn-O system (a-IGZO)—for the active channel in transparent thin-film transistors (TTFTs). The a-IGZO is deposited on polyethylene terephthalate at room temperature and exhibits Hall effect mobilities exceeding 10 cm2 V-1 s-1, which is an order of magnitude larger than for hydrogenated amorphous silicon. TTFTs fabricated on polyethylene terephthalate sheets exhibit saturation mobilities of 6–9 cm2 V-1 s-1, and device characteristics are stable during repetitive bending of the TTFT sheet.

Room-temperature fabrication of transparent flexible thin-film transistors using amorphous oxide semiconductors

2.3. Evaluation of Photocatalytic Water Splitting 6507 2.3.1. Photocatalytic Activity 6507 2.3.2. Photocatalytic Stability 6507 3. UV-Active Photocatalysts for Water Splitting 6507 3.1. d0 Metal Oxide Photocatalyts 6507 3.1.1. Ti-, Zr-Based Oxides 6507 3.1.2. Nb-, Ta-Based Oxides 6514 3.1.3. W-, Mo-Based Oxides 6517 3.1.4. Other d0 Metal Oxides 6518 3.2. d10 Metal Oxide Photocatalyts 6518 3.3. f0 Metal Oxide Photocatalysts 6518 3.4. Nonoxide Photocatalysts 6518 4. Approaches to Modifying the Electronic Band Structure for Visible-Light Harvesting 6519

Semiconductor-based Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation

We report the fabrication of transparent field-effect transistors using a single-crystalline thin-film transparent oxide semiconductor, InGaO 3 (ZnO) 5 , as an electron channel and amorphous hafnium oxide as a gate insulator. The device exhibits an on-to-off current ratio of ∼10 6 and a field-effect mobility of ∼80 square centimeters per volt per second at room temperature, with operation insensitive to visible light irradiation. The result provides a step toward the realization of transparent electronics for next-generation optoelectronics.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/300/5623/1269.full.pdf

Thin-Film Transistor Fabricated in Single-Crystalline Transparent Oxide Semiconductor

We have investigated carrier transport in a crystalline oxide semiconductor InGaO3(ZnO)5 using single-crystalline thin films. When carrier concentration is less than 2×1018cm−3, logarithm of electrical conductivity decreases in proportion to T−1∕4 and room-temperature Hall mobility was as low as ∼1cm2(Vs)−1. When carrier concentration was increased to 4×1018cm−3, the conduction mechanism changed to degenerate conduction and room-temperature Hall mobility was steeply increased to >10cm2(Vs)−1, showing metal–insulator transition behavior. These results are explained by percolation conduction over distribution of potential barriers formed around conduction band edge. The potential distribution is a consequence of potential modulation originating from random distribution of Ga3+ and Zn2+ ions in the crystal structure of InGaO3(ZnO)5.

Carrier transport in transparent oxide semiconductor with intrinsic structural randomness probed using single-crystalline InGaO3(ZnO)5 films

Thin films of β-Ga2O3 with an energy band gap of 4.9 eV were prepared on silica glass substrates by a pulsed-laser deposition method. N-type conductivity up to ∼1 S cm−1 was obtained by Sn-ion doping and deposition under low O2 partial pressure (∼10−5 Pa) at substrate temperatures above 800 °C. The resulting internal transmittance at the wavelength (248 nm) of the KrF excimer laser exceeded 50% for the 100-nm-thick film, making this the most ultraviolet-transparent conductive oxide thin film to date and opening up prospects for applications such as ultraviolet transparent antistatic electric films in ultraviolet lithography.

Deep-ultraviolet transparent conductive β-Ga2O3 thin films

This paper reports that among known p-type oxide semiconductors, tin monoxide (SnO) has a high hole mobility and produces good p-type oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) Device-quality SnO films were grown epitaxially on (001) yttria-stabilized zirconia substrates at 575°C by pulsed laser deposition These exhibited a Hall mobility of 24cm2V−1s−1 at room temperature Top-gated TFTs, using epitaxial SnO channels, exhibited field-effect mobilities of 13cm2V−1s−1, on/off current ratios of ∼102, and threshold voltages of 48V

p-channel thin-film transistor using p-type oxide semiconductor, SnO

An ultraviolet light-emitting diode (LED) operating at room temperature was realized using a p–n heterojunction composed of transparent conductive oxides, p-SrCu2O2 and n-ZnO. Multilayered films prepared by a pulsed-laser deposition technique were processed by conventional photolithography with the aid of reactive ion etching to fabricate the LED device. A rather sharp emission band centered at 382 nm was generated when a forward bias voltage exceeding the turn-on voltage of 3 V was applied to the junction. The emission may be attributed to a transition associated with the electron–hole plasma of ZnO.

Current injection emission from a transparent p–n junction composed of p-SrCu2O2/n-ZnO

Transparent trilayered oxide films of ZnO/NiO/indium tin oxide were heteroepitaxially grown on a YSZ (111) substrate by pulsed-laser deposition combined with a solid-phase-epitaxy technique, and were processed to fabricate a p-NiO/n-ZnO diode. The diode exhibited a clear rectifying I–V characteristic with an ideality factor of ∼2 and a forward threshold voltage of ∼1 V. Although the photoresponsivity was fairly weak at the zero-bias voltage, it was enhanced up to ∼0.3 A W−1 through the application of a reverse bias of −6 V under the irradiation of 360 nm light, a value comparable to that of commercial devices.

Masahiro Hirano

Papers

Carrier transport in transparent oxide semiconductor with intrinsic structural randomness probed using single-crystalline InGaO3(ZnO)5 films

Deep-ultraviolet transparent conductive β-Ga2O3 thin films

p-channel thin-film transistor using p-type oxide semiconductor, SnO

Current injection emission from a transparent p–n junction composed of p-SrCu2O2/n-ZnO

Fabrication and photoresponse of a pn-heterojunction diode composed of transparent oxide semiconductors, p-NiO and n-ZnO