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

With the purpose of creating ZnO-based amorphous transparent conductors, a range of amorphous films InGaoO3(ZnO)m (where m ≤ 4) was prepared using a pulsed-laser deposition method. The resulting films exhibited an optical bandgap of 2.8-3.0 eV, and an n-type electric conductivity of 170-400 Scm−1 at room temperature, displaying a slight dependence on the value of m, in which the carrier density was 1019-1020 cm−3 the electron mobili ty was 12-20 cm2 V−1 s−1 showing no p n anomaly between Hall and Seebeck coefficients. The conductivity displayed no significant dependence on the temperature ranging from 10 to 300 K. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and extended X-ray absorption fine structure measurements confirmed that the films were amorphous phases. A combined use of bremsstrahlung isochromat spectroscopy and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that the conduction band tail had a large dispersion and that the Fermi level was located at the conduction band edge. The...

Amorphous transparent conductive oxide InGaO3(ZnO)m (m≤ 4): a Zn4s conductor

A natural superlattice homologous single crystal thin film, characterized in that it comprises a composite oxide which is represented by the formula M1M2O3(ZnO)m, wherein M1 is at least one of Ga, Fe, Sc, In, Lu, Yb, Tm, Er, Ho and Y, M2 is at least one of Mn, Fe, Ga, In and Al, and m is a natural number of 1 or more, and has been grown epitaxially on an epitaxial thin film formed on a single crystal substrate, or on said single crystal substrate from which said epitaxial thin film has disappeared, or on a ZnO single crystal; a method for preparing the natural superlattice thin film which comprises depositing the composite oxide, and diffusing the resultant laminated film by heating it. The natural superlattice homologous single crystal thin film is suitably used in an optical device, an electronic device, an X-ray optical device and the like.

Natural-superlattice homologous single crystal thin film, method for preparation thereof, and device using said single crystal thin film

The electronic structure of ${\mathrm{InGaZnO}}_{4},$ which has a layered structure with alternating laminated layers of ${\mathrm{InO}}_{2}$ and ${\mathrm{GaZnO}}_{2},$ was calculated in order to investigate the mechanism of electrical conductivity. In the crystal structure obtained through relaxation calculations using classical two-center potentials, the Ga ion in the ${\mathrm{GaZnO}}_{2}$ layer has pentagonal coordination forming a bipyramid with five oxygen ions, while the Zn ion in the same layer has tetrahedral coordination, losing a bond with the oxygen at the top of one pyramid. The molecular orbitals of model clusters for the relaxed structure, which were calculated by the discrete variational $X\ensuremath{\alpha}$ method using a model cluster, show strong two-dimensional structures. The electronic states at the edge of the conduction band are the result of overlapping between In $5s$ orbitals, and delocalize in the ${\mathrm{InO}}_{2}$ layer. The energy in the Ga $4s$ and Zn $4s$ states in the ${\mathrm{GaZnO}}_{2}$ layer was too large to be doped with electrons. The In $5s$ states are considered to be conduction paths for carrier electrons. A very high conductivity can be expected in the case where dopant ions are introduced into the ${\mathrm{GaZnO}}_{2}$ layers.

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Mechanism of electrical conductivity of transparent InGaZnO 4

Disclosed is a method of producing an LnCuOX single-crystal thin film (wherein Ln is at least one selected from the group consisting of lanthanide elements and yttrium, and X is at least one selected from the group consisting of S, Se and Te), which comprises the steps of growing a base thin film on a single-crystal substrate, depositing an amorphous or polycrystalline LnCuOX thin film on the base thin film to form a laminated film, and then annealing the laminated film at a high temperature of 500° C. or more. While a conventional LnCuOX film produced by growing an amorphous film through a sputtering process under appropriate conditions and then annealing the film at a high temperature was unexceptionally a polycrystalline substance incapable of achieving high emission efficiency and electron mobility required for a material of light-emitting devices or electronic devices, the method of the present invention can grow a thin film with excellent crystallinity suitable as a single crystal to an building black of light-emitting diodes, semiconductor leasers, filed-effect transistors, or a hetero-bipolar transistors.

LnCuO(S,Se,Te)monocrystalline thin film, its manufacturing method, and optical device or electronic device using the monocrystalline thin film

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.

Masahiro Orita

Papers

Amorphous transparent conductive oxide InGaO3(ZnO)m (m≤ 4): a Zn4s conductor

Natural-superlattice homologous single crystal thin film, method for preparation thereof, and device using said single crystal thin film

Mechanism of electrical conductivity of transparent InGaZnO 4

LnCuO(S,Se,Te)monocrystalline thin film, its manufacturing method, and optical device or electronic device using the monocrystalline thin film

Deep-ultraviolet transparent conductive β-Ga2O3 thin films