Nanocrystals (NCs) discussed in this Review are tiny crystals of metals, semiconductors, and magnetic material consisting of hundreds to a few thousand atoms each. Their size ranges from 2-3 to about 20 nm. What is special about this size regime that placed NCs among the hottest research topics of the last decades? The quantum mechanical coupling * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: dvtalapin@uchicago.edu. † The University of Chicago. ‡ Argonne National Lab. Chem. Rev. 2010, 110, 389–458 389

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Prospects of Colloidal Nanocrystals for Electronic and Optoelectronic Applications

All existing transistors are based on the use of semiconductor junctions formed by introducing dopant atoms into the semiconductor material. As the distance between junctions in modern devices drops below 10 nm, extraordinarily high doping concentration gradients become necessary. Because of the laws of diffusion and the statistical nature of the distribution of the doping atoms, such junctions represent an increasingly difficult challenge for the semiconductor industry. Here, we propose and demonstrate a new type of transistor in which there are no junctions and no doping concentration gradients. These devices have full CMOS functionality and are made using silicon nanowires. They have near-ideal subthreshold slope, extremely low leakage currents, and less degradation of mobility with gate voltage and temperature than classical transistors.

Nanowire transistors without junctions

Semiconductor nanowires represent an important class of nanostructure building block for photovoltaics as well as direct solar-to-fuel application because of their high surface area, tunable bandgap and efficient charge transport and collection. In this talk, I will highlight several recent examples in this lab using semiconductor nanowires and their heterostructures for the purpose of solar energy harvesting. In addition, we have also discovered that the thermoconductivity of the silicon nanowires can be significantly reduced due to phonon scattering, pointing to a very promising approach to design better thermoelectrical materials. It is important to note that the engines that generate most of the world's power typically operate at only 30–40 per cent efficiency, releasing roughly 15 terawatts of heat to the environment. If this “wasted heat” could be recycled, the impact globally would be enormous. Our silicon nanowire thermoelectric technology could have a significant impact in alternative energy generation.

Semiconductor nanowires for energy conversion.

Theoretical models of Schottky-barrier height formation are reviewed. A particular emphasis is placed on the examination of how these models agree with general physical principles. New concepts on the relationship between interface dipole and chemical bond formation are analyzed, and shown to offer a coherent explanation of a wide range of experimental data.

Recent advances in Schottky barrier concepts

Semiconducting quantum dots, whose particle sizes are in the nanometer range, have very unusual properties. The quantum dots have band gaps that depend in a complicated fashion upon a number of factors, described in the article. Processing-structure-properties-performance relationships are reviewed for compound semiconducting quantum dots. Various methods for synthesizing these quantum dots are discussed, as well as their resulting properties. Quantum states and confinement of their excitons may shift their optical absorption and emission energies. Such effects are important for tuning their luminescence stimulated by photons (photoluminescence) or electric field (electroluminescence). In this article, decoupling of quantum effects on excitation and emission are described, along with the use of quantum dots as sensitizers in phosphors. In addition, we reviewed the multimodal applications of quantum dots, including in electroluminescence device, solar cell and biological imaging.

https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/3/4/2260/pdf

Quantum Dots and Their Multimodal Applications: A Review

We report a hybrid photovoltaic cell where PbSe nanocrystals were used to sensitize the conjugated polymer into the infrared. The device exhibited an incident monochromatic photon to current conversion efficiency of 1.3% at λ=805nm. Under 1 sun AM 1.5 illumination, the infrared response (780nm<λ<1600nm) of the embedded nanocrystals contributes to 33% of the overall photocurrent of the photovoltaic cell. The observed intensity dependences of the photocurrents have revealed the pseudomonomolecular recombination kinetics in the nanocrystal quantum dot polymer composite, indicating that the efficiency of the hybrid photovoltaic cells can be enhanced by reducing the potential barriers due to the ligand molecules at the surfaces of nanocrystals.

Harvest of near infrared light in PbSe nanocrystal-polymer hybrid photovoltaic cells

Abnormal rectifying behavior has been observed in molybdenum/silicon Schottky barrier diodes produced by ion‐beam sputter deposition of Mo on single‐crystal Si. Rectifying, rather than ohmic contacts are obtained on p‐type Si, while ohmic behavior is seen on n‐type Si. These results are contrary to the usual results reported in the literature, and are shown to be caused by ion‐beam surface damage of Si. The damage does not simply cause a surface layer of high‐recombination velocity, but rather tends to bend the Si band edges downwards, irrespective of the Si conductivity type.

Effect of ion‐beam sputter damage on Schottky barrier formation in silicon

A gated microelectronic device is provided that has a source with a source ohmic contact with the source characterized by a source dopant type and concentration. A drain with a drain ohmic contact with the drain characterized by a drain dopant type and concentration. An intermediate channel portion characterized by a channel portion dopant type and concentration. An insulative dielectric is in contact with the channel portion and overlaid in turn by a gate. A gate contact applies a gate voltage bias to control charge carrier accumulation and depletion in the underlying channel portion. This channel portion has a dimension normal to the gate which is fully depleted in the off-state. The dopant type is the same across the source, drain and the channel portion of the device. The device on-state current is determined by the doping and, unlike a MOSFET, is not directly proportional to device capacitance.

Accumulation field effect microelectronic device and process for the formation thereof

The ability to activate large concentrations of boron at lower temperatures is a persistent contingency in the continual drive for device scaling in Si microelectronics. We report on our experimental observations offering evidence for enhancement of electrical activation of implanted boron dopant in the presence of atomic hydrogen in silicon. This increased electrical activity of boron at lower anneal temperature is attributed to the creation of vacancies in the boron-implanted region, lattice-relaxation caused by the presence of atomic hydrogen, and the effect of atomic hydrogen on boron-interstitial cluster formation.

Hydrogen plasma enhancement of boron activation in shallow junctions

Low temperature charge transport in vanadium oxide (VOx) thin films processed using pulsed dc sputtering is investigated to understand the correlation between the processing conditions and electrical properties. It is identified that the temperature dependent resistivity ρ(T) of the VOx thin films is dominated by a Efros–Shklovskii variable range hopping mechanism [Efros and Shklovskii, J. Phys. C 8, L49 (1975)]. A detailed analysis in terms of charge hopping parameters in the low temperature regime is used to correlate film properties with the pulsed dc sputtering conditions.

S. Ashok

Papers

Harvest of near infrared light in PbSe nanocrystal-polymer hybrid photovoltaic cells

Effect of ion‐beam sputter damage on Schottky barrier formation in silicon

Accumulation field effect microelectronic device and process for the formation thereof

Hydrogen plasma enhancement of boron activation in shallow junctions

Low temperature charge carrier hopping transport mechanism in vanadium oxide thin films grown using pulsed dc sputtering