Terahertz Spectroscopy of Semiconductor Nanowires
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Oxford
Department Name: Oxford Physics
Abstract
Nanostructures such as carbon nanotubes and ZnO nano-particles are already being used in commercialproducts such as tyres and sunscreens. However, despite progress in understanding the mechanical andoptical properties of nano-materials we are still at the dawn of the fields of nano-optoelectronics andnano-photonics. Advances in understanding the fundamental materials science of these nano-materials todaywill therefore have a major impact on a wide range of commercial products over the next 30 years. One of thedifficulties with developing nano-optoelectronic components is the complexity of measuring their electricalproperties. Traditionally, new materials and devices have been tested via electrical transport measurements.Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to make electrical contacts on a 30nm diameter nano-wire or anano-particle. Indeed even if the contacts are made it is then difficult to separate the properties of thenano-material from those of the contact. Additionally, such measurements are plagued by reproducibilityproblems. Thus there is a pressing need for techniques that can quickly and reliably extract the electricalproperties of nano-structured materials. The availability of such techniques would greatly accelerate thedevelopment of new materials and allow devices based on these materials to be brought to the market sooner.We propose to solve these problems by applying the technique of optical pump terahertz probe spectroscopy(OPTPS) to semiconductor nano-wires, and by developing refined models to extract the most importantdevice-specific electrical properties from the measured data. The knowledge we gain will help us develop newoptoelectronic devices based on semiconductor nano-wires.
Publications
Boland JL
(2015)
Modulation doping of GaAs/AlGaAs core-shell nanowires with effective defect passivation and high electron mobility.
in Nano letters
Castro-Camus E
(2012)
Simulation of fluence-dependent photocurrent in terahertz photoconductive receivers
in Semiconductor Science and Technology
Docherty C
(2012)
Terahertz Properties of Graphene
in Journal of Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves
Docherty C
(2014)
An ultrafast carbon nanotube terahertz polarisation modulator
in Journal of Applied Physics
Docherty CJ
(2012)
Extreme sensitivity of graphene photoconductivity to environmental gases.
in Nature communications
Docherty CJ
(2014)
Ultrafast transient terahertz conductivity of monolayer MoS2 and WSe2 grown by chemical vapor deposition.
in ACS nano
Headley C
(2011)
Improved Performance of GaAs-Based Terahertz Emitters via Surface Passivation and Silicon Nitride Encapsulation
in IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics
Joyce H
(2011)
III-V semiconductor nanowires for optoelectronic device applications
in Progress in Quantum Electronics
Joyce HJ
(2012)
Ultralow surface recombination velocity in InP nanowires probed by terahertz spectroscopy.
in Nano letters
Joyce HJ
(2013)
Electronic properties of GaAs, InAs and InP nanowires studied by terahertz spectroscopy.
in Nanotechnology
Joyce HJ
(2014)
Electron mobilities approaching bulk limits in "surface-free" GaAs nanowires.
in Nano letters
Klatt G
(2010)
Terahertz emission from lateral photo-Dember currents.
in Optics express
Parkinson P
(2012)
Noncontact Measurement of Charge Carrier Lifetime and Mobility in GaN Nanowires
in Nano Letters
Peng K
(2015)
Single nanowire photoconductive terahertz detectors.
in Nano letters
Stranks S
(2011)
Ultrafast Charge Separation at a Single-walled Carbon Nanotube - Polymer Interface
in MRS Proceedings
Stranks SD
(2011)
Ultrafast charge separation at a polymer-single-walled carbon nanotube molecular junction.
in Nano letters
Xu X
(2010)
Dynamic terahertz polarization in single-walled carbon nanotubes
in Physical Review B
Yong C
(2012)
Strong Carrier Lifetime Enhancement in GaAs Nanowires Coated with Semiconducting Polymer
in Nano Letters
Yong CK
(2012)
Ultrafast dynamics of exciton formation in semiconductor nanowires.
in Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)
Yong CK
(2013)
Direct observation of charge-carrier heating at WZ-ZB InP nanowire heterojunctions.
in Nano letters
| Description | We have developed a non-contact way of measuring the electrical properties of nano-scale semiconductors. |
| Exploitation Route | Quality control for semiconductor fabrication. Development of new functional nano materials. |
| Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Electronics,Energy |
| URL | https://www-thz.physics.ox.ac.uk/nanowires.html |
| Description | Impact Acceleration Account Technology Fund |
| Amount | £98,886 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/K503769/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2013 |
| End | 07/2015 |