ZnO nanowires based schottky contacts of Rh/ZnO interfaces for the enhanced performance of electronic devices

The surface/interface studies of semiconductor materials are of particular interest, having a significant impact on nanoscience and nanotechnology in the development of advanced nanoelectronic devices. In this research work, design and fabrication of ZnO nanowires (NWs) based Schottky contacts of metal/semiconductor (Rh/ZnO) interfaces for superior diode characteristics of electronic devices has been investigated. The morphological and structural investigation suggest that smart thermal CVD is a promising method for the synthesis of high-quality catalyst free ZnO NWs on n-type Si<100> substrate with 700–1300 nm in length and 35–45 nm in diameter. Successful fabrication of controlled growth of ZnO NWs with high crystallinity, smooth surface and growth along [002] direction was achieved. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirm the purity and chemical states of ZnO NWs. The electrical nature of the nanoscale contact between Rh and ZnO NW was measured using conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) at ultra-high vacuum. The fabricated Schottky contacts of Rh/ZnO interfaces show superior diode characteristics with good rectifying behavior, relatively small turn-on voltage (~ 0.99 eV) and good ideality factor (~ 1.95). This study develops a unique strategy for design and fabrication of ZnO NWs based Schottky contacts of Rh/ZnO interfaces for various future optoelectronic applications.