Piezotronic and Piezophototronic Effects

Owing to the polarization of ions in a crystal that has noncentral symmetry, a piezoelectric potential (piezopotential) is created in the material by applying a stress. The creation of piezopotential together with the presence of Schottky contacts are the fundamental physics responsible for a few important nanotechnologies. The nanogenerator is based on the piezopotential-driven transient flow of electrons in the external load. On the basis of nanomaterials in the wurtzite semiconductors, such as ZnO and GaN, electronics fabricated by using a piezopotential as a gate voltage are called piezotronics, with applications in strain/force/pressure-triggered/controlled electronic devices, sensors, and logic gates. The piezophototronic effect is a result of three-way coupling among piezoelectricity, photonic excitation, and semiconductor transport, which allows tuning and controlling of electro-optical processes by a strain-induced piezopotential. © 2010 American Chemical Society.