Size and Semiconducting Effects on the Piezoelectric Performances of ZnO Nanowires Grown onto Gravure-Printed Seed Layers on Flexible Substrates

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanogenerators have attracted increasing interest in the scientific community for use energy harvesting and mechanical sensing applications. Understanding interplay between piezoelectricity semiconductor physics is fundamental to enhancing these devices’ performances, although direct characterization at nanoscale challenging. With this work, we present a new strategy improve piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) measurements analysis. This was applied study piezoelectric performances of ZnO nanowires grown on seed layers deposited by gravure printing onto flexible substrates. We demonstrate influence nanowire diameter atomic microscope (AFM) tip position amplitude. also explain our results with simulations showing importance considering semiconducting properties