Wurtzite structures, such as ZnO, GaN, InN and CdS, are piezoelectric semiconductor materials. A piezopotential is formed in the crystal by the piezoelectric charges created by applying a stress. The inner-crystal piezopotential can effectively tune/control the carrier separations and transport processes at the vicinity of a p–n junction or metal–semiconductor contact, which is called the piezo...

The mechanical-electrical coupling properties of piezoelectric semiconductors endow these materials with novel device applications in microelectromechanical systems, sensors, human-computer interfaces, etc. When an applied strain is exerted on a piezoelectric semiconductor, piezoelectric charges are generated at the surface or interface of the semiconductor, which can be utilized to control the...

Semiconductor nanowires (NWs) have been researched as the building blocks for various nanosensors and devices, such as strain sensors, [ 1,2 ] photodetectors, [ 3 ] biosensors, [ 4 ] and gas sensors. [ 5 ] In recent years, wurtzite semiconductor NWs, such as ZnO, have been extensively investigated due to their piezoelectric properties. [ 6 ] With metal-semiconductor Schottky junctions, the elec...

Recently, the strain state of a piezoelectric electrode has been found to impact the electrochemical activity taking place between the piezoelectric material and its solution environment. This effect, dubbed piezocatalysis, is prominent in piezoelectric materials because the strain state and electronic state of these materials are strongly coupled. Herein we develop a general theoretical analys...

Due to the enhanced piezoelectric properties, excellent mechanical properties and tunable electric properties, one-dimensional (1D) piezoelectric materials have shown their promising applications in nanogenerators (NG), sensors, actuators, electronic devices etc. To present a clear view about 1D piezoelectric materials, this review mainly focuses on the characterization and optimization of the ...

The method to obtain electrical equivalent models of piezoelectric materials used in energy harvesting road traffic environment is presented in this paper. The experimental results are processed in order to determine the optimal topological structure and technology of the semiconductor elements used in the input stage of the power harvesting system. The non regulated power supply model under va...

Using a two-end bonded ZnO piezoelectric-fine-wire (PFW) (nanowire, microwire) on a flexible polymer substrate, the strain-induced change in I-V transport characteristic from symmetric to diode-type has been observed. This phenomenon is attributed to the asymmetric change in Schottky-barrier heights at both source and drain electrodes as caused by the strain-induced piezoelectric potential-drop...

In this letter, we examine the potential of a functional device that can have good transistor and stress sensor properties. The device examined is based on the use of a thin oxide with high piezoelectric coefficients under the gate region. Channel charge and current are controlled by gate voltage or by stress. We examine the performance of two classes of heterostructures that are important semi...