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Semiconductor Nanowire Devices and Applications
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Semiconductor Nanowire Devices and Applications

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2022) | Viewed by 14874

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Francesco Rossella

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Scuola di Ingegneria, Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, Informatiche e Matematiche, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, via Campi 213/a, 41125 Modena, Italy
Interests: III-V semiconductor nanowires; nanowire devices and applications; transport phenomena at the nanoscale; low dimensional nanomaterials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Giovanni Pennelli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione, Università di Pisa, Via Caruso 16, I-56122 Pisa, Italy
Interests: thermoelectric devices; silicon nanostructures for thermoelectricity; silicon nanowire devices
Prof. Dr. Antonio Polimeni

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Università di Roma, 00185 Roma, Italy
Interests: nanostructured materials (quantum dots, nanowires, 2D crystals); optical properties; hydrogen in semiconductors; optoelectronic devices

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This special issue of Materials focuses on semiconductor nanowires, hosting a manuscripts collection on different aspects of nanowire physics and technology.

The unique properties of nanowires, including large aspect ratio and surface area, strain relaxation allowing for uncharted material combinations, crystal phase engineering and facile quantum confinement, make these nanomaterials of rising interests for applications.

Semiconductor nanowires bear in fact enormous potential as building blocks for next generation devices in different fields including electronics, optoelectronics, energy harvesting and sensing at the nanoscale.
Nanowire researchers are invited to contribute with original research paper as well as review-style articles on technological and scientific aspects - both experimental and theoretical - of semiconductor nanowires.
Main topics include:

nanowire synthesis and growth modeling;
advanced microscopies/spectroscopies;
study of structure-properties relation;

phonon engineering;
electronic and optoelectronic devices;

gated devices based on nanowires;

transport phenomena;
sensing and chem-FETs.

Dr. Francesco Rossella
Prof. Giovanni Pennelli
Prof. Antonio Polimeni
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Nanowire synthesis
  • Nanowire Growth modeling
  • Advanced spectroscopy and microscopy techniques
  • Structure-properties relation
  • Phonon engineering
  • Nanowire electronics and optoelectronics
  • gated devices based on nanowires
  • sensing applications
  • nanowire chem-FETs
  • nanowire-based hybrid systems

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 2256 KiB  
Article
Selective-Area Epitaxy of InGaAsP Buffer Multilayer for In-Plane InAs Nanowire Integration
by Valentina Zannier, Ang Li, Francesca Rossi, Sachin Yadav, Karl Petersson and Lucia Sorba
Materials 2022, 15(7), 2543; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15072543 - 30 Mar 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1601
Abstract
In order to use III–V compound semiconductors as active channel materials in advanced electronic and quantum devices, it is important to achieve a good epitaxial growth on silicon substrates. As a first step toward this, we report on the selective-area growth of GaP/InGaP/InP/InAsP [...] Read more.
In order to use III–V compound semiconductors as active channel materials in advanced electronic and quantum devices, it is important to achieve a good epitaxial growth on silicon substrates. As a first step toward this, we report on the selective-area growth of GaP/InGaP/InP/InAsP buffer layer nanotemplates on GaP substrates which are closely lattice-matched to silicon, suitable for the integration of in-plane InAs nanowires. Scanning electron microscopy reveals a perfect surface selectivity and uniform layer growth inside 150 and 200 nm large SiO2 mask openings. Compositional and structural characterization of the optimized structure performed by transmission electron microscopy shows the evolution of the major facet planes and allows a strain distribution analysis. Chemically uniform layers with well-defined heterointerfaces are obtained, and the topmost InAs layer is free from any dislocation. Our study demonstrates that a growth sequence of thin layers with progressively increasing lattice parameters is effective to efficiently relax the strain and eventually obtain high quality in-plane InAs nanowires on large lattice-mismatched substrates. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Semiconductor Nanowire Devices and Applications)
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14 pages, 6078 KiB  
Article
Silicon Nanowires: A Breakthrough for Thermoelectric Applications
by Giovanni Pennelli, Elisabetta Dimaggio and Antonella Masci
Materials 2021, 14(18), 5305; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14185305 - 14 Sep 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2776
Abstract
The potentialities of silicon as a starting material for electronic devices are well known and largely exploited, driving the worldwide spreading of integrated circuits. When nanostructured, silicon is also an excellent material for thermoelectric applications, and hence it could give a significant contribution [...] Read more.
The potentialities of silicon as a starting material for electronic devices are well known and largely exploited, driving the worldwide spreading of integrated circuits. When nanostructured, silicon is also an excellent material for thermoelectric applications, and hence it could give a significant contribution in the fundamental fields of energy micro-harvesting (scavenging) and macro-harvesting. On the basis of recently published experimental works, we show that the power factor of silicon is very high in a large temperature range (from room temperature up to 900 K). Combining the high power factor with the reduced thermal conductivity of monocrystalline silicon nanowires and nanostructures, we show that the foreseen figure of merit ZT could be very high, reaching values well above 1 at temperatures around 900 K. We report the best parameters to optimize the thermoelectric properties of silicon nanostructures, in terms of doping concentration and nanowire diameter. At the end, we report some technological processes and solutions for the fabrication of macroscopic thermoelectric devices, based on large numbers of silicon nanowire/nanostructures, showing some fabricated demonstrators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Semiconductor Nanowire Devices and Applications)
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10 pages, 3645 KiB  
Article
Mesoporous Silica-Coated Upconverting Nanorods for Singlet Oxygen Generation: Synthesis and Performance
by Zhen Zhang, Xiao-Lian Zhang and Bin Li
Materials 2021, 14(13), 3660; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14133660 - 30 Jun 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1692
Abstract
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been reported as a possible pathway for the treatment of tumors. The exploration for promising PDT systems thus attracts continuous research efforts. This work focused on an ordered core–shell structure encapsulated by mesoporous SiO2 with the upconverting emission [...] Read more.
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been reported as a possible pathway for the treatment of tumors. The exploration for promising PDT systems thus attracts continuous research efforts. This work focused on an ordered core–shell structure encapsulated by mesoporous SiO2 with the upconverting emission property following a surfactant-assisted sol–gel technique. The mesoporous silica shell possessed a high surface area-to-volume ratio and uniform distribution in pore size, favoring photosensitizer (rose bengal) loading. Simultaneously, upconverting nanocrystals were synthesized and used as the core. After modification via hydrophobic silica, the hydrophobic upconverting nanocrystals became hydrophilic ones. Under near-infrared (NIR) light irradiation, the nanomaterials exhibited strong green upconverting luminescence so that rose bengal could be excited to produce singlet oxygen. The photodynamic therapy (PDT) feature was evaluated using a 1O2 fluorescent indicator. It was found that this core–shell structure generates 1O2 efficiently. The novelty of this core–shell structure was the combination of upconverting nanocrystals with a mesoporous SiO2 shell so that photosensitizer rose bengal could be effectively adsorbed in the SiO2 shell and then excited by the upconverting core. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Semiconductor Nanowire Devices and Applications)
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11 pages, 3095 KiB  
Article
Strong Modulations of Optical Reflectance in Tapered Core–Shell Nanowires
by Francesco Floris, Lucia Fornasari, Vittorio Bellani, Andrea Marini, Francesco Banfi, Franco Marabelli, Fabio Beltram, Daniele Ercolani, Sergio Battiato, Lucia Sorba and Francesco Rossella
Materials 2019, 12(21), 3572; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12213572 - 31 Oct 2019
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2913
Abstract
Random assemblies of vertically aligned core–shell GaAs–AlGaAs nanowires displayed an optical response dominated by strong oscillations of the reflected light as a function of the incident angle. In particular, angle-resolved specular reflectance measurements showed the occurrence of periodic modulations in the polarization-resolved spectra [...] Read more.
Random assemblies of vertically aligned core–shell GaAs–AlGaAs nanowires displayed an optical response dominated by strong oscillations of the reflected light as a function of the incident angle. In particular, angle-resolved specular reflectance measurements showed the occurrence of periodic modulations in the polarization-resolved spectra of reflected light for a surprisingly wide range of incident angles. Numerical simulations allowed for identifying the geometrical features of the core–shell nanowires leading to the observed oscillatory effects in terms of core and shell thickness as well as the tapering of the nanostructure. The present results indicate that randomly displaced ensembles of nanoscale heterostructures made of III–V semiconductors can operate as optical metamirrors, with potential for sensing applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Semiconductor Nanowire Devices and Applications)
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9 pages, 1567 KiB  
Article
3D Multi-Branched SnO2 Semiconductor Nanostructures as Optical Waveguides
by Francesco Rossella, Vittorio Bellani, Matteo Tommasini, Ugo Gianazza, Elisabetta Comini and Caterina Soldano
Materials 2019, 12(19), 3148; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12193148 - 26 Sep 2019
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2522
Abstract
Nanostructures with complex geometry have gathered interest recently due to some unusual and exotic properties associated with both their shape and material. 3D multi-branched SnO2 one-dimensional nanostructrures, characterized by a “node”—i.e., the location where two or more branches originate, are the ideal [...] Read more.
Nanostructures with complex geometry have gathered interest recently due to some unusual and exotic properties associated with both their shape and material. 3D multi-branched SnO2 one-dimensional nanostructrures, characterized by a “node”—i.e., the location where two or more branches originate, are the ideal platform to distribute signals of different natures. In this work, we study how this particular geometrical configuration affects light propagation when a light source (i.e., laser) is focused onto it. Combining scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical analysis along with Raman and Rayleigh scattering upon illumination, we were able to understand, in more detail, the mechanism behind the light-coupling occurring at the node. Our experimental findings show that multi-branched semiconductor 1D structures have great potential as optically active nanostructures with waveguiding properties, thus paving the way for their application as novel building blocks for optical communication networks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Semiconductor Nanowire Devices and Applications)
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11 pages, 23670 KiB  
Article
Electrochemical Nanolithography on Silicon: An Easy and Scalable Method to Control Pore Formation at the Nanoscale
by Elisa Pinna, Mehran Mehrabanian, Eugenio Redolfi Riva, Eleonora Cara, Giulia Aprile, Luca Boarino and Guido Mula
Materials 2019, 12(18), 2891; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12182891 - 07 Sep 2019
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2166
Abstract
Lithography on a sub-100 nm scale is beyond the diffraction limits of standard optical lithography but is nonetheless a key step in many modern technological applications. At this length scale, there are several possible approaches that require either the preliminary surface deposition of [...] Read more.
Lithography on a sub-100 nm scale is beyond the diffraction limits of standard optical lithography but is nonetheless a key step in many modern technological applications. At this length scale, there are several possible approaches that require either the preliminary surface deposition of materials or the use of expensive and time-consuming techniques. In our approach, we demonstrate a simple process, easily scalable to large surfaces, where the surface patterning that controls pore formation on highly doped silicon wafers is obtained by an electrochemical process. This method joins the advantages of the low cost of an electrochemical approach with its immediate scalability to large wafers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Semiconductor Nanowire Devices and Applications)
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