Intrinsic non-ohmic electronic transport properties of the transparent In–Zn–O compound nanobelts under ohmic contact and out of the space charge limited transport region

Abstract

It is generally accepted that the nonlinear I-V characteristics for semiconductor nanostructures are mainly induced by the Schottky contacts or by the space charge limited transport mechanism. We perform I-V measurements on undoped and doped In-Zn-O compound nanobelts and confirm that their intrinsic non-ohmic transport behaviors are not caused by these mechanisms. A model based on the hopping assisted trap state electrons transport process is introduced to explain the nonlinear I-V characteristics and to extract their electrical parameters. An understanding of this trap-state influenced carrier transport can advance the progress of nanomaterials applications and enable us to distinguish their intrinsic transport behaviors from contact effects. The results also indicate that the material has good electrical properties and can be used as a potential substitute for In2O3.