Photoelastic effect in ZnO nanorods

Abstract

A novel phenomenon called the photoelastic effect had been observed in ZnO nanorods, along with a number of intriguing anomalies. With increasing excitation power, it was found that the A 1 (LO) phonon exhibited a red-shift in frequency, on top of a blue-shift in the photoluminescence (PL) peak energy. In addition, the temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectra behaved quite differently under high and low excitation power. All our results can be accounted for by the photoelastic effect, in which the built-in surface electric field was screened by photoexcited electrons and holes. Through the converse piezoelectric effect, the internal strain was therefore altered. Our results make possible a new thrust for manipulating the physical properties of ZnO nanorods, and should prove very useful in the application of optoelectric devices.

Significant Enhancement in the Conductivity of Al-Doped Zinc Oxide thin Films for TCO Application

“…It has wide and direct band gap (3.37 eV), [13][14][15] and its large exciton binding energy (60 meV). [16][17][18][19] Hence, it has potential application as n-and p-type window layers in organic solar cells due to their excellent physical properties. 5,6 Organic solar cells have attracted much attention because of their low cost and high e±ciency.…”

Topological Aspects of Boron Nanotubes

“…Furthermore, boron nanomaterials also have some better properties compared to carbon nanomaterials such as excessive resistance to oxidation at high temperatures and great chemical stability and are stable broad band-gap semiconductor [24,25]. Due to these properties, boron nanomaterials may have great applications at high temperatures or in corrosive environments functioning as supercapacitors, solid lubricants, fuel cells, and batteries [26]. Moreover, the extensive range of boron nanomaterials themselves could be the building blocks for combining with other existing nanomaterials to design and create materials with new properties.…”

Size-dependent photoelastic effect in ZnO nanorods

“…[1][2][3][4][5] Additionally, due to a large surface to volume ratio of the inherent nature of nanostructures, ZnO nanorods have been found to exhibit several intriguing phenomena, such as high sensitivity and fast response for the detection of gas molecules 6 and an interesting behavior called photoelastic effect. 7 The photoelastic effect is defined as an external electromagnetic wave capable of producing a change in the internal strain of a material. 8 It is known that ZnO is a good piezoelectric material, 1 in which an electric field can induce a strain and vice versa.…”

“…Therefore, an incident light beam is able to induce a change in the internal strain, which leads to the so-called photoelastic effect. 7,8 In this paper, we further explore the characteristic of this interesting property by studying its size dependence in ZnO nanorods. It is found that with decreasing diameter of ZnO nanorods, the magnitude of photoelastic effect increases.…”