Piezophototronic Effect Modulated Multilevel Current Amplification from Highly Transparent and Flexible Device Based on Zinc Oxide Thin Film

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Vol. 14; no. 52; pp. e1804016 - n/a
• Main Authors: Kumar, Mohit, Kim, Hong‐Sik, Lee, Gyeong‐Nam, Lim, Donggun, Kim, Joondong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.12.2018
• Subjects: amplification; Compressive properties; Dark current; flexible; Nanotechnology; Nanowires; Optoelectronic devices; Photoelectric effect; Photoelectric emission; Photovoltaic cells; piezophototronic; Planar structures; Polyethylene terephthalate; Silver; Smart materials; Smartphones; strain; Thin films; transparent; Zinc oxide; Zinc oxides; strain; amplification; piezophototronic; flexible; transparent
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.201804016

In this work, a strain modulated highly transparent and flexible ZnO/Ag‐nanowires/polyethylene terephthalate optoelectronic device is developed. By utilizing the applied external strain‐induced piezophototronic effects of a ZnO thin film, a UV‐generated photocurrent is tuned in a wide range starting from 0.01 to 85.07 µA and it is presented in a comprehensive map. Particularly, the performance of the device is effectively enhanced 7733 times by compressive strain, as compared to its dark current in a strain‐free state. The observed results are explained quantitatively based on the modulation of oxygen desorption/absorption on the ZnO surface under the influence of applied strains. The presented simple optoelectronic device can be easily integrated into existing planar structures, with potential applications in highly transparent smart windows, wearable electronics, smartphones, security communication, and so on. Strain modulated multilevel photocurrent amplification from 0.01 to 85.07 µA is achieved from a flexible and highly transparent ZnO/Ag nanowires/polyethylene terephthalate optoelectronic device. By utilizing the piezophototronic effects of the ZnO thin film, the performance of the device is effectively enhanced 7733 times by compressive strain, as compared to its dark current in a strain free state.