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Progress in Optical Characterization of Semiconductor Nanomaterials and Devices

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 May 2023) | Viewed by 4750

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
I3N, Departamento de Física, Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: physics; materials science; semiconductors; nanostructures; optics; ellipsometry; CL; TEM; LED; spintronics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Advanced optical characterization techniques are powerful contactless tools able to probe semiconductor (nano)material and device properties. When correlated to microscopy, spectroscopic techniques provide impressive results at the nanoscale, not only to the fundamental understanding of structural and optical properties of nanostructures, but also insight into device limitations. This Special Issue will cover the latest achievements and challenges of optical techniques in order to study semiconductor (nano)materials and devices.

Topics covered include but are not limited to:

  • Photoluminescence, ionoluminescence, spectroscopic ellipsometry, absorption, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman and surface/tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS, TERS), scanning near-field optical microscopy (nano-FTIR, nano-THz spectroscopy);
  • Cathodoluminescence, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy;
  • Photocurrent, electroluminescence, electron beam induced current;
  • III-N (InN, GaN, AlN), oxide (Ga2O3, NiO2, ZnO), III-V (GaAs, InP, InAs) semiconductors (nanowires, quantum dots, heterostructures), 2D materials (2D transition metal dichalcogenides, MXenes) and devices (solid-state emitters, photonics, plasmonics, spintronics, photovoltaics, transistors, thermoelectrics, batteries, supercapacitors, sensors applications);
  • Theory and simulation.

Dr. Nabiha Ben Sedrine
Guest Editor

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

  • optical properties
  • structural properties
  • luminescence
  • microscopy
  • semiconductors
  • nanomaterials
  • devices

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 4092 KiB  
Article
Green Synthesis of Pristine and Ag-Doped TiO2 and Investigation of Their Performance as Photoanodes in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
by Abdul Mohshen Sharif, Md. Ashrafuzzaman, Abul Kalam, Abdullah Godran Al-Sehemi, Pankaj Yadav, Brijesh Tripathi, Mrigendra Dubey and Gaohui Du
Materials 2023, 16(17), 5731; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16175731 - 22 Aug 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1490
Abstract
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have emerged as a potential candidate for third-generation thin film solar energy conversion systems because of their outstanding optoelectronic properties, cost-effectiveness, environmental friendliness, and easy manufacturing process. The electron transport layer is one of the most essential components in [...] Read more.
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have emerged as a potential candidate for third-generation thin film solar energy conversion systems because of their outstanding optoelectronic properties, cost-effectiveness, environmental friendliness, and easy manufacturing process. The electron transport layer is one of the most essential components in DSSCs since it plays a crucial role in the device’s greatest performance. Silver ions as a dopant have drawn attention in DSSC device applications because of their stability under ambient conditions, decreased charge recombination, increased efficient charge transfer, and optical, structural, and electrochemical properties. Because of these concepts, herein, we report the synthesis of pristine TiO2 using a novel green modified solvothermal simplistic method. Additionally, the prepared semiconductor nanomaterials, Ag-doped TiO2 with percentages of 1, 2, 3, and 4%, were used as photoanodes to enhance the device’s performance. The obtained nanomaterials were characterized using XRD, FTIR, FE-SEM, EDS, and UV–vis techniques. The average crystallite size for pristine TiO2 and Ag-doped TiO2 with percentages of 1, 2, 3, and 4% was found to be 13 nm by using the highest intensity peaks in the XRD spectra. The Ag-doped TiO2 nanomaterials exhibited excellent photovoltaic activity as compared to pristine TiO2. The incorporation of Ag could assist in successful charge transport and minimize the charge recombination process. The DSSCs showed a Jsc of 8.336 mA/cm2, a Voc of 698 mV, and an FF of 0.422 with a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 2.45% at a Ag concentration of 4% under illumination of 100 mW/cm2 power with N719 dye, indicating an important improvement when compared to 2% Ag-doped (PCE of 0.97%) and pristine TiO2 (PCE of 0.62%). Full article
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14 pages, 21007 KiB  
Article
Temperature-Dependent Photoluminescence of ZnO Thin Films Grown on Off-Axis SiC Substrates by APMOCVD
by Ivan Shtepliuk, Volodymyr Khranovskyy, Arsenii Ievtushenko and Rositsa Yakimova
Materials 2021, 14(4), 1035; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14041035 - 22 Feb 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2314
Abstract
The growth of high-quality ZnO layers with optical properties congruent to those of bulk ZnO is still a great challenge. Here, for the first time, we systematically study the morphology and optical properties of ZnO layers grown on SiC substrates with off-cut angles [...] Read more.
The growth of high-quality ZnO layers with optical properties congruent to those of bulk ZnO is still a great challenge. Here, for the first time, we systematically study the morphology and optical properties of ZnO layers grown on SiC substrates with off-cut angles ranging from 0° to 8° by using the atmospheric pressure meta–organic chemical vapor deposition (APMOCVD) technique. Morphology analysis revealed that the formation of the ZnO films on vicinal surfaces with small off-axis angles (1.4°–3.5°) follows the mixed growth mode: from one side, ZnO nucleation still occurs on wide (0001) terraces, but from another side, step-flow growth becomes more apparent with the off-cut angle increasing. We show for the first time that the off-cut angle of 8° provides conditions for step-flow growth of ZnO, resulting in highly improved growth morphology, respectively structural quality. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) measurements showed a strong dependence of the excitonic emission on the off-cut angle. The dependences of peak parameters for bound exciton and free exciton emissions on temperature were analyzed. The present results provide a correlation between the structural and optical properties of ZnO on vicinal surfaces and can be utilized for controllable ZnO heteroepitaxy on SiC toward device-quality ZnO epitaxial layers with potential applications in nano-optoelectronics. Full article
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