Electrical Characteristics of Hybrid Nanoparticle–Nanowire Devices

Gold nanoparticles synthesized by a colloidal method were deposited in an Al₂O₃ dielectric layer of an omega-gated single ZnO nanowire FET. These gold nanoparticles were utilized as localized trap sites. The adsorption of the gold nanoparticles on an Al₂O₃-coated ZnO nanowire was confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. In this study, a hybrid nanoparticle-nanowire device was fabricated by conventional Si processing. Its electrical characteristics indicated that electrons in the conduction band of the ZnO nanowire can be transported to the localized trap sites by gold nanoparticles for gate voltages greater than 1 V, through the 10-nm-thick Al ₂O₃ tunneling oxide layer.