The paper is titled “Piezotronic effect in 1D van der Waals solid of elemental tellurium nanobelt for smart adaptive electronics”, and was published in Semiconductor Science and Technology (Semicond. Sci. Technol. 32 104004). Wu is an assistant professor of industrial engineering and the corresponding author of the paper. IE PhD student Shengjie Gao is the first author of the paper.

SUMMARY: The researchers report the first experimental exploration of piezotronic effect in 1D van der Waals solid of p-type tellurium nanobelt and systematically investigate the strain-gated charge carriers transport properties. The strain-induced polarization charges at the surfaces of Te nanobelt can modulate the electronic transport through the interfacial effect on the Schottky contacts and the volumetric effect on the conducting channel. The competing phenomenon between interfacial and volumetric effects has been studied for the first time in piezotronics. This research could lead to compelling opportunities for research from basic studies of piezoelectricity and semiconductor properties in functional nanomaterials to the development of 'smarter' electronics and optoelectronics.

Semiconductor Science and Technology (SST) is the Institute of Physics IOP's journal dedicated to semiconductor research. The journal has been publishing cutting-edge research on the physical properties of semiconductors and their applications since 1986. The IOP is a leading scientific society in the U.K. working to advance physics for the benefit of all.