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Quantum wells and electrical contacts at polar oxide surfaces

极性氧化物表面的量子阱和电接触

基本信息

批准号：
EP/G067422/1
负责人：
Roger Bennett
金额：
$ 16.18万
依托单位：
University of Reading
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2009
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2009 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FG067422%2F1
关键词：
Quantum wells electrical contacts polar

项目摘要

Modern technologies rely on the ability to grow or fabricate materials of ever decreasing size such that devices and structures built up from them can operate faster and more efficiently. However, as these materials are reduced in size there comes a point where their properties change from what is commonly observed for bulk materials to a new behaviour that depends on the size of the structure in a particular direction. In this project we will investigate how very thin metal films grow on a crystal of another material. This other material is zinc oxide and is commonly used as a white pigment in paper or as an antiseptic in would dressings but it has some rather special properties. It can be made to be electrically conducting yet transparent so is useful for display technologies and solar panels; it can be made to emit laser light at high energy and also tends to grow in to very long thin wires which makes it useful as a gas sensor. All of these applications require an electrical contact to be made to the surface of the zinc oxide. Making such a contact is not generally easy as most metals do not wet oxide surfaces and tend to roll up into little balls (like water on an oily surface). However, zinc oxide is unusual as a combination of crystal structure (how the atoms are arranged in the crystal) and the charge on each atom leads to the formation of two surfaces on opposite sides of the crystal upon which metals do tend to wet (ie they spread out very thinly like oil on water). This unusual property means it is easy to grow very large but very thin metal layers, so thin in fact that their properties depend directly on their thickness. By controlling the thickness we can tune the properties of the film and effect electrical conduction, magnetic properties of the metal and chemical reactivity of the metal. In this project we will discover why metals spread out on these sort of surfaces and how to tune their properties so we can make useful devices and catalysts in the future which speed up devices, reduce our energy consumption or enable us to manufacture low carbon, efficient fuels and chemicals.

现代技术依赖于生长或制造尺寸不断减小的材料的能力，使得由它们构建的设备和结构可以更快，更有效地运行。然而，随着这些材料的尺寸减小，它们的性质从通常观察到的块状材料的性质改变为取决于特定方向上的结构尺寸的新行为。在这个项目中，我们将研究非常薄的金属薄膜如何在另一种材料的晶体上生长。另一种材料是氧化锌，通常用作纸张中的白色颜料或敷料中的防腐剂，但它有一些相当特殊的性能。它可以被制成导电但透明的，因此可用于显示技术和太阳能电池板;它可以发射高能量的激光，也倾向于生长成非常长的细线，这使得它可用作气体传感器。所有这些应用都需要与氧化锌表面形成电接触。进行这种接触通常并不容易，因为大多数金属不会润湿氧化物表面，并且倾向于卷成小球（就像水在油性表面上一样）。然而，氧化锌是不寻常的，因为晶体结构（原子在晶体中的排列方式）和每个原子上的电荷的组合导致在晶体的相对侧形成两个表面，金属在晶体上倾向于润湿（即它们像水上的油一样非常薄）。这种不寻常的特性意味着很容易生长出非常大但非常薄的金属层，事实上，它们的特性直接取决于它们的厚度。通过控制厚度，我们可以调节膜的性质并影响金属的导电性、磁性和金属的化学反应性。在这个项目中，我们将发现为什么金属会在这些表面上扩散，以及如何调整它们的特性，以便我们在未来制造有用的设备和催化剂，从而加快设备的速度，减少能源消耗，或使我们能够制造低碳，高效的燃料和化学品。