Reversible Conversion Between Schottky and Ohmic Contact of Zinc Oxide Microwire-Based Device

In this study, electromechanical responses of individual ZnO microwires were observed under optical microscopy. In situ electrical measurements and the mechanical manipulation of ZnO microwires were carried out using a homemade micro-manipulation system. Here, the energy barrier height is tuned by inducing piezoelectric polarization charges at the local metal-semiconductor interface when a mechanical deformation was applied to ZnO microwire. As a result, the metal-semiconductor local contact can be transformed from Schottky to Ohmic and vice versa. This work demonstrates a method for controlling the electrical properties of ZnO nanowires to achieve reversible tuning between the Schottky contact and Ohmic contact on one device, which could be potential in developing multifunctional and Ohmic/Schottky-based sensors, switches, rectifiers, and other functional electronic devices.