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Hamamatsu Corp. - Earth Innovations LB 2/24

Making electro-optical sense with Zinc Oxide

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Photonic applications using the II-VI semiconductor zinc oxide (ZnO) are becoming increasingly prevalent, and research into even more uses is exploding, with hundreds of labs looking into the material’s unique properties.

Lynn Savage, Features Editor, [email protected]

ZnO has many properties that make it attractive for optoelectronic applications. It has a bandgap of 3.37 eV – the same as gallium nitride (GaN) – and an excitation binding energy of about 60 meV. It is transparent under visible wavelengths of light yet opaque under ultraviolet, making it a great UV sensor material. And it offers both piezoelectric and pyroelectric characteristics. However, what is really attractive about ZnO compared with GaN and other semiconductors, such as cadmium selenide, is that it is environmentally benign. Semiconductor manufacturers are feeling increased...Read full article

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    Published: February 2010
    Glossary
    bandgap
    In semiconductor physics, the term bandgap refers to the energy range in a material where no electronic states are allowed. It represents the energy difference between the valence band, which is the highest range of energy levels occupied by electrons in their ground state, and the conduction band, which is the lowest range of unoccupied energy levels. The bandgap is a crucial parameter in understanding the electrical behavior of semiconductors and insulators. Here are the key components...
    chemical vapor deposition
    Chemical vapor deposition is a process of applying dopants to a glass bait by flame reactions of gaseous compounds. See also outside vapor-phase oxidation; inside vapor-phase oxidation.
    gallium nitride
    Gallium nitride (GaN) is a compound made up of gallium (Ga) and nitrogen (N). It is a wide-bandgap semiconductor material that exhibits unique electrical and optical properties. Gallium nitride is widely used in the production of various electronic and optoelectronic devices, including light-emitting diodes (LEDs), laser diodes, power electronics, and high-frequency communication devices. Key points about gallium nitride (GaN): Chemical composition: Gallium nitride is a binary compound...
    germanium
    A crystalline semiconductor material that transmits in the infrared.
    indium
    Metal used in components of the crystalline semiconductor alloys indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs), indium gallium arsenide phosphide (InGaAsP), and the binary semiconductor indium phosphide (InP). The first two are lattice-matched to InP as the light-emitting medium for lasers or light-emitting diodes in the 1.06- to 1.7-µm range, and the last are used as a substrate and cladding layer.
    optoelectronic
    Pertaining to a device that responds to optical power, emits or modifies optical radiation, or utilizes optical radiation for its internal operation. Any device that functions as an electrical-to-optical or optical-to-electrical transducer. Electro-optic often is used erroneously as a synonym.
    photoluminescence
    The state of optically excited luminescence. Luminescence refers to the light emitted by excited atoms or ions as they decay to lower energy levels.
    ultraviolet
    That invisible region of the spectrum just beyond the violet end of the visible region. Wavelengths range from 1 to 400 nm.
    aluminumbandgapBasic Sciencecadmium selenideCanadaCdSechemical vapor depositionChinacobaltCVDErbiumEric Prouzetexcitation binding energyFeaturesgallium nitrideGaNgermaniumII-VI semiconductorsImagingindiumironJeffery L. CofferKam Tong Leunglaser diodesLight SourcesLynn Savagemanganesemetallorganic CVDNanjing National Laboratory of MicrostructuresnanobeltsnanohelixesnanoringsNanorodsnanotubulesnanowiresnontoxic materialsoptical amplifiersoptoelectronicphotoluminescencephotonic applicationspiezoelectricpolypyrrolepulsed-laser depositionpyroelectricRohm Semiconductors USA LLCSensors & Detectorssubstratesynthesistemplate-based growthtetrapodTexas Christian Universitythermal evaporationultravioletUniversity of WaterlooUV sensorWei Zhongzinc oxideZnOLasersLEDs

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