...................................................................................................................... iii CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND OF QUANTUM DOTS...................................................1 1.1 What Are Quantum Dots ................................................................................1 1.2 Fluorescence and Fluorescence Sensing......................................

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been directly grown onto a silicon microsystem by a local synthesis method. This method has potential for wafer-level complimentary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistor-compatible integration of CNTs into more complex Si microsystems; enabling, e.g., gas sensors at low cost. In this work, we demonstrate that the characteristics of CNTs grown on specific locat...

The synthesis of one-dimensional van der Waals heterostructures was realized recently, which opens up new possibilities for prospective applications in electronics and optoelectronics. even reduced dimension will enable novel properties further miniaturization beyond the capabilities its two-dimensional counterparts have revealed. natural doping results p-type electrical characteristics semicon...

Light-driven semiconductor-catalyzed oxidation reactions are of fundamental importance in photocatalysis and photoelectrocatalysis for removing organic contaminants in wastewater, solar energy conversion, and fine chemical synthesis. The underlying reaction mechanism is often unclear because it is difficult to measure directly and specifically the semiconductorcatalyzed reaction rates. For exam...

ZnO, Al-doped ZnO (AZO), and Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) semiconductor thin films were deposited on glass substrates via a sol-gel spin-coating process for application in a photoconductive ultraviolet (UV) detector. The doping concentrations of Al and Ga were 1.0 at % in the precursor solutions. In this study, the microstructural features and the optical and electrical properties of sol-gel-derived ZnO,...

For semiconductor technologies, achievement of their ultimate potential depends greatly upon the ability to fully harness and exploit their advanced properties, which in turn depends on understanding these properties and their limiters. As such, the detailed characterization and analysis of advanced semiconductor materials and structures is paramount for the elucidation of these fundamental str...

We report the synthesis and characterization of axial nanorod heterostructures composed of cadmium selenide (CdSe) and cadmium sulfide (CdS). The synthesis employs a solution-liquid-solid (SLS) mechanism with the assistance of bismuth nanocrystals adhered to a substrate (silicon or a III-V semiconductor). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and diffraction studies show that CdSe and CdS segm...

There are a variety of methods for synthesizing or fabricating one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures containing heterojunctions between different materials. Here we review recent developments in the synthesis and fabrication of heterojunctions formed between different materials within the same 1D nanostructure or between different 1D nanostructures composed of different materials. Structures cont...

In the current work, a novel combustion method is demonstrated for the direct synthesis of nanocomposite materials. Specifically doped tin dioxide (SnO2) powders were selected for the demonstration studies due to the key role SnO2 plays in semiconductor gas sensors and the strong sensitivity of doped SnO2 to nanocomposite properties. The synthesis approach combines solid and gas-phase precursor...