Doctoral Dissertations

Keywords and Phrases

Cuprous Oxide; Electrodeposition; Epitaxy; Germanium; Gold; Thin Films

Abstract

"Single-crystal Si is the bedrock of semiconductor devices due to the high crystalline perfection which minimizes electron-hole recombination, and the dense native silicon oxide which minimizes surface states. To expand the palette of electronic materials beyond planar Si, an inexpensive source of highly ordered material is needed that can serve as an inert substrate for the epitaxial growth of grain boundary-free semiconductors, photonic materials, and superconductors. There is also a need for a simple, inexpensive, and scalable fabrication technique for the growth of semiconductor nanostructures and thin films. This dissertation focuses on the fabrication of semiconducting nanowires (polycrystalline Ge & epitaxial ZnO) and epitaxial thin films (Au & Cu₂O) using electrodeposition from an aqueous solution at ambient conditions as a simple benchtop process. Paper I describes a simple one-step electrodeposition of Ge nanowires on an indium-tin oxide substrate decorated with In nanoparticles. An In metal acts both as a catalyst for electrodeposition and as a solvent for recrystallization of the nanowires at ambient conditions. Ge nanowires are an attractive anode material for Li-ion batteries, due to their larger theoretical capacity compared to graphite. Paper II presents a scheme for epitaxial electrodeposition of ultrathin Au films on Si as an inexpensive proxy for single crystal Au for the electrodeposition of epitaxial Cu₂O thin films. A detailed study of the epitaxial growth, morphology, junction characteristics, and crystallinity is performed for both the Au and Cu₂O thin films. Paper III describes a technique for epitaxial lift-off of wafer-scale Au foils as transparent, single-crystal and flexible substrates for flexible electronics. The Au foils offer the order of traditional single-crystal semiconductors without the constraint of a rigid substrate. An organic light emitting diode is presented to evaluate the flexibility and transparency of Au foils. To study the single crystal nature of Au foil an epitaxial Cu₂O thin film inorganic diode with an improved diode quality factor is demonstrated"--Abstract, page iv.

Advisor(s)

Switzer, Jay A., 1950-

Committee Member(s)

O'Keefe, Matthew
Miller, F. Scott, 1956-
Moats, Michael S.
Winiarz, Jeffrey G.

Department(s)

Materials Science and Engineering

Degree Name

Ph. D. in Materials Science and Engineering

Sponsor(s)

United States Department of Energy Office of Basic Energy Sciences

Comments

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering, under Grant No. DE-FG02-08ER46518.

Publisher

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Publication Date

Summer 2018

Journal article titles appearing in thesis/dissertation

  • Electrodeposited germanium nanowires
  • Nanometer-thick gold on silicon as a proxy for single-crystal gold for the electrodeposition of epitaxial cuprous oxide thin films
  • Epitaxial lift-off of electrodeposited single-crystal gold foils for flexible electronics

Pagination

xii, 128 pages

Note about bibliography

Includes bibliographic references.

Rights

© 2018 Naveen Kumar Mahenderkar, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Thesis Number

T 11386

Electronic OCLC #

1051223135

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