Determination of carrier density of ZnO nanowires by electrochemical techniques

The carrier density of ZnO nanowires has been determined by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. A model taking into account the geometry of ZnO nanowires has been developed and the differences with the standard flat model, as curved Mott-Schottky plots, are discussed. The as-grown electrodeposited samples present a high donor density of 6.2x10(19) cm(-3), dramatically reduced by two orders of magnitude after an annealing in air at 450 degrees C during 1 h. The results show that the surface of the ZnO nanowires is active; therefore this system appears as a useful structure to support a functionalized nanostructured devices. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.