Enhanced p-Type Conductivity of ZnTe Nanoribbons by Nitrogen Doping

Single-crystalline intrinsic and N-doped p-type ZnTe nanoribbons (NRs) were synthesized via the thermal evaporation method in argon-mixed hydrogen and nitrogen-mixed ammonia, respectively. Both intrinsic and doped ZnTe nanoribbons had zinc blende structure and uniform geometry. X-ray diffraction peaks of N-doped ZnTe nanoribbons had an obvious shift toward higher angle direction as compared with intrinsic ZnTe. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy detection confirmed that the dopant content of nitrogen in ZnTe nanoribbons was close to 1%. Field-effect transistors based on both intrinsic and N-doped ZnTe nanoribbons were constructed. Electrical measurements demonstrated that N-doping led to a substantial enhancement in p-type conductivity of ZnTe nanoribbons with a high hole mobility of 1.2 cm(-2) V-1 S-1 and a low resistivity of 0.14 Omega cm in contrast to the 6.2 x 10(-3) cm(-2) V-1 S-1 and 45.1 Omega cm for intrinsic nanoribbons. Moreover, the defect reaction mechanism was proposed to explain the p-type behaviors of both the intrinsic and the N-doped ZnTe nanoribbons.The ZnTe nanoribbons with enhanced p-type conductivity may have important potential applications in nanoelectronic and optoelectronic devices.