Synthesis, characterization and opto-electrical properties of ternary Zn₂SnO₄ nanowires

Ternary oxides have the potential to display better electrical and optical properties than the commonly fabricated binary oxides. In our experiments, Zn₂SnO₄ (ZTO) nanowires were synthesized via thermal evaporation and vapor phase transport. The opto-electrical performance of the nanowires was investigated. An individual ZTO nanowire field-effect transistor was successfully fabricated for the first time and shows an on-off ratio of 10⁴ and transconductance of 20.6 nS, which demonstrates the promising electronic performance of ZTO nanowire in an electrical device. Field emission experiments on ZTO nanowire film also indicate their potential application as a field emission electron source.