Properties of single crystal zinc oxide micro/nanobelt with resistance and length

The single crystal zinc oxide micro/nanobelt(MB/NB) is synthesized by the method of chemical vapor deposition, then it is fixed on a silicon wafer which is coated with a silicon oxide insulating layer by silver paste. The Pt coated conductive atomic force microscope(AFM) probe, which acted as one electrode, scanned the MB/NB surface, which also acted as the other electrode, in tapping mode to acquire I-V curves. The measured result reveals that the electrical resistance of the ZnO MB/NB is exponential to its length, and when the length reaches the cut off length, the resistance increases suddenly. The cut off length is 17.5 μm by the experimental measured, and the I-V curves near the cut off length are non-linear also. A planar conductive model about the flow of electrons in ZnO MB/NB are proposed, through the analysis of model draw the conclusion that the electrons tend to move within the dominant conductive plane and the anisotropic of single crystal ZnO MB/NB with lattice plane is the main reason which lead to the nonlinear relationship between resistance and length. The results fit the experimental measurement well. In addition, by doping Bi₂O₃ and Co₂O₃, the nonlinear relationship between the length and the resistance of the ZnO MB/NB may change.