Scalable network electrical devices using ZnO nanowalls

We report the fabrication and electrical characteristics of scalable nanowall network devices and their gas sensor applications. For the network device fabrications, two-dimensional ZnO nanowall networks were grown on AlN/Si substrates with a patterned SiO₂ mask layer using selective-area metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy. The ZnO nanowalls with c-axis orientation were heteroepitaxially grown on AlN/Si substrates, and were single-crystalline, as determined by x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The electrical conductivity of the nanowall networks was measured as a function of nanowall dimensions. The conductance increased linearly with the channel width for widths larger than 1 μm, but saturated at 36 μS for widths below 1 μm. This conductance scaling behavior is explained by enhanced conduction through the regions near the edge of the patterned growth areas, where the density of the networks was higher. Gas sensor applications were investigated using the nanowall network devices, and highly sensitive gas detection was demonstrated.