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Piezotronics
Article By:
Wang, Zhong Lin School of Material Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia.
Last reviewed:2012
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB120330
Because of the polarization of ions in a crystal that has noncentral symmetry, a piezoelectric potential (piezopotential) is created in the crystal by applying a stress. For materials such as zinc oxide (ZnO), gallium nitride (GaN), and indium nitride (InN) in the wurtzite-structure family, the effect of piezopotential to the transport behavior of charge carriers is significant because of their multiple functionalities of piezoelectricity, semiconductor, and photon excitation. By using the advantages offered by these properties, a few new fields have been created. Electronics fabricated by using inner-crystal piezopotential as a “gate” voltage to tune (control) the charge transport behavior is named piezotronics, with applications in strain/force/pressure triggered (controlled) electronic devices, sensors, and logic units.
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