Electrical properties of nanoscale heterojunctions formed between GaN and ZnO nanorods

Vertical periodic arrays of ZnO nanorods are prepared by hydrothermal growth on GaN templates patterned by focused ion beam. Electro-physical properties of a single vertically-oriented ZnO nanorod are investigated by measuring the current-voltage characteristics using a nanoprobe in a scanning electron microscope. This technique enables to observe the surface morphology of ZnO nanorods simultaneously with their electrical characterization in vacuum. The vacuum chamber rejects the impact of gas adsorption and light irradiation, which both affect the properties of ZnO nanorods. Moreover, mechanical damage and strain induced during the nanorod transfer are eliminated. Nonlinear current-voltage characteristics under the forward bias are explained by the tunneling-recombination process and by the space charge limited current. The high reverse bias current in the p-n heterojunction is attributed to direct tunneling via a narrow tunnel barrie