Physical model for the exotic ultraviolet photo-conductivity of ZnO nanowire films

Employing a simple and efficient method of electro-chemical anodization, ZnO nanowire films are fabricated on Zn foil, and an ultraviolet (UV) sensor prototype is formed for investigating the electronic transport through back-to-back double junctions. The UV (365 nm) responses of surface-contacted ZnO film are provided by I–V measurement, along with the current evolution process by on/off of UV illumination. In this paper, the back-to-back metal–seconductor–metal (M–S–M) model is used to explain the electronic transport of a ZnO nanowire film based structure. A thermionic-field electron emission mechanism is employed to fit and explain the as-observed UV sensitive electronic transport properties of ZnO film with surface-modulation by oxygen and water molecular coverage.