Photoelectric property change in half-dimensional (0.5D) semiconducting nanomaterials as a function of illumination light intensity and materials geometry has been systematically studied. Through two independent methods, conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) direct current-voltage acquisition and scanning kelvin probe microscopy (SKPM) surface potential mapping, photoelectric property of 0.5D ZnO nanomaterial has been characterized with exceptional behaviors compared with bulk/micro/one-dimensional (1D) nanomaterial. A new model by considering surface effect, quantum effect, and illumination effect has been successfully built, which could more accurately predict the photoelectric characteristics of 0.5D semiconducting nanomaterials. The findings reported in this study could potentially impact three-dimensional (3D) photoelectronics.
Keywords: 0.5D nanomaterials; AFM; SKPM; nanoconfinement; photoelectric property.