From single III-nitride nanowires to piezoelectric generators: New route for powering nomad electronics

Abstract

Ambient energy harvesting using piezoelectric nanomaterials is today considered as a promising way to supply microelectronic devices. Since the first demonstration of electrical energy generation from piezoelectric semiconductor nanowires in 2006, the piezoelectric response of 1D-nanostructures and the development of nanowire-based piezogenerators have become a hot topic in nanoscience. After several years of intense research on ZnO nanowires, III-nitride nanomaterials have started to be explored thanks to their high piezoelectric coefficients and their strong piezogeneration response. This review describes the present status of the field of piezoelectric energy generation with nitride nanowires. After presenting the main motivation and a general overview of the domain, a short description of the main properties of III-nitride nanomaterials is given. Then we review the piezoelectric responses of III-N nanowires and the specificities of the piezogeneration mechanism in these nanostructures. Finally, the design and performance of the macroscopic piezogenerators based on nitride nanowire arrays are described, showing the promise of III-nitride nanowires for ultra-compact and efficient piezoelectric generators.