Aligned ZnO nanowires with different lengths (1 to approximately 4 μm) have been deposited on indium titanium oxide-coated glass substrates by using the solution phase deposition method for application as a work electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). From the results, the increases in length of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires can increase adsorption of the N3 dye through ZnO nanowires to improve the short-circuit photocurrent (Jsc) and open-circuit voltage (Voc), respectively. However, the Jsc and Voc values of DSSC with ZnO nanowires length of 4.0 μm (4.8 mA/cm2 and 0.58 V) are smaller than those of DSSC with ZnO nanowires length of 3.0 μm (5.6 mA/cm2 and 0.62 V). It could be due to the increased length of ZnO nanowires also resulted in a decrease in the transmittance of ZnO nanowires thus reducing the incident light intensity on the N3 dye. Optimum power conversion efficiency (η) of 1.49% was obtained in a DSSC with the ZnO nanowires length of 3 μm.

One-dimensional pure zinc oxide (ZnO) and Y-doped ZnO nanorod arrays have been successfully fabricated on the silicon substrate for comparison by a simple hydrothermal process at the low temperature of 90°C. The Y-doped nanorods exhibit the same c-axis-oriented wurtzite hexagonal structure as pure ZnO nanorods. Based on the results of photoluminescence, an enhancement of defect-induced green-yellow visible emission is observed for the Y-doped ZnO nanorods. The decrease of E₂(H) mode intensity and increase of E₁(LO) mode intensity examined by the Raman spectrum also indicate the increase of defects for the Y-doped ZnO nanorods. As compared to pure ZnO nanorods, Y-doped ZnO nanorods show a remarked increase of saturation magnetization. The combination of visible photoluminescence and ferromagnetism measurement results indicates the increase of oxygen defects due to the Y doping which plays a crucial role in the optical and magnetic performances of the ZnO nanorods.

The Zn_1−xLi_xO (x = 0, 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05) nanocrystalline films were synthesized on silicon (Si) substrates by using the sol-gel method. The crystal structure and surface morphology of these films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). We observed that the average grain size was gradually reduced with increasing doping Li content. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra show that increasing the Li content will deteriorate the crystalline quality and result in the decrease of ultraviolet emission from the excitonic recombination and the enhancement of visible emission from the recombination between the intrinsic defects. The current-voltage properties of Zn_1−xLi_xO nanocrystalline films were also studied under dark and photo-illumination for photo-detection applications. The normalized photo-to-dark-current ratio (I_photo − I_dark)/I_dark has been enhanced from 315 to 4161 by increasing the Li content of the Zn_1−xLi_xO nanocrystalline films from zero to 0.05.

Bi_0.8Pr_0.2Fe_0.95Mn_0.05O₃/Bi_3.96Gd_0.04Ti_2.95W_0.05O₁₂ (BPFMO/BGTWO) bilayer thin films with Multiferroic/Ferroelectric (MF/FE) structures were deposited onto Pt(111)/Ti/SiO₂/Si(100) substrates by using the sol-gel method with rapid thermal annealing. The BPFMO/BGTWO thin films exhibited well-saturated ferromagnetic and ferroelectric hysteresis loops because of the electro-magnetic coupling induced by the MF/FE structure. The remnant magnetization (2Mr) and remnant polarization (2Pr) were 4.6 emu/cm³ and 62 μC/cm², respectively. Moreover, the bipolar I-V switching curves of BPFMO/BGTWO bilayer thin films resistive random access memory (RRAM) devices were discussed, and investigated for LRS/HRS.

Bi_1-xMg_xFeO₃ (BMFO, x = 0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06 and 0.08) multiferroic films were directly synthesized on flexible stainless steel (FSS), save the bottom electrode process, by means of sol–gel spin-coating technology. The effects of different bending conditions on ferroelectric, dielectric and leakage-current properties of BMFO films were investigated. The leakage-current densities of BiFeO₃ (BFO, x = 0) and BMFO (x = 0.06) films were 5.86 × 10⁻⁴ and 3.73 × 10⁻⁷ A/cm², which shows that the BMFO (x = 0.06) has more than three orders of magnitude lower than that of BFO film. The residual polarization (2 Pr) can be enhanced from 120 to 140 μC/cm². The proper doping of Mg in BiFeO₃ film could provide an effective method for reducing the leakage-current values as well as boosting the ferroelectric properties. In this study, the leakage-current mechanism of low electric field and high electric field of BMFO film is analyzed and established. In addition, the flexible BMFO film maintains practical ferroelectric and leakage-current properties at retention time of 10⁶ s under different symmetry bending conditions. These results indicate that the BFMO film will be very practical in opto-electronic and storage device applications.