A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Microelectronics, School of Engineering and Technology

Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2008

Piezoelectric ZnO nanorods had been grown on glass substrates having a conductive coating of fluorine doped tin dioxide or SnO2:F. Biological template assisted gold microwires were fabricated using the fungi aspergillus niger. Extensive studies were carried out for the optimum growth conditions for these fungi. Also, gold microwires were fabricated by directing the template in a channel. The resulting gold microwires were found to be insulating in nature. They were made conductive by an elongated ramp heat treatment. The biomimetic gold microwire mesh was used as the top electrode for fabricating a nanogenerator using ZnO nanorods. The ZnO nanorods were grown on a conducting substrate that was used as the bottom electrode for the nanogenerator. The top electrode was fabricated in such a way that the ZnO nanorods could touch the flexible gold microwires when they were subjected to vibrations. The nanogenerator was fabricated using the optimized gold microwire mesh. Piezoelectric current and voltage measurements were done by subjecting the device to mechanical vibrations. A negative DC current/voltage was obtained from the device. Lot of variation was observed in measured electrical output parameters. Prolonged ramp heat treatment remedied this problem to a certain extent. The output piezoelectric current was improved from a value as low as 5pA to 28pA. The output voltage increased from 0.2 volts to 0.4 volts in the process.