Exploring new physics in photon-photoelectron interactions on micropatterned, zinc oxide hyper-branched nanorods
by Chism, Tyler; Torix, Garrett; Tian, Z. Ryan
A better understanding of fundamental physics and esp. surface photoelectrochem. can greatly benefits the advancement of science and technol. esp. in the field of solar energy conversion. Here, through our work, we have analyzed the characteristics of interactions of photons with photoelectrons within Zinc Oxide's hierarchically hyper-branched 3D-nanostructures on gold micropatterns that were pre-coated on a quartz substrate. By using tunable DC or AC biased voltages we have obsd. interesting and never-before reported phenomena between photons and photoelectrons since Einstein and Feynman days. These tunable interactions including light absorbance and current flow, appear to be functions of applied voltage, magnetic field, photonic intensity, and wavelength of light. It is our goal based on this data to gain a deeper understanding of how photonic transmission is effected by electron-flow in order to help design more efficient solar-cells and light manipulating devices and to broaden the field of electrochem. photonics.