Piezo-phototronic effect of CdSe nanowires.

The piezo-phototronic effect on transport properties of flexible CdSe NW devices is investigated. An optimum sensitivity of the flexible CdSe NW devices can be achieved by adjusting the applied strain and illumination intensity. The piezo-phototronic effect under compressive strain increases the internal electric field of the Schottky barrier, and assists the separation of the photo-excited electron-hole pairs, resulting in the increase of photocurrent. A trap-mediated mechanism is responsible for the decreased hole separation when the strain is larger than the critical strain.