Piezoelectricity in half-Heusler narrow-bandgap semiconductors

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Huang, Yi; Lv, Fu; Han, Shen; Chen, Mengzhao; Wang, Yuechu; Lou, Qianhui; Fu, Chenguang; Huang, Yuhui; Wu, Di; Li, Fei; Zhu, Tiejun
• 署名单位: Zhejiang University; Nanjing University; Nanjing University; Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures (CICAM); Xi'an Jiaotong University
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-8488
• DOI: 10.1126/science.ads9584
• 发表日期: 2025-03-14
• 页码: 1187-1192
• 关键词: single-crystals; nitride

摘要

Piezoelectricity is primarily observed in noncentrosymmetric insulators or wide bandgap semiconductors. We report the observation of the piezoelectric (PE) effect in half-Heusler (HH) narrow-bandgap semiconductors TiNiSn, ZrNiSn, and TiCoSb. These materials exhibit shear PE strain coefficients that reach similar to 38 and 33 picocoulombs per newton in ZrNiSn and TiCoSb, respectively, which are high values for noncentrosymmetric nonpolar materials. We demonstrated a TiCoSb-based PE sensor with a large voltage response and capable of charging a capacitor. The PE effect in HHs remains thermally stable up to 1173 kelvin, underscoring their potential for high-temperature applications. Our observations suggest that these HH narrow-bandgap semiconductors may find promising applications for advanced multifunctional technologies.