11 - Rare earth–doped semiconductor nanomaterials

Abstract

Doping different materials, especially semiconductors, has been known as a powerful tool for improving properties and finding excellent applications in industry. Applications of doping in semiconductor industry especially in nanoelectronics and nanophotonics is a growing field of research. Lanthanide rare earth (RE) have been extensively used in different types of semiconductors as trace additives with extraordinary photonic, magnetic, photocatalytic, and photovoltaic properties. In this chapter, different types of RE-doped semiconductors will be reviewed and then the common synthetic method and applications of each category will be discussed. It will cover a wide range of doped semiconductors from the conventional Si and III-N materials for photonic applications to TiO2 and ZnO photocatalysts and perovskites for photovoltaic applications. Moreover, different synthetic techniques for each material will be discussed in detail.