Zincite

ZinciteZincite (ZnO) is a natural oxide of zinc. It is a material with unique properties. It is resistant to radiation and does not have any phase transition up to 800-900 °С. It can be used in extreme conditions, for example, in piezo-equipment and acoustoelectronics instead of quartz. Zincite monocrystals are very promising components which can be used as substrates for getting thin films of gallium nitride and producing LEDs. Zincite was one of the first materials to be used to be later attributed to the group of semiconductors. We can observe the phenomenon of unilateral conductivity in transition points between metal (i.e. steel, copper, gold) and the zincite crystal. In February 1922 a 19-year old researcher Oleg Losev of Nizhny Novgorod Laboratory was conducting a research. He discovered a short feed area of the current-voltage characteristic of a crystal detector. By using it he could cause self-excitation of the oscillating circuit. He designed a radio set with an oscillating crystal. He called it "crystadine" which meant a crystal heterodyne. The set detector was using a "zincite-carbon filament" pair. A constant voltage of about 10 V was supplied to the pair. He determined that negative resistance of the detector's contact pair was the main condition for generating and amplifying such pair.Later zincite was replaced by galena. Besides its electric properties zincite also has quite interesting optical properties. When ultraviolet passes through zincite crystal it can fluoresce in orange. Natural zincite crystals are very rare. So presently it is artificially synthesized. Zincite will be further used in electronics and optics as it has advantages over traditional silicon.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• chemistry
• material
• piezoelectric