# Controlled Synthesis of Tellurium Nanowires and Performance Optimization of Thin-Film Transistors via Percolation Network Engineering

## TL;DR

Researchers developed a method to control the length of tellurium nanowires using PVP concentration, which affects the performance of thin-film transistors.

## Contribution

A systematic approach to control nanowire length via PVP concentration and its impact on transistor performance is presented.

## Key findings

- Increasing PVP concentration increases nanowire length while maintaining consistent diameter.
- Longer nanowires form a denser percolation network with higher device performance (on/off ratio of 10³ and mobility of 1.1 cm²/V·s).

## Abstract

In this study, we propose a method for systematic nanowire length control through the precise control of the polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) concentration during the synthesis of tellurium nanowires. Furthermore, we report the changes in the electrical properties of thin-film transistor (TFT) devices with different lengths of synthesized tellurium nanowires used as channels. Through the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), it was determined that the length of the wires increased in relation to the amount of PVP incorporated, while the diameter remained consistent. The synthesized long wires formed a well-connected percolation network with a junction density of 4.6 junctions/µm2, which enabled the fabrication of devices with excellent electrical properties, the highest on/off ratio of 103, and charge mobility of 1.1 cm2/V·s. In contrast, wires with comparatively reduced PVP content demonstrated a junction density of 2.1 junctions/µm2, exhibiting a lower on/off ratio and reduced charge mobility. These results provide guidance on how the amount of PVP added during wire growth affects the length of the synthesized wires and how it affects the connectivity between the wires when they form a network, which may help optimize the performance of high-performance nanoelectronic devices.