Investigation of the effects of tensile strain on optical properties of ZnO nanowire

Abstract In this paper, the effects of mechanical tensile strain on optical properties of ZnO nanowire before and after embedding ZnS nanowire were investigated by simulation. Finite element modeling (FEM) software package ABAQUS and three-dimensional (3D) finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) methods were furnished to analyze the problems numerically, including the nonlinear mechanical behavior and optical properties of the sample, respectively. The physical deformation model was imported into the FDTD to investigate optical properties of ZnO nanowire under mechanical tensile strain. Besides, the stress-strain curve via tensile experimental was compared with stress-strain curve that was obtained from finite element modeling. The results disclosed that the mechanical strain was demonstrated to play an important role in determining the optical properties of ZnO nanowire such as absorption coefficient and optical density.