On the difficulties in characterizing ZnO nanowires

The electrical properties of single ZnO nanowires grown by vapor phase transport were investigated. While some samples were contacted by Ti/Au electrodes, another set of samples was investigated using a manipulator tip in a low energy electron point-source microscope. The deduced resistivities range from 1 to 103 Ωcm. Additionally, the resistivities of nanowires from multiple publications were brought together and compared to the values obtained from our measurements. The overview of all data shows enormous differences (10−3–105 Ωcm) in the measured resistivities. In order to reveal the origin of the discrepancies, the influence of growth parameters, measuring methods, contact resistances, crystal structures and ambient conditions are investigated and discussed in detail.