Suitability of Au- and self-assisted GaAs nanowires for optoelectronic applications

Self-catalyzed GaAsP nanowires grown on silicon substrates by solid-source molecular beam epitaxy

We realize the growth of self-catalyzed GaAsP nanowires (NWs) on silicon (111) substrates using solid-source molecular beam epitaxy. By optimizing the V/III and P/As flux ratios, as well as the Ga flux, high-crystal-quality GaAsP NWs have been demonstrated with almost pure zinc-blende phase. Comparing the growth of GaAsP NWs with that of the conventional GaAs NWs indicates that the incorporation of P has significant effects on catalyst nucleation energy, and hence the nanowire morphology and crystal quality. In addition, the incorporation ratio of P/As between vapor-liquid-solid NW growth and the vapor-solid thin film growth has been compared, and the difference between these two growth modes is explained through growth kinetics. The vapor-solid epitaxial growth of radial GaAsP shell on core GaAsP NWs is further demonstrated with room-temperature emission at ~710 nm. These results give valuable new information into the NW nucleation mechanisms and open up new perspectives for integrating III-V nanowire photovoltaics and visible light emitters on a silicon platform by using self-catalyzed GaAsP core-shell nanowires.

Control over the number density and diameter of GaAs nanowires on Si(111) mediated by droplet epitaxy

We present a novel approach for the growth of GaAs nanowires (NWs) with controllable number density and diameter, which consists of the combination between droplet epitaxy (DE) and self-assisted NW growth. In our method, GaAs islands are initially formed on Si(111) by DE and, subsequently, GaAs NWs are selectively grown on their top facet, which acts as a nucleation site. By DE, we can successfully tailor the number density and diameter of the template of initial GaAs islands and the same degree of control is transferred to the final GaAs NWs. We show how, by a suitable choice of V/III flux ratio, a single NW can be accommodated on top of each GaAs base island. By transmission electron microscopy, as well as cathodo- and photoluminescence spectroscopy, we confirmed the high structural and optical quality of GaAs NWs grown by our method. We believe that this combined approach can be more generally applied to the fabrication of different homo- or heteroepitaxial NWs, nucleated on the top of predefined islands obtained by DE.

Inorganic-organic p-n heterojunction nanotree arrays for a high-sensitivity diode humidity sensor

Large-area and ordered arrays (16 cm(2)) of an inorganic-organic p-n heterojunction nanotree (NT) were successfully fabricated. The nanotree arrays consist of ZnO nanorods (NRs) as backbones and CuTCNQ (TCNQ = 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane) NRs as branches. The sizes of CuTCNQ NRs can be tuned by the thickness of the Cu layer deposited on the surface of ZnO NR. The CuTCNQ/ZnO NT arrays displayed excellent diode nature and obvious size-dependent rectification ratios were observed. Moreover, the CuTCNQ/ZnO NT arrays were first applied for the fabrication of a diode-type humidity sensor, which displayed ultrahigh sensitivity and quick response/recovery properties at room temperature. The detection limitation of this new diode-type humidity sensor lowers to 5% relative humidity (RH).

Wafer-scale production of uniform InAs(y)P(1-y) nanowire array on silicon for heterogeneous integration

One-dimensional crystal growth allows the epitaxial integration of compound semiconductors on silicon (Si), as the large lattice-mismatch strain arising from heterointerfaces can be laterally relieved. Here, we report the direct heteroepitaxial growth of a mixed anion ternary InAsyP1-y nanowire array across an entire 2 in. Si wafer with unprecedented spatial, structural, and special uniformity across the entire 2 in. wafer and dramatic improvements in aspect ratio (>100) and area density (>5 × 10(8)/cm(2)). Heterojunction solar cells consisting of n-type InAsyP1-y (y = 0.75) and p-type Si achieve a conversion efficiency of 3.6% under air mass 1.5 illumination. This work demonstrates the potential for large-scale production of these nanowires for heterogeneous integration of optoelectronic devices.

Surface-passivated GaAsP single-nanowire solar cells exceeding 10% efficiency grown on silicon

Continued development of high-efficiency multi-junction solar cells requires growth of lattice-mismatched materials. Today, the need for lattice matching both restricts the bandgap combinations available for multi-junctions solar cells and prohibits monolithic integration of high-efficiency III-V materials with low-cost silicon solar cells. The use of III-V nanowires is the only known method for circumventing this lattice-matching constraint, and therefore it is necessary to develop growth of nanowires with bandgaps >1.4 eV. Here we present the first gold-free gallium arsenide phosphide nanowires grown on silicon by means of direct epitaxial growth. We demonstrate that their bandgap can be controlled during growth and fabricate core-shell nanowire solar cells. We further demonstrate that surface passivation is of crucial importance to reach high efficiencies, and present a record efficiency of 10.2% for a core-shell single-nanowire solar cell.

High magnetic field reveals the nature of excitons in a single GaAs/AlAs core/shell nanowire

Magneto-photoluminescence measurements of individual zinc-blende GaAs/AlAs core/shell nanowires are reported. At low temperature, a strong emission line at 1.507 eV is observed under low power (nW) excitation. Measurements performed in high magnetic field allowed us to detect in this emission several lines associated with excitons bound to defect pairs. Such lines were observed before in epitaxial GaAs of very high quality, as reported by Kunzel and Ploog. This demonstrates that the optical quality of our GaAs/AlAs core/shell nanowires is comparable to the best GaAs layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Moreover, strong free exciton emission is observed even at room temperature. The bright optical emission of our nanowires in room temperature should open the way for numerous optoelectronic device applications.

A story told by a single nanowire: optical properties of wurtzite GaAs

The optical properties of the wurtzite (WZ) GaAs crystal phase found in nanowires (NWs) are a highly controversial topic. Here, we study high-quality pure WZ GaAs/AlGaAs core-shell NWs grown by Au-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) with microphotoluminescence spectroscopy (μ-PL) and (scanning) transmission electron microscopy on the very same single wire. We determine the room temperature (294 K) WZ GaAs bandgap to be 1.444 eV, which is ∼20 meV larger than in zinc blende (ZB) GaAs, and show that the free exciton emission at 15 K is at 1.516 eV. On the basis of time- and temperature-resolved μ-PL results, we propose a Γ(8) conduction band symmetry in WZ GaAs. We suggest a method for quantifying the optical quality of NWs, taking into consideration the difference between the room and low temperature integrated PL intensity, and demonstrate that Au-assisted GaAs/AlGaAs core-shell NWs can have high PL brightness up to room temperature.

Precursor flow rate manipulation for the controlled fabrication of twin-free GaAs nanowires on silicon substrates

Vertically oriented GaAs nanowires (NWs) are grown on Si(111) substrates using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Controlled epitaxial growth along the <111> direction is demonstrated following the deposition of thin GaAs buffer layers and the elimination of structural defects, such as twin defects and stacking faults, is found for high growth rates. By systematically manipulating the AsH(3) (group-V) and TMGa (group-III) precursor flow rates, it is found that the TMGa flow rate has the most significant effect on the nanowire quality. After capping the minimal tapering and twin-free GaAs NWs with an AlGaAs shell, long exciton lifetimes (over 700 ps) are obtained for high TMGa flow rate samples. It is observed that the Ga adatom concentration significantly affects the growth of GaAs NWs, with a high concentration and rapid growth leading to desirable characteristics for optoelectronic nanowire device applications including improved morphology, crystal structure and optical performance.

Far-field imaging for direct visualization of light interferences in GaAs nanowires

The optical and electrical characterization of nanostructures is crucial for all applications in nanophotonics. Particularly important is the knowledge of the optical near-field distribution for the design of future photonic devices. A common method to determine optical near-fields is scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) which is slow and might distort the near-field. Here, we present a technique that permits sensing indirectly the infrared near-field in GaAs nanowires via its second-harmonic generated (SHG) signal utilizing a nonscanning far-field microscope. Using an incident light of 820 nm and the very short mean free path (16 nm) of the SHG signal in GaAs, we demonstrate a fast surface sensitive imaging technique without using a SNOM. We observe periodic intensity patterns in untapered and tapered GaAs nanowires that are attributed to the fundamental mode of a guided wave modulating the Mie-scattered incident light. The periodicity of the interferences permits to accurately determine the nanowires' radii by just using optical microscopy, i.e., without requiring electron microscopy.

Electrical and optical characterization of surface passivation in GaAs nanowires

We report a systematic study of carrier dynamics in Al(x)Ga(1-x)As-passivated GaAs nanowires. With passivation, the minority carrier diffusion length (L(diff)) increases from 30 to 180 nm, as measured by electron beam induced current (EBIC) mapping, and the photoluminescence (PL) lifetime increases from sub-60 ps to 1.3 ns. A 48-fold enhancement in the continuous-wave PL intensity is observed on the same individual nanowire with and without the Al(x)Ga(1-x)As passivation layer, indicating a significant reduction in surface recombination. These results indicate that, in passivated nanowires, the minority carrier lifetime is not limited by twin stacking faults. From the PL lifetime and minority carrier diffusion length, we estimate the surface recombination velocity (SRV) to range from 1.7 × 10(3) to 1.1 × 10(4) cm·s(-1), and the minority carrier mobility μ is estimated to lie in the range from 10.3 to 67.5 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) for the passivated nanowires.

Strain accommodation in Ga-assisted GaAs nanowires grown on silicon (111)

We study the mechanism of lattice parameter accommodation and the structure of GaAs nanowires (NWs) grown on Si(111) substrates using the Ga-assisted growth mode in molecular beam epitaxy. These nanowires grow preferentially in the zincblende structure, but contain inclusions of wurtzite at the base. By means of grazing incidence x-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy of the NW-substrate interface, we show that the lattice mismatch between the NW and the substrate is released immediately after the beginning of NW growth through the inclusion of misfit dislocations, and no pseudomorphic growth is obtained for NW diameters down to 10 nm. NWs with a diameter above 100 nm exhibit a rough interface towards the substrate, preventing complete plastic relaxation. Consequently, these NWs exhibit a residual compressive strain at their bottom. In contrast, NWs with a diameter of 50 nm and below are completely relaxed because the interface is smooth.

Rate-limiting mechanisms in high-temperature growth of catalyst-free InAs nanowires with large thermal stability

We identify the entire growth parameter space and rate-limiting mechanisms in non-catalytic InAs nanowires (NWs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Surprisingly huge growth temperature ranges are found with maximum temperatures close to ~600°C upon dramatic increase of V/III ratio, exceeding by far the typical growth temperature range for catalyst-assisted InAs NWs. Based on quantitative in situ line-of-sight quadrupole mass spectrometry, we determine the rate-limiting factors in high-temperature InAs NW growth by directly monitoring the critical desorption and thermal decomposition processes of InAs NWs. Both under dynamic (growth) and static (no growth, ultra-high vacuum) conditions the (111)-oriented InAs NWs evidence excellent thermal stability at elevated temperatures even under negligible supersaturation. The rate-limiting factor for InAs NW growth is hence dominated by In desorption from the substrate surface. Closer investigation of the group-III and group-V flux dependences on growth rate reveals two apparent growth regimes, an As-rich and an In-rich regime defined by the effective As/In flux ratio, and maximum achievable growth rates of > 6 µm h(-1). The unique features of high-T growth and excellent thermal stability provide the opportunity for operation of InAs-based NW materials under caustic environment and further allow access to temperature regimes suitable for alloying non-catalytic InAs NWs with GaAs.

Toward optimized light utilization in nanowire arrays using scalable nanosphere lithography and selected area growth

Vertically aligned, catalyst-free semiconducting nanowires hold great potential for photovoltaic applications, in which achieving scalable synthesis and optimized optical absorption simultaneously is critical. Here, we report combining nanosphere lithography (NSL) and selected area metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (SA-MOCVD) for the first time for scalable synthesis of vertically aligned gallium arsenide nanowire arrays, and surprisingly, we show that such nanowire arrays with patterning defects due to NSL can be as good as highly ordered nanowire arrays in terms of optical absorption and reflection. Wafer-scale patterning for nanowire synthesis was done using a polystyrene nanosphere template as a mask. Nanowires grown from substrates patterned by NSL show similar structural features to those patterned using electron beam lithography (EBL). Reflection of photons from the NSL-patterned nanowire array was used as a measure of the effect of defects present in the structure. Experimentally, we show that GaAs nanowires as short as 130 nm show reflection of <10% over the visible range of the solar spectrum. Our results indicate that a highly ordered nanowire structure is not necessary: despite the "defects" present in NSL-patterned nanowire arrays, their optical performance is similar to "defect-free" structures patterned by more costly, time-consuming EBL methods. Our scalable approach for synthesis of vertical semiconducting nanowires can have application in high-throughput and low-cost optoelectronic devices, including solar cells.

Polarized recombination of acoustically transported carriers in GaAs nanowires

: The oscillating piezoelectric field of a surface acoustic wave (SAW) is employed to transport photoexcited electrons and holes in GaAs nanowires deposited on a SAW delay line on a LiNbO3 crystal. The carriers generated in the nanowire by a focused light spot are acoustically transferred to a second location where they recombine. We show that the recombination of the transported carriers occurs in a zinc blende section on top of the predominant wurtzite nanowire. This allows contactless control of the linear polarized emission by SAWs which is governed by the crystal structure. Additional polarization-resolved photoluminescence measurements were performed to investigate spin conservation during transport.

Time-resolved photoinduced thermoelectric and transport currents in GaAs nanowires

In order to clarify the temporal interplay of the different photocurrent mechanisms occurring in single GaAs nanowire based circuits, we introduce an on-chip photocurrent pump-probe spectroscopy with a picosecond time resolution. We identify photoinduced thermoelectric, displacement, and carrier lifetime limited currents as well as the transport of photogenerated holes to the electrodes. Moreover, we show that the time-resolved photocurrent spectroscopy can be used to investigate the drift velocity of photogenerated carriers in semiconducting nanowires. Hereby, our results are relevant for nanowire-based optoelectronic and photovoltaic applications.

Structural polytypism and residual strain in GaAs nanowires grown on Si(111) probed by single-nanowire X-ray diffraction

The structural composition, phase arrangement and residual strain of individual GaAs nanowires (NWs) grown on Si(111) have been investigated using NW-resolved high-resolution X-ray diffraction employing a focused synchrotron beam. It is found that even neighbouring NWs grown on the same sample under the same growth conditions differ significantly in their phase structure, most of them exhibiting small wurtzite segments embedded between larger zincblende sections. Moreover, using structurally sensitive Bragg reflections, residual strain is observed in the zincblende sections of the NWs, likely caused by an incomplete relaxation at the substrate interface.

Direct determination of minority carrier diffusion lengths at axial GaAs nanowire p-n junctions

Axial GaAs nanowire p-n diodes, possibly one of the core elements of future nanowire solar cells and light emitters, were grown via the Au-assisted vapor-liquid-solid mode, contacted by electron beam lithography, and investigated using electron beam induced current measurements. The minority carrier diffusion lengths and dynamics of both, electrons and holes, were determined directly at the vicinity of the p-n junction. The generated photocurrent shows an exponential decay on both sides of the junction and the extracted diffusion lengths are about 1 order of magnitude lower compared to bulk material due to surface recombination. Moreover, the observed strong diameter-dependence is well in line with the surface-to-volume ratio of semiconductor nanowires. Estimating the surface recombination velocities clearly indicates a nonabrupt p-n junction, which is in essential agreement with the model of delayed dopant incorporation in the Au-assisted vapor-liquid-solid mechanism. Surface passivation using ammonium sulfide effectively reduces the surface recombination and thus leads to higher minority carrier diffusion lengths.

Acoustically driven photon antibunching in nanowires

The oscillating piezoelectric field of a surface acoustic wave (SAW) is employed to transport photoexcited carriers, as well as to spatially control exciton recombination in GaAs-based nanowires (NWs) on a subns time scale. The experiments are carried out in core-shell NWs transferred to a SAW delay line on a LiNbO(3) crystal. Carriers generated in the NW by a focused laser spot are acoustically transferred to a second location, leading to the remote emission of subns light pulses synchronized with the SAW phase. The dynamics of the carrier transport, investigated using spatially and time-resolved photoluminescence, is well-reproduced by computer simulations. The high-frequency contactless manipulation of carriers by SAWs opens new perspectives for applications of NWs in opto-electronic devices operating at gigahertz frequencies. The potential of this approach is demonstrated by the realization of a high-frequency source of antibunched photons based on the acoustic transport of electrons and holes in (In,Ga)As NWs.

Direct observation of a noncatalytic growth regime for GaAs nanowires

We identify a new noncatalytic growth regime for molecular beam epitaxially grown GaAs nanowires (NWs) that may provide a route toward axial heterostructures with discrete material boundaries and atomically sharp doping profiles. Upon increase of the As/Ga flux ratio, the growth mode of self-induced GaAs NWs on SiO(2)-masked Si(111) is found to exhibit a surprising discontinuous transition in morphology and aspect ratio. For effective As/Ga ratios <1, in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction measurements reveal clear NW growth delay due to formation of liquid Ga droplets since the growth proceeds via the vapor-liquid-solid mechanism. In contrast, for effective As/Ga ratios >1 an immediate onset of NW growth is observed indicating a transition to droplet-free, facet-driven selective area growth with low vertical growth rates. Distinctly different microstructures, facet formation and either the presence or absence of Ga droplets at the apex of NWs, are further elucidated by transmission electron microscopy. The results show that the growth mode transition is caused by an abrupt change from As- to Ga-limited conditions at the (111)-oriented NW growth front, allowing precise tuning of the dominant growth mode.