Assessment of AlGaN/AlN superlattices on GaN nanowires as active region of electron-pumped ultraviolet sources

In this paper, we describe the design and characterization of 400 nm long (88 periods) Al _x Ga_1-x N/AlN (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) quantum dot superlattices deposited on self-assembled GaN nanowires for application in electron-pumped ultraviolet sources. The optical performance of GaN/AlN superlattices on nanowires is compared with the emission of planar GaN/AlN superlattices with the same periodicity and thickness grown on bulk GaN substrates along the N-polar and metal-polar crystallographic axes. The nanowire samples are less sensitive to nonradiative recombination than planar layers, attaining internal quantum efficiencies (IQE) in excess of 60% at room temperature even under low injection conditions. The IQE remains stable for higher excitation power densities, up to 50 kW cm^-2. We demonstrate that the nanowire superlattice is long enough to collect the electron-hole pairs generated by an electron beam with an acceleration voltage V _A = 5 kV. At such V _A, the light emitted from the nanowire ensemble does not show any sign of quenching under constant electron beam excitation (tested for an excitation power density around 8 kW cm^-2 over the scale of minutes). Varying the dot/barrier thickness ratio and the Al content in the dots, the nanowire peak emission can be tuned in the range from 340 to 258 nm.

Effect of Bias on the Response of GaN Axial p-n Junction Single-Nanowire Photodetectors

We present a comprehensive study of the performance of GaN single-nanowire photodetectors containing an axial p-n junction. The electrical contact to the p region of the diode is made by including a p⁺/n⁺ tunnel junction as cap structure, which allows the use of the same metal scheme to contact both ends of the nanowire. Single-nanowire devices present the rectifying current-voltage characteristic of a p-n diode but their photovoltaic response to ultraviolet radiation scales sublinearly with the incident optical power. This behavior is attributed to the dominant role of surface states. Nevertheless, when the junction is reverse biased, the role of the surface becomes negligible in comparison to the drift of photogenerated carriers in the depletion region. Therefore, the responsivity increases by about 3 orders of magnitude and the photocurrent scales linearly with the excitation. These reverse-biased nanowires display decay times in the range of ∼10 μs, limited by the resistor-capacitor time constant of the setup. Their ultraviolet/visible contrast of several orders of magnitude is suitable for applications requiring high spectral selectivity. When the junction is forward biased, the device behaves as a GaN photoconductor with an increase of the responsivity at the price of a degradation of the time response. The presence of leakage current in some of the wires can be modeled as a shunt resistance which reacts to the radiation as a photoconductor and can dominate the response of the wire even under reverse bias.

Monolithic Axial and Radial Metal-Semiconductor Nanowire Heterostructures

The electrical and optical properties of low-dimensional nanostructures depend critically on size and geometry and may differ distinctly from those of their bulk counterparts. In particular, ultrathin semiconducting layers as well as nanowires have already proven the feasibility to realize and study quantum size effects enabling novel ultrascaled devices. Further, plasmonic metal nanostructures attracted recently a lot of attention because of appealing near-field-mediated enhancement effects. Thus, combining metal and semiconducting constituents in quasi one-dimensional heterostructures will pave the way for ultrascaled systems and high-performance devices with exceptional electrical, optical, and plasmonic functionality. This Letter reports on the sophisticated fabrication and structural properties of axial and radial Al-Ge and Al-Si nanowire heterostructures, synthesized by a thermally induced exchange reaction of single-crystalline Ge-Si core-shell nanowires and Al pads. This enables a self-aligned metallic contact formation to Ge segments beyond lithographic limitations as well as ultrathin semiconducting layers wrapped around monocrystalline Al core nanowires. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and μ-Raman measurements proved the composition and perfect crystallinity of these metal-semiconductor nanowire heterostructures. This exemplary selective replacement of Ge by Al represents a general approach for the elaboration of radial and axial metal-semiconductor heterostructures in various Ge-semiconductor heterostructures.

Tuning Electroluminescence from a Plasmonic Cavity-Coupled Silicon Light Source

The combination of Moore's law and Dennard's scaling rules have constituted the fundamental guidelines for the silicon-based semiconductor industry for decades. Furthermore, the enormous growth of global data volume has pushed the demand for complex and densely packed devices. In recent years, it has become clear that wired interconnects impose increasingly severe speed and power limitations onto integrated circuits as scaling slows toward a halt. To overcome these limitations, there is a clear need for optical data processing. Despite significant progress in the development of silicon photonics, light sources remain challenging owing to the indirect bandgap of group IV materials. It is therefore highly desirable to develop new concepts for a silicon light source that meets efficiency and footprint requirements similar to their electronic counterparts. Here, we demonstrate an electrically driven and tunable silicon light source by matching the resonant modes of a silver nanocavity with the hot luminescence spectrum of an avalanching p-n junction. The cavity significantly enhances phonon-assisted recombination of hot carriers by tailoring the local density of states at the size-tunable resonance. Such tunable nanoscale emitter may be of great interest for short-reach communications, microdisplays or lab-on-chip applications.

Effect of doping on the intersubband absorption in Si- and Ge-doped GaN/AlN heterostructures

In this paper, we study band-to-band and intersubband (ISB) characteristics of Si- and Ge-doped GaN/AlN heterostructures (planar and nanowires) structurally designed to absorb in the short-wavelength infrared region, particularly at 1.55 μm. Regarding the band-to-band properties, we discuss the variation of the screening of the internal electric field by free carriers, as a function of the doping density and well/nanodisk size. We observe that nanowire heterostructures consistently present longer photoluminescence decay times than their planar counterparts, which supports the existence of an in-plane piezoelectric field associated to the shear component of the strain tensor in the nanowire geometry. Regarding the ISB characteristics, we report absorption covering 1.45-1.75 μm using Ge-doped quantum wells, with comparable performance to Si-doped planar heterostructures. We also report similar ISB absorption in Si- and Ge-doped nanowire heterostructures indicating that the choice of dopant is not an intrinsic barrier for observing ISB phenomena. The spectral shift of the ISB absorption as a function of the doping concentration due to many body effects confirms that Si and Ge efficiently dope GaN/AlN nanowire heterostructures.

Abrupt Schottky Junctions in Al/Ge Nanowire Heterostructures

In this Letter we report on the exploration of axial metal/semiconductor (Al/Ge) nanowire heterostructures with abrupt interfaces. The formation process is enabled by a thermal induced exchange reaction between the vapor-liquid-solid grown Ge nanowire and Al contact pads due to the substantially different diffusion behavior of Ge in Al and vice versa. Temperature-dependent I-V measurements revealed the metallic properties of the crystalline Al nanowire segments with a maximum current carrying capacity of about 0.8 MA/cm(2). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterization has confirmed both the composition and crystalline nature of the pure Al nanowire segments. A very sharp interface between the ⟨111⟩ oriented Ge nanowire and the reacted Al part was observed with a Schottky barrier height of 361 meV. To demonstrate the potential of this approach, a monolithic Al/Ge/Al heterostructure was used to fabricate a novel impact ionization device.

Correlation of polarity and crystal structure with optoelectronic and transport properties of GaN/AlN/GaN nanowire sensors

GaN nanowires (NWs) with an AlN insertion were studied by correlated optoelectronic and aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) characterization on the same single NW. Using aberration-corrected annular bright field and high angle annular dark field STEM, we identify the NW growth axis to be the N-polar [000-1] direction. The electrical transport characteristics of the NWs are explained by the polarization-induced asymmetric potential profile and by the presence of an AlN/GaN shell around the GaN base of the wire. The AlN insertion blocks the electron flow through the GaN core, confining the current to the radial GaN outer shell, close to the NW sidewalls, which increases the sensitivity of the photocurrent to the environment and in particular to the presence of oxygen. The desorption of oxygen adatoms in vacuum leads to a reduction of the nonradiative surface trap density, increasing both dark current and photocurrent.

Hidden defects in silicon nanowires

Recent publications have reported the presence of hexagonal phases in Si nanowires. Most of these reports were based on 'odd' diffraction patterns and HRTEM images—'odd' means that these images and diffraction patterns could not be obtained on perfect silicon crystals in the classical diamond cubic structure. We analyze the origin of these 'odd' patterns and images by studying the case of various Si nanowires grown using either Ni or Au as catalysts in combination with P or Al doping. Two models could explain the experimental results: (i) the presence of a hexagonal phase or (ii) the presence of defects that we call 'hidden' defects because they cannot be directly observed in most images. We show that in many cases one direction of observation is not sufficient to distinguish between the two models. Several directions of observations have to be used. Secondly, conventional TEM images, i.e. bright-field two-beam and dark-field images, are of great value in the identification of 'hidden' defects. In addition, slices of nanowires perpendicular to the growth axis can be very useful. In the studied nanowires no hexagonal phase with long range order is found and the 'odd' images and diffraction patterns are mostly due to planar defects causing superposition of different crystal grains. Finally, we show that in Raman experiments the defect-rich NWs can give rise to a Raman peak shifted to 504–511 cm⁻¹ with respect to the Si bulk peak at 520 cm⁻¹, indicating that Raman cannot be used to identify a hexagonal phase.