Postgrowth Shaping and Transport Anisotropy in Two-Dimensional InAs Nanofins

We report on the postgrowth shaping of free-standing two-dimensional (2D) InAs nanofins that are grown by selective-area epitaxy and mechanically transferred to a separate substrate for device fabrication. We use a citric acid-based wet etch that enables complex shapes, for example, van der Pauw cloverleaf structures, with patterning resolution down to 150 nm as well as partial thinning of the nanofin to improve local gate response. We exploit the high sensitivity of the cloverleaf structures to transport anisotropy to address the fundamental question of whether there is a measurable transport anisotropy arising from wurtzite/zincblende polytypism in 2D InAs nanostructures. We demonstrate a mobility anisotropy of order 2-4 at room temperature arising from polytypic stacking faults in our nanofins. Our work highlights a key materials consideration for devices featuring self-assembled 2D III-V nanostructures using advanced epitaxy methods.

Impact of invasive metal probes on Hall measurements in semiconductor nanostructures

Recent advances in bottom-up growth are giving rise to a range of new two-dimensional nanostructures. Hall effect measurements play an important role in their electrical characterization. However, size constraints can lead to device geometries that deviate significantly from the ideal of elongated Hall bars with currentless contacts. Many devices using these new materials have a low aspect ratio and feature metal Hall probes that overlap with the semiconductor channel. This can lead to a significant distortion of the current flow. We present experimental data from InAs 2D nanofin devices with different Hall probe geometries to study the influence of Hall probe length and width. We use finite-element simulations to further understand the implications of these aspects and expand their scope to contact resistance and sample aspect ratio. Our key finding is that invasive probes lead to significant underestimation of measured Hall voltage, typically of the order 40-80%. This in turn leads to a subsequent proportional overestimation of carrier concentration and an underestimation of mobility.

In situ passivation of GaAsSb nanowires for enhanced infrared photoresponse

Surface passivation of semiconductor nanowires (NWs) is important for their optoelectronic properties and applications. Here, the in situ passivation effect of an epitaxial InP shell and the corresponding photodetector performance is experimentally studied. Compared with the unpassivated GaAs_{1- x} Sb _x core-only NWs, the GaAs_{1- x} Sb _x /InP core/shell NWs have shown much stronger photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence intensities. Correspondingly, the fabricated single GaAs_{1- x} Sb _x /InP core/shell NW photodetector shows a responsivity of 325.1 A W^-1 (@ 1.3 μm and 1.5 V) that is significantly enhanced compared to that of single GaAs_{1- x} Sb _x core-only NW photodetectors (143.5 A W^-1), with a comparable detectivity of 4.7 × 10¹⁰ and 5.3 × 10¹⁰ cm√Hz/W, respectively. This is ascribed to the enhanced carrier mobility and carrier concentration by the in situ passivation, which lead to both higher photoconductivity and dark-conductivity. Our results show that in situ passivation is an effective approach for performance enhancement of GaAs_1-x Sb _x NW based optoelectronic devices.

Engineering the Side Facets of Vertical [100] Oriented InP Nanowires for Novel Radial Heterostructures

In addition to being grown on industry-standard orientation, vertical [100] oriented nanowires present novel families of facets and related cross-sectional shapes. These nanowires are engineered to achieve a number of facet combinations and cross-sectional shapes, by varying their growth parameters within ranges that facilitate vertical growth. In situ post-growth annealing technique is used to realise other combinations that are unattainable solely using growth parameters. Two examples of possible novel radial heterostructures grown on these vertical [100] oriented nanowire facets are presented, demonstrating their potential in future applications.

Ballistic InSb Nanowires and Networks via Metal-Sown Selective Area Growth

Selective area growth is a promising technique to realize semiconductor-superconductor hybrid nanowire networks, potentially hosting topologically protected Majorana-based qubits. In some cases, however, such as the molecular beam epitaxy of InSb on InP or GaAs substrates, nucleation and selective growth conditions do not necessarily overlap. To overcome this challenge, we propose a metal-sown selective area growth (MS SAG) technique, which allows decoupling selective deposition and nucleation growth conditions by temporarily isolating these stages. It consists of three steps: (i) selective deposition of In droplets only inside the mask openings at relatively high temperatures favoring selectivity, (ii) nucleation of InSb under Sb flux from In droplets, which act as a reservoir of group III adatoms, done at relatively low temperatures, favoring nucleation of InSb, and (iii) homoepitaxy of InSb on top of the formed nucleation layer under a simultaneous supply of In and Sb fluxes at conditions favoring selectivity and high crystal quality. We demonstrate that complex InSb nanowire networks of high crystal and electrical quality can be achieved this way. We extract mobility values of 10 000-25 000 cm² V^-1 s^-1 consistently from field-effect and Hall mobility measurements across single nanowire segments as well as wires with junctions. Moreover, we demonstrate ballistic transport in a 440 nm long channel in a single nanowire under a magnetic field below 1 T. We also extract a phase-coherent length of ∼8 μm at 50 mK in mesoscopic rings.

Importance of point defect reactions for the atomic-scale roughness of III-V nanowire sidewalls

The surface morphology of III-V semiconductor nanowires (NWs) protected by an arsenic cap and subsequently evaporated in ultrahigh vacuum is investigated with scanning tunneling microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy. We show that the changes of the surface morphology as a function of the NW composition and the nature of the seed particles are intimately related to the formation and reaction of surface point defects. Langmuir evaporation close to the congruent evaporation temperature causes the formation of vacancies which nucleate and form vacancy islands on {110} sidewalls of self-catalyzed InAs NWs. However, for annealing temperatures much smaller than the congruent temperature, a new phenomenon occurs: group III vacancies form and are filled by excess As atoms, leading to surface As_Ga antisites. The resulting Ga adatoms nucleate with excess As atoms at the NW edges, producing monoatomic-step islands on the {110} sidewalls of GaAs NWs. Finally, when gold atoms diffuse from the seed particle onto the {110} sidewalls during evaporation of the protective As cap, Langmuir evaporation does not take place, leaving the sidewalls of InAsSb NWs atomically flat.

Regaining a Spatial Dimension: Mechanically Transferrable Two-Dimensional InAs Nanofins Grown by Selective Area Epitaxy

We report a method for growing rectangular InAs nanofins with deterministic length, width, and height by dielectric-templated selective-area epitaxy. These freestanding nanofins can be transferred to lay flat on a separate substrate for device fabrication. A key goal was to regain a spatial dimension for device design compared to nanowires, while retaining the benefits of bottom-up epitaxial growth. The transferred nanofins were made into devices featuring multiple contacts for Hall effect and four-terminal resistance studies, as well as a global back-gate and nanoscale local top-gates for density control. Hall studies give a 3D electron density 2.5-5 × 10¹⁷ cm^-3, corresponding to an approximate surface accumulation layer density 3-6 × 10¹² cm^-2 that agrees well with previous studies of InAs nanowires. We obtain Hall mobilities as high as 1200 cm²/(V s), field-effect mobilities as high as 4400 cm²/(V s), and clear quantum interference structure at temperatures as high as 20 K. Our devices show excellent prospects for fabrication into more complicated devices featuring multiple ohmic contacts, local gates, and possibly other functional elements, for example, patterned superconductor contacts, that may make them attractive options for future quantum information applications.

Shape Engineering of InP Nanostructures by Selective Area Epitaxy

Greater demand for III-V nanostructures with more sophisticated geometries other than nanowires is expected because of the recent intensive investigation of nanowire networks that show great potential in all-optical logic gates, nanoelectronics, and quantum computing. Here, we demonstrate highly uniform arrays of InP nanostructures with tunable shapes, such as membrane-, prism-, and ring-like shapes, which can be simultaneously grown by selective area epitaxy. Our in-depth investigation of shape evolution confirms that the shape is essentially determined by pattern confinement and the minimization of total surface energy. After growth optimization, all of the different InP nanostructures grown under the same growth conditions show perfect wurtzite structure regardless of the geometry and strong and homogeneous photon emission. This work expands the research field in terms of producing nanostructures with the desired shapes beyond the limits of nanowires to satisfy various requirements for nanoelectronics, optoelectronics, and quantum device applications.

The Role of Polarity in Nonplanar Semiconductor Nanostructures

The lack of mirror symmetry in binary semiconductor compounds turns them into polar materials, where two opposite orientations of the same crystallographic direction are possible. Interestingly, their physical properties (e.g., electronic or photonic) and morphological features (e.g., shape, growth direction, and so forth) also strongly depend on the polarity. It has been observed that nanoscale materials tend to grow with a specific polarity, which can eventually be reversed for very specific growth conditions. In addition, polar-directed growth affects the defect density and topology and might induce eventually the formation of undesirable polarity inversion domains in the nanostructure, which in turn will affect the photonic and electronic final device performance. Here, we present a review on the polarity-driven growth mechanism at the nanoscale, combining our latest investigation with an overview of the available literature highlighting suitable future possibilities of polarity engineering of semiconductor nanostructures. The present study has been extended over a wide range of semiconductor compounds, covering the most commonly synthesized III-V (GaN, GaP, GaAs, GaSb, InN, InP, InAs, InSb) and II-VI (ZnO, ZnTe, CdS, CdSe, CdTe) nanowires and other free-standing nanostructures (tripods, tetrapods, belts, and membranes). This systematic study allowed us to explore the parameters that may induce polarity-dependent and polarity-driven growth mechanisms, as well as the polarity-related consequences on the physical properties of the nanostructures.

Vapor Phase Growth of Semiconductor Nanowires: Key Developments and Open Questions

Nanowires are filamentary crystals with a tailored diameter that can be obtained using a plethora of different synthesis techniques. In this review, we focus on the vapor phase, highlighting the most influential achievements along with a historical perspective. Starting with the discovery of VLS, we feature the variety of structures and materials that can be synthesized in the nanowire form. We then move on to establish distinct features such as the three-dimensional heterostructure/doping design and polytypism. We summarize the status quo of the growth mechanisms, recently confirmed by in situ electron microscopy experiments and defining common ground between the different synthesis techniques. We then propose a selection of remaining defects, starting from what we know and going toward what is still to be learned. We believe this review will serve as a reference for neophytes but also as an insight for experts in an effort to bring open questions under a new light.

Selectivity Map for Molecular Beam Epitaxy of Advanced III-V Quantum Nanowire Networks

Selective-area growth is a promising technique for enabling of the fabrication of the scalable III-V nanowire networks required to test proposals for Majorana-based quantum computing devices. However, the contours of the growth parameter window resulting in selective growth remain undefined. Herein, we present a set of experimental techniques that unambiguously establish the parameter space window resulting in selective III-V nanowire networks growth by molecular beam epitaxy. Selectivity maps are constructed for both GaAs and InAs compounds based on in situ characterization of growth kinetics on GaAs(001) substrates, where the difference in group III adatom desorption rates between the III-V surface and the amorphous mask area is identified as the primary mechanism governing selectivity. The broad applicability of this method is demonstrated by the successful realization of high-quality InAs and GaAs nanowire networks on GaAs, InP, and InAs substrates of both (001) and (111)B orientations as well as homoepitaxial InSb nanowire networks. Finally, phase coherence in Aharonov-Bohm ring experiments validates the potential of these crystals for nanoelectronics and quantum transport applications. This work should enable faster and better nanoscale crystal engineering over a range of compound semiconductors for improved device performance.

Radial Growth Evolution of InGaAs/InP Multi-Quantum-Well Nanowires Grown by Selective-Area Metal Organic Vapor-Phase Epitaxy

III-V semiconductor multi-quantum-well nanowires (MQW NWs) via selective-area epitaxy (SAE) is of great importance for the development of nanoscale light-emitting devices for applications such as optical communication, silicon photonics, and quantum computing. To achieve highly efficient light-emitting devices, not only the high-quality materials but also a deep understanding of their growth mechanisms and material properties (structural, optical, and electrical) are extremely critical. In particular, the three-dimensional growth mechanism of MQWs embedded in a NW structure by SAE is expected to be different from that of those grown in a planar structure or with a catalyst and has not yet been thoroughly investigated. In this work, we reveal a distinctive radial growth evolution of InGaAs/InP MQW NWs grown by the SAE metal organic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) technique. We observe the formation of zinc blende (ZB) QW discs induced by the axial InGaAs QW growth on the wurtzite (WZ) base-InP NW and propose it as the key factor driving the overall structure of radial growth. The role of the ZB-to-WZ change in the driving of the overall growth evolution is supported by a growth formalism, taking into account the formation-energy difference between different facets. Despite a polytypic crystal structure with mixed ZB and WZ phases across the MQW region, the NWs exhibit high uniformity and desirable QW spatial layout with bright room-temperature photoluminescence at an optical communication wavelength of ∼1.3 μm, which is promising for the future development of high-efficiency light-emitting devices.

p-GaAs Nanowire Metal-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors with Near-Thermal Limit Gating

Difficulties in obtaining high-performance p-type transistors and gate insulator charge-trapping effects present two major challenges for III-V complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) electronics. We report a p-GaAs nanowire metal-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MESFET) that eliminates the need for a gate insulator by exploiting the Schottky barrier at the metal-GaAs interface. Our device beats the best-performing p-GaSb nanowire metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET), giving a typical subthreshold swing of 62 mV/dec, within 4% of the thermal limit, on-off ratio ∼10⁵, on-resistance ∼700 kΩ, contact resistance ∼30 kΩ, peak transconductance 1.2 μS/μm, and high-fidelity ac operation at frequencies up to 10 kHz. The device consists of a GaAs nanowire with an undoped core and heavily Be-doped shell. We carefully etch back the nanowire at the gate locations to obtain Schottky-barrier insulated gates while leaving the doped shell intact at the contacts to obtain low contact resistance. Our device opens a path to all-GaAs nanowire MESFET complementary circuits with simplified fabrication and improved performance.

The effect of nitridation on the polarity and optical properties of GaN self-assembled nanorods

We report on the effect of nitridation on GaN self-assembled nanorods grown on the c-plane sapphire by metalorganic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD). Nitridation conditions are found to critically influence the nanorod morphology and optical properties. The nanorod polarity was determined through a direct observation of atomic dumbbell pairs. While purely N-polar wires are obtained under optimised nitridation, incomplete or missing nitridation leads to mixed polarity. By comparing the morphology and the crystal structure with spatially resolved cathodoluminescence results, our study unambiguously establishes a link between appropriate nitridation duration and a homogeneous improvement in optical quality.

InP-InxGa1-xAs core-multi-shell nanowire quantum wells with tunable emission in the 1.3-1.55 μm wavelength range

The usability and tunability of the essential InP-InGaAs material combination in nanowire-based quantum wells (QWs) are assessed. The wurtzite phase core-multi-shell InP-InGaAs-InP nanowire QWs are characterised using cross-section transmission electron microscopy and photoluminescence measurements. The InP-InGaAs direct interface is found to be sharp while the InGaAs-InP inverted interface is more diffused, in agreement with their planar counterpart. Bright emission is observed from the single nanowires containing the QWs at room temperature, with no emission from the InP core or outer barrier. The tunability of the QW emission wavelength in the 1.3-1.55 μm communication wavelength range is demonstrated by varying the QW thickness and in the 1.3 μm range by varying the composition. The experiments are supported by simulation of the emission wavelength of the wurtzite phase InP-InGaAs QWs in the thickness range considered. The radial heterostructure is further extended to design multiple QWs with bright emission, therefore establishing the capability of this material system for nanowire based optical devices for communication applications.

Simultaneous Selective-Area and Vapor-Liquid-Solid Growth of InP Nanowire Arrays

Selective-area epitaxy is highly successful in producing application-ready size-homogeneous arrays of III-V nanowires without the need to use metal catalysts. Previous works have demonstrated excellent control of nanowire properties but the growth mechanisms remain rather unclear. Herein, we report a detailed growth study revealing that fundamental growth mechanisms of pure wurtzite InP ⟨111⟩A nanowires can indeed differ significantly from the simple picture of a facet-limited selective-area growth process. A dual growth regime with and without metallic droplet is found to coexist under the same growth conditions for different diameter nanowires. Incubation times and highly nonmonotonous growth rate behaviors are revealed and explained within a dedicated kinetic model.

Doping-enhanced radiative efficiency enables lasing in unpassivated GaAs nanowires

Nanolasers hold promise for applications including integrated photonics, on-chip optical interconnects and optical sensing. Key to the realization of current cavity designs is the use of nanomaterials combining high gain with high radiative efficiency. Until now, efforts to enhance the performance of semiconductor nanomaterials have focused on reducing the rate of non-radiative recombination through improvements to material quality and complex passivation schemes. Here we employ controlled impurity doping to increase the rate of radiative recombination. This unique approach enables us to improve the radiative efficiency of unpassivated GaAs nanowires by a factor of several hundred times while also increasing differential gain and reducing the transparency carrier density. In this way, we demonstrate lasing from a nanomaterial that combines high radiative efficiency with a picosecond carrier lifetime ready for high speed applications.

Coherent Charge Transport in Ballistic InSb Nanowire Josephson Junctions

Hybrid InSb nanowire-superconductor devices are promising for investigating Majorana modes and topological quantum computation in solid-state devices. An experimental realisation of ballistic, phase-coherent superconductor-nanowire hybrid devices is a necessary step towards engineering topological superconducting electronics. Here, we report on a low-temperature transport study of Josephson junction devices fabricated from InSb nanowires grown by molecular-beam epitaxy and provide a clear evidence for phase-coherent, ballistic charge transport through the nanowires in the junctions. We demonstrate that our devices show gate-tunable proximity-induced supercurrent and clear signatures of multiple Andreev reflections in the differential conductance, indicating phase-coherent transport within the junctions. We also observe periodic modulations of the critical current that can be associated with the Fabry-Pérot interference in the nanowires in the ballistic transport regime. Our work shows that the InSb nanowires grown by molecular-beam epitaxy are of excellent material quality and hybrid superconducting devices made from these nanowires are highly desirable for investigation of the novel physics in topological states of matter and for applications in topological quantum electronics.

Twin-Induced InSb Nanosails: A Convenient High Mobility Quantum System

Ultra narrow bandgap III-V semiconductor nanomaterials provide a unique platform for realizing advanced nanoelectronics, thermoelectrics, infrared photodetection, and quantum transport physics. In this work we employ molecular beam epitaxy to synthesize novel nanosheet-like InSb nanostructures exhibiting superior electronic performance. Through careful morphological and crystallographic characterization we show how this unique geometry is the result of a single twinning event in an otherwise pure zinc blende structure. Four-terminal electrical measurements performed in both the Hall and van der Pauw configurations reveal a room temperature electron mobility greater than 12,000 cm(2)·V(-1)·s(-1). Quantized conductance in a quantum point contact processed with a split-gate configuration is also demonstrated. We thus introduce InSb "nanosails" as a versatile and convenient platform for realizing new device and physics experiments with a strong interplay between electronic and spin degrees of freedom.

Room temperature GaAsSb single nanowire infrared photodetectors

Antimonide-based ternary III-V nanowires (NWs) allow for a tunable bandgap over a wide range, which is highly interesting for optoelectronics applications, and in particular for infrared photodetection. Here we demonstrate room temperature operation of GaAs0.56Sb0.44 NW infrared photodetectors grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. These GaAs0.56Sb0.44 NWs have uniform axial composition and show p-type conductivity with a peak field-effect mobility of ∼12 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1)). Under light illumination, single GaAs0.56Sb0.44 NW photodetectors exhibited typical photoconductor behavior with an increased photocurrent observed with the increase of temperature owing to thermal activation of carrier trap states. A broadband infrared photoresponse with a long wavelength cutoff at ∼1.66 μm was obtained at room temperature. At a low operating bias voltage of 0.15 V a responsivity of 2.37 (1.44) A/W with corresponding detectivity of 1.08 × 10(9) (6.55 × 10(8)) cm√Hz/W were achieved at the wavelength of 1.3 (1.55) μm, indicating that ternary GaAs0.56Sb0.44 NWs are promising photodetector candidates for small footprint integrated optical telecommunication systems.

Tunable Polarity in a III-V Nanowire by Droplet Wetting and Surface Energy Engineering

Controllable axial switching of polarity in GaAs nanowires with minimal tapering and perfect twin-free ZB structure based on the fundamental understanding of nanowire growth and kinking mechanism is presented. The polarity of the bottom segment is confirmed to be (111)A by atomically resolved scanning transmission electron microscopy.

Understanding the growth and composition evolution of gold-seeded ternary InGaAs nanowires

InGaAs nanowires offer great promise in fundamental studies of ternary compound semiconductors with variable composition and opens up a wide range of applications due to their bandgap tunability and high carrier mobility. Here, we report a study on the growth of Au-seeded InGaAs nanowires by metal-organic vapour phase epitaxy and present a model to explain the mechanisms that govern the growth and composition evolution in ternary III-V nanowires. The model allows us to further understand the limitations on the growth rate and incorporation of the two group III species imposed by the deposition conditions and some intrinsic properties of the material transport and nucleation. Within the model, the evolution of InGaAs nanowire growth rate and composition with particle size, temperature and V/III ratio is described and correlates very well with experimental findings. The understanding gained in this study should be useful for the controlled fabrication of tunable ternary nanowires for various applications.

Formation of long single quantum dots in high quality InSb nanowires grown by molecular beam epitaxy

We report on realization and transport spectroscopy study of single quantum dots (QDs) made from InSb nanowires grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The nanowires employed are 50-80 nm in diameter and the QDs are defined in the nanowires between the source and drain contacts on a Si/SiO2 substrate. We show that highly tunable QD devices can be realized with the MBE-grown InSb nanowires and the gate-to-dot capacitance extracted in the many-electron regimes is scaled linearly with the longitudinal dot size, demonstrating that the devices are of single InSb nanowire QDs even with a longitudinal size of ∼700 nm. In the few-electron regime, the quantum levels in the QDs are resolved and the Landég-factors extracted for the quantum levels from the magnetotransport measurements are found to be strongly level-dependent and fluctuated in a range of 18-48. A spin-orbit coupling strength is extracted from the magnetic field evolutions of a ground state and its neighboring excited state in an InSb nanowire QD and is on the order of ∼300 μeV. Our results establish that the MBE-grown InSb nanowires are of high crystal quality and are promising for the use in constructing novel quantum devices, such as entangled spin qubits, one-dimensional Wigner crystals and topological quantum computing devices.

Self-Equilibration of the Diameter of Ga-Catalyzed GaAs Nanowires

Designing strategies to reach monodispersity in fabrication of semiconductor nanowire ensembles is essential for numerous applications. When Ga-catalyzed GaAs nanowire arrays are grown by molecular beam epitaxy with help of droplet-engineering, we observe a significant narrowing of the diameter distribution of the final nanowire array with respect to the size distribution of the initial Ga droplets. Considering that the droplet serves as a nonequilibrium reservoir of a group III metal, we develop a model that demonstrates a self-equilibration effect on the droplet size in self-catalyzed III-V nanowires. This effect leads to arrays of nanowires with a high degree of uniformity regardless of the initial conditions, while the stationary diameter can be further finely tuned by varying the spacing of the array pitch on patterned Si substrates.

In(x)Ga(1-x)As nanowires with uniform composition, pure wurtzite crystal phase and taper-free morphology

Obtaining compositional homogeneity without compromising morphological or structural quality is one of the biggest challenges in growing ternary alloy compound semiconductor nanowires. Here we report growth of Au-seeded InxGa1-xAs nanowires via metal-organic vapour phase epitaxy with uniform composition, morphology and pure wurtzite (WZ) crystal phase by carefully optimizing growth temperature and V/III ratio. We find that high growth temperatures allow the InxGa1-xAs composition to be more uniform by suppressing the formation of typically observed spontaneous In-rich shells. A low V/III ratio results in the growth of pure WZ phase InxGa1-xAs nanowires with uniform composition and morphology while a high V/III ratio allows pure zinc-blende (ZB) phase to form. Ga incorporation is found to be dependent on the crystal phase favouring higher Ga concentration in ZB phase compared to the WZ phase. Tapering is also found to be more prominent in defective nanowires hence it is critical to maintain the highest crystal structure purity in order to minimize tapering and inhomogeneity. The InP capped pure WZ In0.65Ga0.35As core-shell nanowire heterostructures show 1.54 μm photoluminescence, close to the technologically important optical fibre telecommunication wavelength, which is promising for application in photodetectors and nanoscale lasers.

Controlling the morphology, composition and crystal structure in gold-seeded GaAs(1-x)Sb(x) nanowires

While III-V binary nanowires are now well controlled and their growth mechanisms reasonably well understood, growing ternary nanowires, including controlling their morphology, composition and crystal structure remains a challenge. However, understanding and control of ternary alloys is of fundamental interest and critical to enable a new class of nanowire devices. Here, we report on the progress in understanding the complex growth behaviour of gold-seeded GaAs1-xSbx nanowires grown by metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy. The competition between As and Sb atoms for incorporation into the growing crystal leads to a tunability of the Sb content over a broad range (x varies from 0.09 to 0.6), solely by changing the AsH3 flow. In contrast, changing TMSb flow is more effective in affecting the morphology and crystal structure of the nanowires. Inclined faults are found in some of these nanowires and directly related to the kinking of the nanowires and controlled by TMSb flow. Combined with the observed sharp increase of wetting angle between the Au seed and nanowire, the formation of inclined faults are attributed to the Au seed being dislodged from the growth front to wet the sidewalls of the nanowires, and are related to the surfactant role of Sb. The insights provided by this study should benefit future device applications relying on taper- and twin-free ternary antimonide III-V nanowire alloys and their heterostructures.

Zn3As2 nanowires and nanoplatelets: highly efficient infrared emission and photodetection by an earth abundant material

The development of earth abundant materials for optoelectronics and photovoltaics promises improvements in sustainability and scalability. Recent studies have further demonstrated enhanced material efficiency through the superior light management of novel nanoscale geometries such as the nanowire. Here we show that an industry standard epitaxy technique can be used to fabricate high quality II-V nanowires (1D) and nanoplatelets (2D) of the earth abundant semiconductor Zn3As2. We go on to establish the optoelectronic potential of this material by demonstrating efficient photoemission and detection at 1.0 eV, an energy which is significant to the fields of both photovoltaics and optical telecommunications. Through dynamical spectroscopy this superior performance is found to arise from a low rate of surface recombination combined with a high rate of radiative recombination. These results introduce nanostructured Zn3As2 as a high quality optoelectronic material ready for device exploration.

Parity independence of the zero-bias conductance peak in a nanowire based topological superconductor-quantum dot hybrid device

We explore the signatures of Majorana fermions in a nanowire based topological superconductor-quantum dot-topological superconductor hybrid device by charge transport measurements. At zero magnetic field, well-defined Coulomb diamonds and the Kondo effect are observed. Under the application of a finite, sufficiently strong magnetic field, a zero-bias conductance peak structure is observed. It is found that the zero-bias conductance peak is present in many consecutive Coulomb diamonds, irrespective of the even-odd parity of the quasi-particle occupation number in the quantum dot. In addition, we find that the zero-bias conductance peak is in most cases accompanied by two differential conductance peaks, forming a triple-peak structure, and the separation between the two side peaks in bias voltage shows oscillations closely correlated to the background Coulomb conductance oscillations of the device. The observed zero-bias conductance peak and the associated triple-peak structure are in line with Majorana fermion physics in such a hybrid topological system.

Atomic scale strain relaxation in axial semiconductor III-V nanowire heterostructures

Combination of mismatched materials in semiconductor nanowire heterostructures offers a freedom of bandstructure engineering that is impossible in standard planar epitaxy. Nevertheless, the presence of strain and structural defects directly control the optoelectronic properties of these nanomaterials. Understanding with atomic accuracy how mismatched heterostructures release or accommodate strain, therefore, is highly desirable. By using atomic resolution high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy combined with geometrical phase analyses and computer simulations, we are able to establish the relaxation mechanisms (including both elastic and plastic deformations) to release the mismatch strain in axial nanowire heterostructures. Formation of misfit dislocations, diffusion of atomic species, polarity transfer, and induced structural transformations are studied with atomic resolution at the intermediate ternary interfaces. Two nanowire heterostructure systems with promising applications (InAs/InSb and GaAs/GaSb) have been selected as key examples.

Selective-area epitaxy of pure wurtzite InP nanowires: high quantum efficiency and room-temperature lasing

We report the growth of stacking-fault-free and taper-free wurtzite InP nanowires with diameters ranging from 80 to 600 nm using selective-area metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy and experimentally determine a quantum efficiency of ∼50%, which is on par with InP epilayers. We also demonstrate room-temperature, photonic mode lasing from these nanowires. Their excellent structural and optical quality opens up new possibilities for both fundamental quantum optics and optoelectronic devices.

Nanowires grown on InP (100): growth directions, facets, crystal structures, and relative yield control

Growth of III-V nanowires on the [100]-oriented industry standard substrates is critical for future integrated nanowire device development. Here we present an in-depth analysis of the seemingly complex ensembles of epitaxial nanowires grown on InP (100) substrates. The nanowires are categorized into three types as vertical, nonvertical, and planar, and the growth directions, facets, and crystal structure of each type are investigated. The nonvertical growth directions are mathematically modeled using a three-dimensional multiple-order twinning concept. The nonvertical nanowires can be further classified into two different types, with one type growing in the ⟨111⟩ directions and the other in the ⟨100⟩ directions after initial multiple three-dimensional twinning. We find that 99% of the total nanowires are grown either along ⟨100⟩, ⟨111⟩, or ⟨110⟩ growth directions by {100} or {111} growth facets. We also demonstrate relative control of yield of these different types of nanowires, by tuning pregrowth annealing conditions and growth parameters. Together, the knowledge and controllability of the types of nanowires provide an ideal foundation to explore novel geometries that combine different crystal structures, with potential for both fundamental science research and device applications.

Metal-seeded growth of III-V semiconductor nanowires: towards gold-free synthesis

Semiconductor nanowires composed of III-V materials have enormous potential to add new functionality to electronics and optical applications. However, integration of these promising structures into applications is severely limited by the current near-universal reliance on gold nanoparticles as seeds for nanowire fabrication. Although highly controlled fabrication is achieved, this metal is entirely incompatible with the Si-based electronics industry. In this Feature we review the progress towards developing gold-free bottom-up synthesis techniques for III-V semiconductor nanowires. Three main categories of nanowire synthesis are discussed: selective-area epitaxy, self-seeding and foreign metal seeding, with main focus on the metal-seeded techniques. For comparison, we also review the development of foreign metal seeded synthesis of silicon and germanium nanowires. Finally, directions for future development and anticipated important trends are discussed. We anticipate significant development in the use of foreign metal seeding in particular. In addition, we speculate that multiple different techniques must be developed in order to replace gold and to provide a variety of nanowire structures and properties suited to a diverse range of applications.

Magnetotransport subband spectroscopy in InAs nanowires

We report on magnetotransport measurements in InAs nanowires under a large magnetic field (up to 55 T), providing a spectroscopy of the one-dimensional electronic band structure. Large modulations of the conductance mediated by a control of the Fermi energy reveal the Landau fragmentation, carrying the fingerprints of the confined InAs material. Our numerical simulations of the magnetic band structure consistently support the experimental results and reveal key parameters of the electronic confinement.

Time-resolved X-ray diffraction investigation of the modified phonon dispersion in InSb nanowires

The modified phonon dispersion is of importance for understanding the origin of the reduced heat conductivity in nanowires. We have measured the phonon dispersion for 50 nm diameter InSb (111) nanowires using time-resolved X-ray diffraction. By comparing the sound speed of the bulk (3880 m/s) and that of a classical thin rod (3600 m/s) to our measurement (2880 m/s), we conclude that the origin of the reduced sound speed and thereby to the reduced heat conductivity is that the C44 elastic constant is reduced by 35% compared to the bulk material.

Morphology and composition controlled Ga(x)In(1-x)Sb nanowires: understanding ternary antimonide growth

Antimonide-based nanowires represent an important new class of material with great promise for both fundamental physics studies and various device applications. We report a comprehensive study on understanding the growth behaviour of GaxIn1-xSb nanowires on GaAs substrates using Au nanoparticles. First, the effect of growth parameters on the morphology and composition of GaxIn1-xSb nanowires is extensively studied over the entire compositional range (from 3 to ~100% of In). Second, the obtained compositional results are explained by a kinetic model, suggesting an Arrhenius-type behavior for the trimethylindium (TMIn) precursor. Third, the particle composition is fully investigated and the implications for growth are discussed with reference to our calculated Au-Ga-In phase diagram. Fourth, a mechanism is presented to explain the temperature-dependent morphology and radial growth of the GaxIn1-xSb nanowires. Finally, we demonstrate homogeneous compositions in both axial and radial directions and the nanowires remain entirely twin-free zinc blende. The understanding gained from this study together with the potential to precisely tailor the band gap, wavelength and carrier mobilities allows fabrication of various GaxIn1-xSb-based nanowire devices.

Gold-free ternary III-V antimonide nanowire arrays on silicon: twin-free down to the first bilayer

With the continued maturation of III-V nanowire research, expectations of material quality should be concomitantly raised. Ideally, III-V nanowires integrated on silicon should be entirely free of extended planar defects such as twins, stacking faults, or polytypism, position-controlled for convenient device processing, and gold-free for compatibility with standard complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) processing tools. Here we demonstrate large area vertical GaAsxSb1-x nanowire arrays grown on silicon (111) by molecular beam epitaxy. The nanowires' complex faceting, pure zinc blende crystal structure, and composition are mapped using characterization techniques both at the nanoscale and in large-area ensembles. We prove unambiguously that these gold-free nanowires are entirely twin-free down to the first bilayer and reveal their three-dimensional composition evolution, paving the way for novel infrared devices integrated directly on the cost-effective Si platform.

Growth mechanisms and process window for InAs V-shaped nanoscale membranes on Si[001]

Organized growth of high aspect-ratio nanostructures such as membranes is interesting for opto-electronic and energy harvesting applications. Recently, we reported a new form of InAs nano-membranes grown on Si substrates with enhanced light scattering properties. In this paper we study how to tune the morphology of the membranes by changing the growth conditions. We examine the role of the V/III ratio, substrate temperature, mask opening size and inter-hole distances in determining the size and shape of the structures. Our results show that the nano-membranes form by a combination of the growth mechanisms of nanowires and the Stranski-Krastanov type of quantum dots: in analogy with nanowires, the length of the membranes strongly depends on the growth temperature and the V/III ratio; the inter-hole distance of the sample determines two different growth regimes: competitive growth for small distances and an independent regime for larger distances. Conversely, and similarly to quantum dots, the width of the nano-membranes increases with the growth temperature and does not exhibit dependence on the V/III ratio. These results constitute an important step towards achieving rational design of high aspect-ratio nanostructures.

Raman spectroscopy of self-catalyzed GaAs(1-x)Sb(x) nanowires grown on silicon

Thanks to their wide band structure tunability, GaAs(1-x)Sb(x) nanowires provide exciting perspectives in optoelectronic and energy harvesting applications. The control of composition and strain of these ternary alloys is crucial in the determination of their optical and electronic properties. Raman scattering provides information on the vibrational properties of materials, which can be related to the composition and strain. We present a systematic study of the vibrational properties of GaAs(1-x)Sb(x) nanowires for Sb contents from 0 to 44%, as determined by energy-dispersive x-ray analyses. We find that optical phonons red-shift with increasing Sb content. We explain the shift by alloying effects, including mass disorder, dielectric changes and ionic plasmon coupling. The influence of Sb on the surface optical modes is addressed. Finally, we compare the luminescence yield between GaAs and GaAs(1-x)Sb(x), which can be related to a lower surface recombination rate. This work provides a reference for the study of ternary alloys in the form of nanowires, and demonstrates the tunability and high material quality of gold-free ternary antimonide nanowires directly grown on silicon.

Twinning superlattice formation in GaAs nanowires

Semiconductor nanowires have proven a versatile platform for the realization of novel structures unachievable by traditional planar epitaxy techniques. Among these, the periodic arrangement of twin planes to form twinning superlattice structures has generated particular interest. Here we demonstrate twinning superlattice formation in GaAs nanowires and investigate the diameter dependence of both morphology and twin plane spacing. An approximately linear relationship is found between plane spacing and nanowire diameter, which contrasts with previous results reported for both InP and GaP. Through modeling, we relate this to both the higher twin plane surface energy of GaAs coupled with the lower supersaturation relevant to Au seeded GaAs nanowire growth. Understanding and modeling the mechanism of twinning superlattice formation in III-V nanowires not only provides fundamental insight into the growth process, but also opens the door to the possibility of tailoring twin spacing for various electronic and mechanical applications.

Persistent enhancement of the carrier density in electron irradiated InAs nanowires

We report a significant and persistent enhancement of the conductivity in free-standing non-intentionally doped InAs nanowires upon irradiation in ultra-high vacuum. Combining four-point probe transport measurements performed on nanowires with different surface chemistries, field effect based measurements and numerical simulations of the electron density, the change in the conductivity is found to be caused by an increase in the surface free carrier concentration. Although an electron beam of a few keV, typically used for the inspection and the processing of materials, propagates through the entire nanowire cross-section, we demonstrate that the electrical properties of the nanowire are predominantly affected by radiation-induced defects occurring at the nanowire surface and not in the bulk.

Vertical "III-V" V-shaped nanomembranes epitaxially grown on a patterned Si[001] substrate and their enhanced light scattering

We report on a new form of III-V compound semiconductor nanostructures growing epitaxially as vertical V-shaped nanomembranes on Si(001) and study their light-scattering properties. Precise position control of the InAs nanostructures in regular arrays is demonstrated by bottom-up synthesis using molecular beam epitaxy in nanoscale apertures on a SiO(2) mask. The InAs V-shaped nanomembranes are found to originate from the two opposite facets of a rectangular pyramidal island nucleus and extend along two opposite <111> B directions, forming flat {110} walls. Dark-field scattering experiments, in combination with light-scattering theory, show the presence of distinctive shape-dependent optical resonances significantly enhancing the local intensity of incident electromagnetic fields over tunable spectral regions. These new nanostructures could have interesting potential in nanosensors, infrared light emitters, and nonlinear optical elements.

Anomalous zero-bias conductance peak in a Nb-InSb nanowire-Nb hybrid device

Semiconductor InSb nanowires are expected to provide an excellent material platform for the study of Majorana fermions in solid state systems. Here, we report on the realization of a Nb-InSb nanowire-Nb hybrid quantum device and the observation of a zero-bias conductance peak structure in the device. An InSb nanowire quantum dot is formed in the device between the two Nb contacts. Due to the proximity effect, the InSb nanowire segments covered by the superconductor Nb contacts turn to superconductors with a superconducting energy gap Δ(InSb) ∼ 0.25 meV. A tunable critical supercurrent is observed in the device in high back gate voltage regions in which the Fermi level in the InSb nanowire is located above the tunneling barriers of the quantum dot and the device is open to conduction. When a perpendicular magnetic field is applied to the devices, the critical supercurrent is seen to decrease as the magnetic field increases. However, at sufficiently low back gate voltages, the device shows the quasi-particle Coulomb blockade characteristics and the supercurrent is strongly suppressed even at zero magnetic field. This transport characteristic changes when a perpendicular magnetic field stronger than a critical value, at which the Zeeman energy in the InSb nanowire is E(z) ∼ Δ(InSb), is applied to the device. In this case, the transport measurements show a conductance peak at the zero bias voltage and the entire InSb nanowire in the device behaves as in a topological superconductor phase. We also show that this zero-bias conductance peak structure can persist over a large range of applied magnetic fields and could be interpreted as a transport signature of Majorana fermions in the InSb nanowire.

Demonstration of defect-free and composition tunable GaxIn₁-xSb nanowires

The Ga(x)In(1-x)Sb ternary system has many interesting material properties, such as high carrier mobilities and a tunable range of bandgaps in the infrared. Here we present the first report on the growth and compositional control of Ga(x)In(1-x)Sb material grown in the form of nanowires from Au seeded nanoparticles by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. The composition of the grown Ga(x)In(1-x)Sb nanowires is precisely controlled by tuning the growth parameters where x varies from 1 to ∼0.3. Interestingly, the growth rate of the Ga(x)In(1-x)Sb nanowires increases with diameter, which we model based on the Gibbs-Thomson effect. Nanowire morphology can be tuned from high to very low aspect ratios, with perfect zinc blende crystal structure regardless of composition. Finally, electrical characterization on nanowire material with a composition of Ga(0.6)In(0.4)Sb showed clear p-type behavior.

Combinatorial approaches to understanding polytypism in III-V nanowires

Polytypism in III-V semiconductor nanowires is a topic that has received considerable attention in recent years. Achieving a pure nanowire crystal phase requires well-controlled and advanced parameter tuning for most III-V materials. Additionally, the new and unusual phases sometimes observed may present unique material properties if they can be controllably fabricated. With the prospect of using nanowires in applications within several different fields (including electronics, photonics, and life science), theoretical models are necessary to explain experimental trends and to attain a high level of crystal phase control. At present, there is no theoretical model (or combination of models) that fully explains how and why nanowire crystal structures commonly include several different polytypes. Here we use combinatorics and interlayer interactions to include higher order polytypes (4H and 6H) with the aim to explain nanowire crystal structure beyond the well-investigated zinc blende-wurtzite polytypism. Predictions from our theoretical models compare well with experimental results.

Faceting, composition and crystal phase evolution in III-V antimonide nanowire heterostructures revealed by combining microscopy techniques

III-V antimonide nanowires are among the most interesting semiconductors for transport physics, nanoelectronics and long-wavelength optoelectronic devices due to their optimal material properties. In order to investigate their complex crystal structure evolution, faceting and composition, we report a combined scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) study of gold-nucleated ternary InAs/InAs(1-x)Sb(x) nanowire heterostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy. SEM showed the general morphology and faceting, TEM revealed the internal crystal structure and ternary compositions, while STM was successfully applied to characterize the oxide-free nanowire sidewalls, in terms of nanofaceting morphology, atomic structure and surface composition. The complementary use of these techniques allows for correlation of the morphological and structural properties of the nanowires with the amount of Sb incorporated during growth. The addition of even a minute amount of Sb to InAs changes the crystal structure from perfect wurtzite to perfect zinc blende, via intermediate stacking fault and pseudo-periodic twinning regimes. Moreover, the addition of Sb during the axial growth of InAs/InAs(1-x)Sb(x) heterostructure nanowires causes a significant conformal lateral overgrowth on both segments, leading to the spontaneous formation of a core-shell structure, with an Sb-rich shell.

Phonon Transport and Thermoelectricity in Defect-Engineered InAs Nanowires

There have been reports of improvements in the thermoelectric figure of merit through the use of nanostructured materials to suppress the lattice thermal conductivity. Here, we report on a fundamental study of the combined effects of defect planes and surface scattering on phonon transport and thermoelectric properties of defect-engineered InAs nanowires. A microfabricated device is employed to measure the thermal conductivity and thermopower of individual suspended indium arsenide nanowires grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. The four-probe measurement device consists of platinum resistance thermometers and electrodes patterned on two adjacent SiNx membranes. A nanowire was suspended between the two membranes, and electrical contact between the nanowire and the platinum electrodes was made with the evaporation of a Ni/Pd film through a shadow mask. The exposed back side of the device substrate allows for characterization of the crystal structure of the suspended nanowire with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) following measurement. The 100-200 nm diameter zincblende (ZB) InAs nanowire samples were grown with randomly spaced twin defects, stacking faults, or phases boundaries perpendicular to the nanowire growth direction, as revealed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. Compared to single-crystal ZB InAs nanowires with a similar lateral dimension, the thermal conductivity of the defect-engineered nanowires is reduced by fifty percent at room temperature.

Supercurrent and multiple Andreev reflections in an InSb nanowire Josephson junction

Epitaxially grown, high quality semiconductor InSb nanowires are emerging material systems for the development of high performance nanoelectronics and quantum information processing and communication devices and for the studies of new physical phenomena in solid state systems. Here, we report on measurements of a superconductor-normal conductor-superconductor junction device fabricated from an InSb nanowire with aluminum-based superconducting contacts. The measurements show a proximity-induced supercurrent flowing through the InSb nanowire segment with a critical current tunable by a gate in the current bias configuration and multiple Andreev reflection characteristics in the voltage bias configuration. The temperature dependence and the magnetic field dependence of the critical current and the multiple Andreev reflection characteristics of the junction are also studied. Furthermore, we extract the excess current from the measurements and study its temperature and magnetic field dependences. The successful observation of the superconductivity in the InSb nanowire-based Josephson junction device indicates that InSb nanowires provide an excellent material system for creating and observing novel physical phenomena such as Majorana fermions in solid-state systems.

High yield of self-catalyzed GaAs nanowire arrays grown on silicon via gallium droplet positioning

We report and detail a method to achieve growth of vertical self-catalyzed GaAs nanowires directly on Si(111) with a near-perfect vertical yield, using electron-beam-defined arrays of holes in a dielectric layer and molecular beam epitaxy. In our conditions, GaAs nanowires are grown along a vapor-liquid-solid mechanism, using in situ self-forming Ga droplets. The focus of this paper is to understand the role of the substrate preparation and of the pre-growth conditioning. Without changing temperature or the V/III ratio, the yield of vertical nanowires is increased incrementally up to 95%. The possibility to achieve very dense arrays, with center-to-center inter-wire distances less than 100 nm, is demonstrated.