We report novel luminescent materials based on group III-V compound semiconductor nanowires. Semiconductor nanowires are essentially one-dimensional rods with length of several microns and diameter below 100 nm. Hence, nanowires exhibit interesting quantum confinement and carrier transport properties. Nanowires are grown using metal seed particles by the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) process in a molecular beam epitaxy or metalorganic chemical vapor deposition system. By varying the material deposition during growth, axial or radial nanowire heterostructures and p-n junctions may be formed for various device applications including light emitting diodes, lasers, and photodetectors. Due to the large surface area to volume ratio of a nanowire, lattice mismatch strain may be accommodated by elastic distortion of the nanowire without detrimental misfit dislocations, which gives a much greater ability to perform bandgap engineering in nanowires as compared to thin films. Hence, unique heterostructures are possible in nanowires that would be impossible in thin films, opening up new device applications and possibilities in condensed matter physics. We will report our recent work on the photoluminescence properties of InAsP/InP nanowires. InP nanowires were grown on <111> Si substrates by the Au-assisted vapor-liquid-solid process in a gas source molecular beam epitaxy system. InAs y P 1-y segments were grown in the middle of the InP nanowires, creating a multiple quantum dot structure or superlattice. The quantum dot dimensions and composition were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Photoluminescence (PL) from the quantum dot structure could be tuned by the InAs y P 1-y composition (y), or by the size of the quantum dot via the quantum confinement effect. Cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements confirmed localized emission from the quantum dots. To reduce detrimental surface states, the nanowires were passivated with an AlInP shell, which resulted in strong PL emission. The growth mechanism of the quantum dots were inferred from the InAsP and InP segment lengths as a function of nanowire diameter. Short InAsP segment lengths were found to grow by depletion of In from the Au particle as well as by direct impingement, while longer segments of InAsP and InP grew by diffusive transport of adatoms from the nanowire sidewalls. The present study offers a manner to engineer the lengths of InAsP quantum dots embedded in InP barriers to better control the PL or CL emission. A novel group III and V gas switching sequence is presented to improve compositional control of the QD.
We report on the surface passivation of Au-assisted Te-doped GaAs nanowires (NWs) grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. The electrical properties of individual free standing NWs were assessed using a tungsten nano-probe inside a scanning electron microscope. The diameter independent apparent resistivity of both strained and relaxed passivated NWs suggests the unpinning of the Fermi level and reduction of sidewalls surface states density. Similar current-voltage properties were observed for partially axially relaxed GaAs/GaP NWs. This indicates a negligible contribution of misfit dislocations in the charge transport properties of the NWs. Low temperature micro-photoluminescence (μ-PL) measurements were also carried out for both uncapped and passivated GaAs NWs. The improvement of the integrated (μ-PL) intensity for GaAs/GaP NWs further confirms the effect of passivation.
GaAsP self-assisted core–shell p-i-n nanowires were grown on Si solar cells. The resulting tandem cell exhibited an enhanced Voc of 1.16 V, increasing from 0.54 V for the Si cell alone. Nevertheless, the efficiency of the tandem cell was only 3.51% as compared with 9.33% for the Si cell due to a current-limiting short-circuit current density from the nanowires. Further improvement in device performance can be realized by improving the nanowire open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current, related to doping of the nanowires.
In an effort to control aggregation and sintering of phosphor nanoparticles at elevated annealing temperatures, glycothermally synthesized cerium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Ce:YAG) nanoparticles were annealed in a matrix of aluminum oxide between 1000 °C and 1200 °C. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that glycothermal synthesis yields ~100 nm particles, and that the alumina matrix was able to control grain growth of Ce:YAG at annealing temperatures up to 1200 °C. Analysis by x-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed an increase in the degree of crystallinity at increasing temperatures as well as the evolution of alumina phases. Photoluminescence of the composite product showed the expected broad Ce:YAG spectrum, with characteristic chromium R lines present due to the formation of corundum at 1200 °C with trace chromium content. The same procedure was performed to synthesize a Ce:YAG/Cr:Al2O3 nanocomposite, yielding photoluminescence of both the expected Ce:YAG and Cr:Al2O3 peaks as well as clear evidence of energy transfer between Ce and Cr centers in YAG. The luminescence of these composites was used to determine their CIE colour co-ordinates. It was found that the colour profile of the resulting emission may be tuned by adjusting the Cr content and annealing conditions of the composite materials.
Nanowires are rod or whisker-like structures with length on the order of microns and diameter from tens to hundreds of nanometers. They represent a new class of three-dimensional materials, and the next step in the evolution of conventional two-dimensional thin films, quantum wells, or heterostructures. Nanowires are typically fabricated by the assistance of foreign metal catalysts, such as Au, that collect deposited material, resulting in localized growth of nanowires. However, the use of foreign metal particles can result in contamination of the nanowires and reduction in the carrier lifetime, which degrades device performance. In the present work, we present the self-assisted growth of GaP nanowires by molecular beam epitaxy, using Ga droplets as a seed particle without the use of any foreign metal catalysts. Growth of the nanowire occurs by selective-area epitaxy using a patterned array of holes in an SiO x mask. The holes collect Ga adatoms forming a Ga droplet that seeds the nanowire growth. The size of the Ga droplet can be controlled by a novel evaporation process, resulting in ultra-thin nanowire structures. GaAs heterostructures were introduced into the GaP nanowires during growth resulting in quantum dots. The quantum dots are encapsulated in GaP, resulting in passivation of the QD surfaces. Photoluminescence emission was observed from the QDs in the visible range. The emission wavelength is tunable by the size or composition of the QDs. This process results in controlled luminescence emission with application in single photon sources, light emitting diodes, or laser diodes.
The native oxide at the surface of III-V nanowires, such as InAs, can be a major source of charge noise and scattering in nanowire-based electronics, particularly for quantum devices operated at low temperatures.Surface passivation provides a means to remove the native oxide and prevent its regrowth.Here, we study the effects of surface passivation and conformal dielectric deposition by measuring electrical conductance through nanowire field effect transistors treated with a variety of surface preparations.By extracting field effect mobility, subthreshold swing, threshold shift with temperature, and the gate hysteresis for each device, we infer the relative effects of the different treatments on the factors influencing transport.It is found that a combination of chemical passivation followed by deposition of an aluminum oxide dielectric shell yields the best results compared to the other treatments, and comparable to untreated nanowires.Finally, it is shown that an entrenched, top-gated device using an optimally treated nanowire can successfully form a stable double quantum dot at low temperatures.The device has excellent electrostatic tunability owing to the conformal dielectric layer and the combination of local top gates and a global back gate.
The effect of sulfur passivation on core-shell p-n junction GaAs nanowire (NW) solar cells has been investigated. Devices of two types were investigated, consisting of indium tin oxide contact dots or opaque Au finger electrodes. Lateral carrier transport from the NWs to the contact fingers was achieved via a p-doped GaAs surface conduction layer. NWs between the opaque contact fingers had sidewall surfaces exposed for passivation by sulfur. The relative cell efficiency increased by 19% upon passivation. The contribution of the thin film grown between the NWs to the total cell efficiency was estimated by removing the NWs using a sonication procedure. Mechanisms of carrier transport and photovoltaic effects are discussed on the basis of spatially resolved laser scanning measurements.
We describe methods of Ga droplet consumption in Ga-assisted GaAs nanowires, and their impact on the crystal structure at the tip of nanowires. Droplets are consumed under different group V flux conditions and the resulting tip crystal structure is examined by transmission electron microscopy. The use of GaAsP marker layers provides insight into the behavior of the Ga droplet during different droplet consumption conditions. Lower group V droplet supersaturations lead to a pure zincblende stacking-fault-free tip crystal structure, which improved the performance of a nanowire-based photovoltaic device.
