Core–shell carrier and exciton transfer in GaAs/GaNAs coaxial nanowires

Comprehensive studies of GaAs/GaNAs coaxial nanowires grown on Si substrates are carried out by temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) and PL excitation, to evaluate effects of the shell formation on carrier recombination. The PL emission from the GaAs core is found to transform into a series of sharp PL lines upon radial growth of the GaNAs shell, pointing toward the formation of localization potentials in the core. This hampers carrier transfer at low temperatures from the core in spite of its wider bandgap. Carrier injection from the core to the optically active shell is found to become thermally activated at T > 60 K, which implies that the localization potentials are rather shallow.