Indium Phosphide Nanoneedles on Non-single Crystalline Semiconductor Surfaces

We demonstrated a route to synthesize high-quality epitaxial nanometer-scale structures on non-single crystalline semiconductor surfaces formed on amorphous substrates. We chose indium phosphide (InP) for a material of nanometer-scale structures and various hydrogenated silicon (Si:H) films for non-single crystalline semiconductor surfaces. With the presence of gold nanoparticles, the InP grew into nearly one-dimensional nanometer-scale structures, nanoneedles, with a wide base on one end and a sharp tip on the other end. The Si:H films and the prepared InP nanoneedles were studied in terms of their chemical, structural and optical properties.