Andrey Lysov

Controllable p-type doping of GaAs nanowires during vapor-liquid-solid growth

We report on controlled p-type doping of GaAs nanowires grown by metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy on (111)B GaAs substrates using the vapor-liquid-solid growth mode. p-type doping of GaAs nanowires was realized by an additional diethyl zinc flow during the growth. Compared to nominally undoped structures, the current increases by more than six orders of magnitude. The transfer characteristics of fabricated nanowire metal-insulator-semiconductor field-effect transistor devices proved p-type conductivity. By adjusting the II/III ratio, controlled doping concentrations from 4.6×1018 up to 2.3×1019 cm−3 could be achieved at a growth temperature of 400 °C. The doping concentrations were estimated from electrical conductivity measurements applied to single nanowires with different diameters. This estimation is based on a mobility versus carrier concentration model with surface depletion included.

Direct determination of minority carrier diffusion lengths at axial GaAs nanowire p-n junctions.

Axial GaAs nanowire p-n diodes, possibly one of the core elements of future nanowire solar cells and light emitters, were grown via the Au-assisted vapor-liquid-solid mode, contacted by electron beam lithography, and investigated using electron beam induced current measurements. The minority carrier diffusion lengths and dynamics of both, electrons and holes, were determined directly at the vicinity of the p-n junction. The generated photocurrent shows an exponential decay on both sides of the junction and the extracted diffusion lengths are about 1 order of magnitude lower compared to bulk material due to surface recombination. Moreover, the observed strong diameter-dependence is well in line with the surface-to-volume ratio of semiconductor nanowires. Estimating the surface recombination velocities clearly indicates a nonabrupt p-n junction, which is in essential agreement with the model of delayed dopant incorporation in the Au-assisted vapor-liquid-solid mechanism. Surface passivation using ammonium sulfide effectively reduces the surface recombination and thus leads to higher minority carrier diffusion lengths.

n-Type Doping of Vapor–Liquid–Solid Grown GaAs Nanowires

In this letter, n-type doping of GaAs nanowires grown by metal–organic vapor phase epitaxy in the vapor–liquid–solid growth mode on (111)B GaAs substrates is reported. A low growth temperature of 400°C is adjusted in order to exclude shell growth. The impact of doping precursors on the morphology of GaAs nanowires was investigated. Tetraethyl tin as doping precursor enables heavily n-type doped GaAs nanowires in a relatively small process window while no doping effect could be found for ditertiarybutylsilane. Electrical measurements carried out on single nanowires reveal an axially non-uniform doping profile. Within a number of wires from the same run, the donor concentrations ND of GaAs nanowires are found to vary from 7 × 1017 cm-3 to 2 × 1018 cm-3. The n-type conductivity is proven by the transfer characteristics of fabricated nanowire metal–insulator-semiconductor field-effect transistor devices.

A precise optical determination of nanoscale diameters of semiconductor nanowires

Electrical and optical properties of semiconducting nanowires (NWs) strongly depend on their diameters. Therefore, a precise knowledge of their diameters is essential for any kind of device integration. Here, we present an optical method based on dark field optical microscopy to easily determine the diameters of individual NWs with an accuracy of a few nanometers and thus a relative error of less than 10%. The underlying physical principle of this method is that strong Mie resonances dominate the optical scattering spectra of most semiconducting NWs and can thus be exploited. The feasibility of this method is demonstrated using GaAs NWs but it should be applicable to most types of semiconducting NWs as well. Dark field optical microscopy shows that even slight tapering of the NWs, i.e. diameter variations of a few nanometers, can be detected by a visible color change. Abrupt diameter changes of a few nanometers, as they occur for example when growth conditions vary, can be determined as well. In addition a profound analysis of the elastic scattering properties of individual GaAs NWs is presented theoretically using Mie calculations as well as experimentally by dark field microscopy. This method has the advantage that no vacuum technique is needed, a fast and reliable analysis is possible based on cheap standard hardware.

Optical properties of heavily doped GaAs nanowires and electroluminescent nanowire structures

We present GaAs electroluminescent nanowire structures fabricated by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. Electroluminescent structures were realized in both axial pn-junctions in single GaAs nanowires and free-standing nanowire arrays with a pn-junction formed between nanowires and substrate, respectively. The electroluminescence emission peak from single nanowire pn-junctions at 10 K was registered at an energy of around 1.32 eV and shifted to 1.4 eV with an increasing current. The line is attributed to the recombination in the compensated region present in the nanowire due to the memory effect of the vapor-liquid-solid growth mechanism. Arrayed nanowire electroluminescent structures with a pn-junction formed between nanowires and substrate demonstrated at 5 K a strong electroluminescence peak at 1.488 eV and two shoulder peaks at 1.455 and 1.519 eV. The main emission line was attributed to the recombination in the p-doped GaAs. The other two lines correspond to the tunneling-assisted photon emission and band-edge recombination in the abrupt junction, respectively. Electroluminescence spectra are compared with the micro-photoluminescence spectra taken along the single p-, n- and single nanowire pn-junctions to find the origin of the electroluminescence peaks, the distribution of doping species and the sharpness of the junctions.

Planar-defect characteristics and cross-sections of 〈001〉, 〈111〉, and 〈112〉 InAs nanowires

We report on detailed structural and morphological characterizations of InAs nanowires of 〈001〉, 〈111〉, and 〈112〉 crystallographic directions grown on (001)B InAs wafer substrates using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. We find that 〈001〉-oriented InAs nanowires are cubic zincblende-type structure and free of planar defects. The 〈111〉- and 〈112〉-oriented InAs nanowires both have densely twinned (111) planar defects that are perpendicular and parallel to the growth direction, respectively. The cross sections of all three types of InAs nanowires are obtained from 3D reconstructions using electron tomography. The characteristics of the planar defects and the 3D wire shape should provide better estimations of microstructure-relevant physical properties, such as conductivity and Young’s modulus of InAs nanowires.

Ohmic contacts to n-GaAs nanowires

We report on the technology and the electrical properties of two different contact systems on n-GaAs nanowires. Annealed Ge/Ni/Ge/Au and Pd/Ge/Au multilayer metallization were investigated. Rapid thermal annealing at temperatures common for identical contact systems on n-GaAs layers is found to be crucial due to an enhanced out-diffusion of the Ga component into the Au contact layer. The maximum annealing temperatures ensuring intact nanowires are 320 °C for Ge/Ni/Ge/Au and 280 °C for Pd/Ge/Au. The fabricated Pd/Ge/Au contacts reveal a specific contacts resistance of 2.77 × 10−7 Ωcm2, which is about one order of magnitude lower compared to the values of Ge/Ni/Ge/Au and also lower than Pd/Ge/Au contacts on bulk material (1.2 × 10−6 Ωcm2).

Junction field-effect transistor based on GaAs core-shell nanowires

Nanowire FETs with all-around Junction-Gate are demonstrated using GaAs core-shell nanowires. The electrical properties of the n-channel Junction FET were determined by DC measurements. The radial pn-junctions show diode-type I-V characteristics. The output and transfer I-V characteristics exhibit good pinch-off, and hysteresis-free transient behavior. First devices with 190 nm nanowire channel diameter show a drain current of ID = 260 nA and a transconductance of gm = 300 nS.

Single GaAs nanowire photovoltaic devices under very high power illumination

GaAs nanowire pn-diodes were used for single nanowire radial and axial photovoltaic device fabrication. In this study the performance under very high illumination power is measured and analyzed in terms open circuit voltage, and efficiency. It is found that GaAs nanowire photovoltaic devices can be operated under very high power of up to 120 W/cm2 (λ = 532 nm) without detectable degradation. The short circuit current increases directly proportional to the illumination power while the open circuit voltage steadily increases up to the highest illumination. This study shows that both axial and radial nanowire pn-junctions are suitable for sun light conversion with very high concentration ratio ( >; 1,000).

III/V Nanowires for Electronic and Optoelectronic Applications

III/V semiconductor nanowires are grown by the vapour–liquid solid growth mode from Au seed particles in an industrial type metal–organic vapour phase epitaxial apparatus. For electronic applications InAs nanowires with very high electron were developed on InAs (111), InAs (100), and GaAs (111) substrates. The wires were deposited on insulating host substrate for metal–insulator–semiconductor FET fabrication. Their excellent DC and RF performance are presented. For optoelectronic applications the focus is on selective n- and p-type doping. GaAs nanowires with an axial p–n junction are presented. Pronounced electroluminescence at room temperature reveals the quality of the fabricated device. Moreover, spatially resolved photocurrent microscopy shows that optical generation of carriers took place only in the vicinity of the p–n junction. A solar conversion efficiency of 9 % was obtained. In summary, III/V semiconductor nanowires are emerged to high performance and versatile nanoscaled building blocks for both electronic and optoelectronic applications.