Influence of nanowire density on the shape and optical properties of ternary InGaAs nanowires

Nano Lett. 2006 Apr;6(4):599-604. doi: 10.1021/nl052189o.

Abstract

We have synthesized ternary InGaAs nanowires on (111)B GaAs surfaces by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Au colloidal nanoparticles were employed to catalyze nanowire growth. We observed the strong influence of nanowire density on nanowire height, tapering, and base shape specific to the nanowires with high In composition. This dependency was attributed to the large difference of diffusion length on (111)B surfaces between In and Ga reaction species, with In being the more mobile species. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis together with high-resolution electron microscopy study of individual InGaAs nanowires shows large In/Ga compositional variation along the nanowire supporting the present diffusion model. Photoluminescence spectra exhibit a red shift with decreasing nanowire density due to the higher degree of In incorporation in more sparsely distributed InGaAs nanowires.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Arsenicals / chemistry*
  • Arsenicals / radiation effects
  • Crystallization / methods*
  • Gallium / chemistry*
  • Gallium / radiation effects
  • Indium / chemistry*
  • Indium / radiation effects
  • Light
  • Luminescent Measurements
  • Materials Testing
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Nanotubes / chemistry*
  • Nanotubes / ultrastructure*
  • Optics and Photonics
  • Particle Size

Substances

  • Arsenicals
  • Indium
  • gallium arsenide
  • Gallium
  • indium arsenide