Au-Sn Catalyzed Growth of Ge1- xSnx Nanowires: Growth Direction, Crystallinity, and Sn Incorporation

Yong-Lie Sun; Ryo Matsumura; Wipakorn Jevasuwan; Naoki Fukata

doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b02395

Au-Sn Catalyzed Growth of Ge_{1- x}Sn_x Nanowires: Growth Direction, Crystallinity, and Sn Incorporation

Nano Lett. 2019 Sep 11;19(9):6270-6277. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b02395. Epub 2019 Aug 27.

Authors

Yong-Lie Sun^{1

2}, Ryo Matsumura¹, Wipakorn Jevasuwan¹, Naoki Fukata^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics , National Institute for Materials Science , 1-1 Namiki , Tsukuba 305-0044 , Japan.
² Institute of Applied Physics , University of Tsukuba , 1-1-1 Tennodai , Tsukuba 305-8573 , Japan.

PMID: 31448621
DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b02395

Abstract

Ge_1-xSn_x nanowires (NWs) have been a focus of research attention for their potential in realizing next-generation Si-compatible electronic and optoelectronic devices. To control the growth of NWs and increase their Sn content, the growth mechanism needs to be understood. The use of Au-Sn alloy catalysts instead of Au catalysts allows an easier understanding of Ge_1-xSn_x NW growth, and the effects of Sn at different concentrations in catalysts on growth direction, Sn incorporation, and crystallinity of Ge_1-xSn_x NWs can be clarified. High Sn content in Au-Sn alloy catalysts favors ⟨110⟩-oriented NW growth and high Sn incorporation in NWs. The higher Sn content in Au-Sn alloy catalysts also improves the crystallinity of NWs.

Keywords: Au−Sn; Germanium tin; faceting; nanowire; vapor−liquid−solid growth.