Realization of Vertically Aligned, Ultrahigh Aspect Ratio InAsSb Nanowires on Graphite

Abstract

The monolithic integration of InAs(1-x)Sb(x) semiconductor nanowires on graphitic substrates holds enormous promise for cost-effective, high-performance, and flexible devices in optoelectronics and high-speed electronics. However, the growth of InAs(1-x)Sb(x) nanowires with high aspect ratio essential for device applications is extremely challenging due to Sb-induced suppression of axial growth and enhancement in radial growth. We report the realization of high quality, vertically aligned, nontapered and ultrahigh aspect ratio InAs(1-x)Sb(x) nanowires with Sb composition (xSb(%)) up to ∼12% grown by indium-droplet assisted molecular beam epitaxy on graphite substrate. Low temperature photoluminescence measurements show that the InAs(1-x)Sb(x) nanowires exhibit bright band-to-band related emission with a distinct redshift as a function of Sb composition providing further confirmation of successful Sb incorporation in as-grown nanowires. This study reveals that the graphite substrate is a more favorable platform for InAs(1-x)Sb(x) nanowires that could lead to hybrid heterostructures possessing potential device applications in optoelectronics.

Recent advances in Sb-based III–V nanowires

“…Although the growth of Sb-based III-V NWs is more difficult than that of other III-V NWs, both 'top-down' and 'bottomup' approaches have been developed for the controllable growth of high-quality thin Sb-based III-V NWs in the past decade [6,42,52,63,[106][107][108][109][110][111]. 'Top-down' approach has been promoted in microelectronic industry.…”

“…focus on both the full-composition-range growth of diameter and length controlled GaInSb NWs. [109]. For the monolithic integration with Si, InAsSb NWs have also been successfully grown directly on Si substrates [153].…”

Optically efficient InAsSb nanowires for silicon-based mid-wavelength infrared optoelectronics

“…This is mainly due to the highly dense crystalline defects in the resulting NWs. Different epitaxial techniques have been adopted for high-quality InAsSb NW growth including molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) and chemical beam epitaxy (CBE) as well as catalyst-assisted and area selective epitaxy: (i) using MBE, InAsSb NWs were obtained with an Sb content of up to 10% by Zhuang et al on silicon [13,15] and graphite [16], up to 15% by Sourribes et al [17] and 35% grown on GaAs (111) by Potts et al [18]; (ii) using the MOCVD growth technique, catalyst-free InAsSb NWs with an Sb content of up to 43% have also been reported [19], while selective-area epitaxy on patterned InAs substrates recently demonstrated InAsSb NWs with an Sb content of 15% [14]; (iii) using MOCVD with Au-catalysis, InAsSb NWs with an Sb content of up to 77% have been obtained [20,21]; and (iv), using Au-catalyzed CBE, InAsSb NWs with a whole range of Sb have been realized [22]. Although there has been significant progress in increasing Sb incorporation, there has been no success in extending the emission wavelength above 4.0 μm.…”

Annealing effects on the magnetic properties of highly-packed vertically-aligned nickel nanotubes

“…The large and dense arrays of nanowires (NWs) vertically-aligned on a substrate are benecial for a wide range of applications, such as eld-emission displays, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), energy harvesting, optoelectronics, multiferroic systems, biosensors and nanomedicine, only to mention a few. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]56 Besides, the tubular geometrical shape of the synthesized nanostructures may expand the range of multifunctional applications, as demonstrated using vertically-aligned forests of carbon nanotubes (NTs) and inorganic NTs. [9][10][11][12][13] In this regard, the arrays of homogeneous and heterostructured magnetic NTs have recently attracted a lot of interest, since they are promising for potential applications, such as magnetic bio-devices, anodes for lithium ion batteries and storage devices.…”