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Abstract This work evaluates the passivation efficacy of thermal atomic layer deposited (ALD) Al 2 O 3 dielectric layer on self-catalyzed GaAs 1- x Sb x nanowires (NWs) grown using molecular beam epitaxy. A detailed assessment of surface chemical composition and optical properties of Al 2 O 3 passivated NWs with and without prior sulfur treatment were studied and compared to as-grown samples using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, and low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The XPS measurements reveal that prior sulfur treatment followed by Al 2 O 3 ALD deposition abates III–V native oxides from the NW surface. However, the degradation in 4K-PL intensity by an order of magnitude observed for NWs with Al 2 O 3 shell layer compared to the as-grown NWs, irrespective of prior sulfur treatment, suggests the formation of defect states at the NW/dielectric interface contributing to non-radiative recombination centers. This is corroborated by the Raman spectral broadening of LO and TO Raman modes, increased background scattering, and redshift observed for Al 2 O 3 deposited NWs relative to the as-grown. Thus, our work seems to indicate the unsuitability of ALD deposited Al 2 O 3 as a passivation layer for GaAsSb NWs. 

Abstract Recent advances in the growth of III-V semiconductor nanowires (NWs) hold great promise for nanoscale optoelectronic device applications. Recently, it was found that a small amount of nitrogen (N) incorporation in III-V semiconductor NWs can effectively red-shift their wavelength of operation and tailor their electronic properties for specific applications. However, understanding the impact of N incorporation on non-equilibrium charge carrier dynamics and transport in semiconducting NWs is critical in achieving efficient semiconducting NW devices. In this work, ultrafast optical pump-terahertz probe spectroscopy has been used to study non-equilibrium carrier dynamics and transport in Te-doped GaAsSb and dilute nitride GaAsSbN NWs, with the goal of correlating these results with electrical characterization of their equilibrium photo-response under bias and low-frequency noise characteristics. Nitrogen incorporation in GaAsSb NWs led to a significant increase in the carrier scattering rate, resulting in a severe reduction in carrier mobility. Carrier recombination lifetimes of 33 ± 1 picoseconds (ps) and 147 ± 3 ps in GaAsSbN and GaAsSb NWs, respectively, were measured. The reduction in the carrier lifetime and photoinduced optical conductivities are due to the presence of N-induced defects, leading to deterioration in the electrical and optical characteristics of dilute nitride NWs relative to the non-nitride NWs. Finally, we observed a very fast rise time of ~ 2 ps for both NW materials, directly impacting their potential use as high-speed photodetectors. 

We report the first study on doping assessment in Te-doped GaAsSb nanowires (NWs) with variation in Gallium Telluride (GaTe) cell temperature, using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), conductive-atomic force microscopy (C-AFM), and scanning Kelvin probe microscopy (SKPM). The NWs were grown using Ga-assisted molecular beam epitaxy with a GaTe captive source as the dopant cell. Te-incorporation in the NWs was associated with a positive shift in the binding energy of the 3d shells of the core constituent elements in doped NWs in the XPS spectra, a lowering of the work function in doped NWs relative to undoped ones from UPS spectra, a significantly higher photoresponse in C-AFM and an increase in surface potential of doped NWs observed in SKPM relative to undoped ones. The carrier concentration of Te-doped GaAsSb NWs determined from UPS spectra are found to be consistent with the values obtained from simulated I-V characteristics. Thus, these surface analytical tools, XPS/UPS and C-AFM/SKPM, that do not require any sample preparation are found to be powerful characterization techniques to analyze the dopant incorporation and carrier density in homogeneously doped NWs. 

Abstract This study presents the first report on patterned nanowires (NWs) of dilute nitride GaAsSbN on p-Si (111) substrates by self-catalyzed plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Patterned NW array with GaAsSbN of Sb composition of 3% as a stem provided the best yield of vertical NWs. Large bandgap tuning of ~ 75 meV, as ascertained from 4 K photoluminescence (PL), over a pitch length variation of 200–1200 nm has been demonstrated. Pitch-dependent axial and radial growth rates show a logistic sigmoidal growth trend different from those commonly observed in other patterned non-nitride III–V NWs. The sigmoidal fitting provides further insight into the PL spectral shift arising from differences in Sb and N incorporation from pitch induced variation in secondary fluxes. Results indicate that sigmoidal fitting can be a potent tool for designing patterned NW arrays of optimal pitch length for dilute nitrides and other highly mismatched alloys and heterostructures. 

This work reports a comprehensive investigation of the effect of gallium telluride (GaTe) cell temperature variation (TGaTe) on the morphological, optical, and electrical properties of doped-GaAsSb nanowires (NWs) grown by Ga-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). These studies led to an optimum doping temperature of 550 °C for the growth of tellurium (Te)-doped GaAsSb NWs with the best optoelectronic and structural properties. Te incorporation resulted in a decrease in the aspect ratio of the NWs causing an increase in the Raman LO/TO vibrational mode intensity ratio, large PL emission with an exponential decay tail on the high energy side, promoting tunnel-assisted current conduction in ensemble NWs and significant photocurrent enhancement in the single nanowire. A Schottky barrier photodetector using Te-doped ensemble NWs with broad spectral range and a longer wavelength cutoff at ~ 1.2 µm was demonstrated. These photodetectors exhibited responsivity in the range of 580 – 620 A/W and detectivity of 1.2 – 3.8 × 1012 Jones. The doped GaAsSb NWs have the potential for further improvement, paving the path for high-performance near-infrared (NIR) photodetection applications. 

We report on the site-selective growth of >90% vertical GaAs nanowires (NWs) on Si (111) using self-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The influences of growth parameters (pre-growth Ga opening time, V/III flux ratio) and processing conditions (reactive ion etching (RIE) and HF etching time) are investigated for different pitch lengths (200-1000 nm) to achieve vertical NWs. The processing variables determine the removal of the native oxide layer and the contact angle of Ga-droplet inside the patterned hole that are critical to the vertical orientation of the NWs. Pre-growth Ga-opening time is found to be a crucial factor determining the size of the droplet in the patterned hole, while the V/III beam equivalent pressure (BEP) ratio influenced the occupancy of the holes due to the axial growth of NWs being group-V limited.