Controlling the shape of a tapered nanowire: lessons from the Burton-Cabrera-Frank model.

The propagation of sidewall steps during the growth of nanowires is calculated in the frame of the Burton-Cabrera-Frank model. The stable shape of the nanowire comprises a cylinder section on top of a cone section: their characteristics are obtained as a function of the radius of the catalyst-nanowire area, the desorption-limited diffusion length of adatoms on the terraces, and the sticking of adatoms at step edges. The comparison with experimental data allows us to evaluate these last two parameters for InP and ZnTe nanowires; it reveals a different behavior for the two materials, related to a difference by an order of magnitude of the desorption-limited diffusion length.

Internal quantum efficiency of AlGaN/AlN quantum dot superlattices for electron-pumped ultraviolet sources.

In this paper, we describe the growth and characterization of ≈530 nm thick superlattices (100 periods) of AlxGa1-xN/AlN (0 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.1) Stranski-Krastanov quantum dots (QDs) for application as the active region of electron-beam pumped ultraviolet lamps. Highly dense (>1011 cm-2) QD layers are deposited by molecular beam epitaxy, and we explore the effect of the III/V ratio during the growth process on their optical performance. The study considers structures emitting in the 244-335 nm range at room temperature, with a relative linewidth in the 6%-11% range, mainly due to the QD diameter dispersion inherent in self-assembled growth. Under electron pumping, the emission efficiency remains constant for acceleration voltages below ≈9 kV. The correlation of this threshold with the total thickness of the SL and the penetration depth of the electron beam confirms the homogeneity of the nanostructures along the growth axis. Below the threshold, the emission intensity scales linearly with the injected current. The internal quantum efficiency (IQE) is characterized at low injection, which reveals the material properties in terms of non-radiative processes, and high injection, which emulates carrier injection in operation conditions. In QDs synthesized with III/V ratio <0.75, the IQE remains around 50% from low injection to pumping power densities as high as 200 kW cm-2, being the first kind of nanostructure that present such stable behaviour.

Impact of kinetics on the growth of GaN on graphene by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy.

The growth of GaN on graphene by molecular beam epitaxy was investigated. The most stable epitaxial relationship, i.e. [00.1]-oriented grains, is obtained at high temperature and N-rich conditions, which match those for nanowire growth. Alternatively, at moderate temperature and Ga-rich conditions, several metastable orientations are observed at the nucleation stage, which evolve preferentially towards [00.1]-oriented grains. The dependence of the nucleation regime on growth conditions was assigned to Ga adatom kinetics. This statement is consistent with the calculated graphene/GaN in-plane lattice coincidence and supported by a combination of transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, and Raman spectroscopy experiments.

Assessment of AlGaN/AlN superlattices on GaN nanowires as active region of electron-pumped ultraviolet sources.

In this paper, we describe the design and characterization of 400 nm long (88 periods) Al x Ga1-x N/AlN (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) quantum dot superlattices deposited on self-assembled GaN nanowires for application in electron-pumped ultraviolet sources. The optical performance of GaN/AlN superlattices on nanowires is compared with the emission of planar GaN/AlN superlattices with the same periodicity and thickness grown on bulk GaN substrates along the N-polar and metal-polar crystallographic axes. The nanowire samples are less sensitive to nonradiative recombination than planar layers, attaining internal quantum efficiencies (IQE) in excess of 60% at room temperature even under low injection conditions. The IQE remains stable for higher excitation power densities, up to 50 kW cm-2. We demonstrate that the nanowire superlattice is long enough to collect the electron-hole pairs generated by an electron beam with an acceleration voltage V A = 5 kV. At such V A, the light emitted from the nanowire ensemble does not show any sign of quenching under constant electron beam excitation (tested for an excitation power density around 8 kW cm-2 over the scale of minutes). Varying the dot/barrier thickness ratio and the Al content in the dots, the nanowire peak emission can be tuned in the range from 340 to 258 nm.

Probing the light hole/heavy hole switching with correlated magneto-optical spectroscopy and chemical analysis on a single quantum dot.

A whole series of complementary studies have been performed on the same single nanowire containing a quantum dot: cathodoluminescence spectroscopy and imaging, micro-photoluminescence spectroscopy under magnetic field and as a function of temperature, and energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometry and imaging. The ZnTe nanowire was deposited on a Si3N4 membrane with Ti/Al patterns. The complete set of data shows that the CdTe quantum dot features the heavy-hole state as a ground state, although the compressive mismatch strain promotes a light-hole ground state as soon as the aspect ratio is larger than unity (elongated dot). A numerical calculation of the whole structure shows that the transition from the heavy-hole to the light-hole configuration is pushed toward values of the aspect ratio much larger than unity by the presence of a (Zn, Mg)Te shell, and that the effect is further enhanced by a small valence band offset between the semiconductors in the dot and around it.

Effect of doping on the intersubband absorption in Si- and Ge-doped GaN/AlN heterostructures.

In this paper, we study band-to-band and intersubband (ISB) characteristics of Si- and Ge-doped GaN/AlN heterostructures (planar and nanowires) structurally designed to absorb in the short-wavelength infrared region, particularly at 1.55 µm. Regarding the band-to-band properties, we discuss the variation of the screening of the internal electric field by free carriers, as a function of the doping density and well/nanodisk size. We observe that nanowire heterostructures consistently present longer photoluminescence decay times than their planar counterparts, which supports the existence of an in-plane piezoelectric field associated to the shear component of the strain tensor in the nanowire geometry. Regarding the ISB characteristics, we report absorption covering 1.45-1.75 µm using Ge-doped quantum wells, with comparable performance to Si-doped planar heterostructures. We also report similar ISB absorption in Si- and Ge-doped nanowire heterostructures indicating that the choice of dopant is not an intrinsic barrier for observing ISB phenomena. The spectral shift of the ISB absorption as a function of the doping concentration due to many body effects confirms that Si and Ge efficiently dope GaN/AlN nanowire heterostructures.

Quantitative Reconstructions of 3D Chemical Nanostructures in Nanowires.

Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry is used to extract a quantitative 3D composition profile of heterostructured nanowires. The analysis of hypermaps recorded along a limited number of projections, with a preliminary calibration of the signal associated with each element, is compared to the intensity profiles calculated for a model structure with successive shells of circular, elliptic, or faceted cross sections. This discrete tomographic technique is applied to II-VI nanowires grown by molecular beam epitaxy, incorporating ZnTe and CdTe and their alloys with Mn and Mg, with typical size down to a few nanometers and Mn or Mg content as low as 10%.

Effect of doping on the far-infrared intersubband transitions in nonpolar m-plane GaN/AlGaN heterostructures.

This paper assesses the effects of Si doping on the properties of nonpolar m-plane GaN/AlGaN quantum wells (QWs) designed for intersubband (ISB) absorption in the far-infrared spectral range. For doping levels up to 3 × 10(12) cm(-2), structural analysis reveals uniform QWs with abrupt interfaces and no epitaxially induced defects. Cathodoluminescence spectroscopy confirms the homogeneity of the multiple QWs along the growth direction. Increasing the doping density in the QWs from 1 × 10(11) cm(-2) to 3 × 10(12) cm(-2) induces a broadening of the photoluminescence as well as a reduction of the exciton localization energy in the alloy. Also, enhancement of the ISB absorption is observed, along with a blue shift and widening of the absorption peak. The magnitude of the ISB absorption saturates for doping levels around 1 × 10(12) cm(-2), and the blue shift and broadening increase less than theoretically predicted for the samples with higher doping levels. This is explained by the presence of free carriers in the excited electron level due to the increase of the Fermi level energy.

Structure and morphology in diffusion-driven growth of nanowires: the case of ZnTe.

Gold-catalyzed ZnTe nanowires were grown at low temperature by molecular beam epitaxy on a ZnTe(111) B buffer layer, under different II/VI flux ratios, including with CdTe insertions. High-resolution electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) gave information about the crystal structure, polarity, and growth mechanisms. We observe, under stoichiometric conditions, the simultaneous presence of zinc-blende and wurtzite nanowires spread homogeneously on the same sample. Wurtzite nanowires are cylinder-shaped with a pyramidal-structured base. Zinc-blende nanowires are cone-shaped with a crater at their base. Both nanowires and substrate show a Te-ended polarity. Te-rich conditions favor zinc-blende nanowires, while Zn-rich suppress nanowire growth. Using a diffusion-driven growth model, we present a criterion for the existence of a crater or a pyramid at the base of the nanowires. The difference in nanowire morphology indicates lateral growth only for zinc-blende nanowires. The role of the direct impinging flux on the nanowire's sidewall is discussed.

Ultrafast room temperature single-photon source from nanowire-quantum dots.

Epitaxial semiconductor quantum dots are particularly promising as realistic single-photon sources for their compatibility with manufacturing techniques and possibility to be implemented in compact devices. Here, we demonstrate for the first time single-photon emission up to room temperature from an epitaxial quantum dot inserted in a nanowire, namely a CdSe slice in a ZnSe nanowire. The exciton and biexciton lines can still be resolved at room temperature and the biexciton turns out to be the most appropriate transition for single-photon emission due to a large nonradiative decay of the bright exciton to dark exciton states. With an intrinsically short radiative decay time (≈300 ps) this system is the fastest room temperature single-photon emitter, allowing potentially gigahertz repetition rates.

Interaction of the third helix of Antennapedia homeodomain and a phospholipid monolayer, studied by ellipsometry and PM-IRRAS at the air-water interface.

The penetratin peptide, a 16 amino acid sequence extracted from Antennapedia homeodomain, is able to translocate across a neural cell membrane through an unknown mechanism, most likely a non-specific interaction with membrane lipids. Beyond its potential application as vector targeting small hydrophilic molecules and enabling them to reach a cell nucleus, this observation raises intriguing questions concerning the physico-chemistry of peptide-lipid interactions. Here we present a study of the role of lipid surface pressure and head charge on the mechanism of interaction. This was performed using optical techniques: surface infrared spectroscopy and ellipsometry, applied to a monolayer of phospholipids deposited at the air-water interface. Determination of the structure and orientation of peptides and lipids (separately or together) evidenced that electrostatic rather than amphiphilic interactions determine the peptide adsorption and its action on lipids.

Plant sterols: a neutron diffraction study of sitosterol and stigmasterol in soybean phosphatidylcholine membranes.

Neutron scattering experiments have been performed on oriented Soybean phosphatidylcholine (SPC) bilayers, containing sitosterol or stigmasterol, two major sterols of plant plasma membranes. Sitosterol and stigmasterol were either protonated or deuterated on position C25 of the lateral chain. Incorporation of sitosterol leads to an increase of the hydrophobic thickness of SPC bilayers of 1.2 and 2 A when present, at 16 and 30 mol%, respectively. On the other hand, no change was observed when stigmasterol is present in the bilayer at its maximal solubility of 16 mol%. These results are in agreement with the fact that sitosterol is more efficient than stigmasterol to order acyl chains of SPC, as already shown with other biophysical techniques. In order to get more insight into the behavior of the lateral chains of the two sterols, the proton-deuterium contrast method was used in order to locate the (2)H25 atoms of the two sterols. For sitosterol, this atom was found close to the center of the bilayer at +/-(1.6+/-0.2 A), with a width, nu=2.5+/-0.5 A. For stigmasterol, the difference profile could be fitted in two different ways: either two possible locations are found at +/-(2.3+/-0.2 A) and +/-(10+/-0.2 A) with the same width, nu=2.5+/-0.5 A or only one broad distribution at +/-(6.1+/-0.3 A), nu=8.5+/-0.7 A. The results are discussed in terms of difference of dynamics for the lateral chain of the two sterols.

CdSe quantum dot formation: alternative paths to relaxation of a strained CdSe layer and influence of the capping conditions.

CdSe/ZnSe quantum dot formation is investigated by studying different steps of the growth. To precisely control the critical thickness of CdSe grown on a ZnSe buffer layer, the CdSe self-regulated growth rate in atomic layer epitaxy growth mode is determined by reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) measurements for a temperature range between 180 and 280 °C. Then, the two-dimensional-three-dimensional (2D-3D) transition of a strained CdSe layer on (001)-ZnSe induced by the use of amorphous selenium is studied. The formation of CdSe islands is found when 3 monolayers (ML) of CdSe are deposited. When only 2.5 ML of CdSe are deposited, another relaxation mechanism is observed, leading to the appearance of strong undulations on the surface. We also studied the evolution of the surface morphology when 2.7 ML are deposited, to study the boundary between those two phenomena. The influence of capping on quantum dot morphology is investigated. It is found that cadmium is redistributed within the layer during capping. Our results show that the cadmium distribution after capping depends on the capping temperature and on the strain of the CdSe layer. Cadmium incorporation after capping is also studied. It is found that the amount of incorporated cadmium depends on the strain of the CdSe layer before capping.

Structure and fluctuations of a single floating lipid bilayer.

A single lipid molecular bilayer of 17 or 18 carbon chain phosphocholines, floating in water near a flat wall, is prepared in the bilayer gel phase and then heated to the fluid phase. Its structure (electron density profile) and height fluctuations are determined by using x-ray reflectivity and non-specular scattering. By fitting the off-specular signal to that calculated for a two-dimensional membrane using a Helfrich Hamiltonian, we determine the three main physical quantities that govern the bilayer height fluctuations: The wall attraction potential is unexpectedly low; the surface tension, roughly independent on chain length and temperature, is moderate (approximately 5 x 10(-4) J.m(-2)) but large enough to dominate the intermediate range of the fluctuation spectrum; and the bending modulus abruptly decreases by an order-of-magnitude from 10(-18) J to 10(-19) J at the bilayer gel-to-fluid transition.