Selective area growth of in-plane InAs nanowires and nanowire networks on Si substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy.

In-plane InAs nanowires and nanowire networks show great potential to be used as building blocks for electronic, optoelectronic and topological quantum devices, and all these applications are keen to grow the InAs materials directly on Si substrates since it may enable nanowire electronic and quantum devices with seamless integration with Si platform. However, almost all the in-plane InAs nanowires and nanowire networks have been realized on substrates of III-V semiconductors. Here, we demonstrate the selective area epitaxial growth of in-plane InAs nanowires and nanowire networks on Si substrates. We find that the selectivity of InAs growth on Si substrates is mainly dependent on the growth temperature, while the morphology of InAs nanowires is closely related to the V/III flux ratio. We examine the cross-sectional shapes and facets of the InAs nanowires grown along the 〈110〉, 〈100〉 and 〈112〉 orientations. Thanks to the non-polar characteristics of Si substrates, the InAs nanowires and nanowire networks exhibit superior symmetry compared to that grown on III-V substrates. The InAs nanowires and nanowire networks are zinc-blende (ZB) crystals, but there are many defects in the nanowires, such as stacking faults, twins and grain boundaries. The crystal quality of InAs nanowires and nanowire networks can be improved by increasing the growth temperature within the growth temperature window. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of selective area epitaxial growth of in-plane InAs nanowires and nanowire networks on Si substrates.

High-quality vertically aligned InAs nanowires grown by molecular-beam epitaxy using Ag-In alloy segregation.

InAs nanowires show important potential applications in novel nanoelectronic devices, infrared optoelectronic devices and quantum devices, and all these applications require controllable growth of the InAs nanowires. However, the growth direction of metal-assisted InAs nanowires on Si substrates is often random. Here, we develop a new approach to grow vertically aligned InAs nanowires on Si (111) substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy using Ag as catalysts. The vertically aligned one-dimensional InAs nanowires are grown on the parasitic two-dimensional InAs film on the Si substrates by using the Ag nanoparticles segregated from Ag-In alloy catalysts. The diameters of the vertically aligned InAs nanowires obtained by this method are mainly distributed between 20 and 50 nm. Detailed transmission electron microscope data show that the nanowires with thinner diameters tend to have less stacking faults and twin defects and high crystal quality pure wurtzite nanowires can be obtained. Using these vertically aligned InAs nanowires as the channel material of field effect transistors, we have obtained a field-effect mobility of ∼2800 cm2V-1s-1and anIon/Ioffratio of ∼104at room temperature. Our work provides a new method for the controlled growth of high-quality vertically aligned InAs nanowires on Si substrates.

Thermodynamic patterns duringin-situheating of InAs nanowires encapsulated in Al2O3shells.

Understanding the dynamic thermal behavior of nanomaterials based on their unique physical and chemical properties is critical for their applications. In this study, the thermal behavior of single-crystalline InAs nanowires in an amorphous Al2O3shell was investigated by conductingin situheating experiments in a transmission electron microscope. Two different thermodynamic patterns were observed during thein situheating experiments: (1) continuous vaporization and condensation simultaneously at temperatures lower than 838.15 K, and (2) pure evaporation at temperatures higher than 878.15 K. During the simultaneous condensation and vaporization in closer areas in a single InAs nanowire, the front edge of the vaporization was flat, while that of the condensation actively changed with time and temperature. Pure vaporization was conducted via layer-by-layer evaporation followed by three-dimensional vaporization at the final stage. The thermal behaviors of the InAs nanowires were demonstrated from a thermodynamic point of view.

Thermoelectric Properties of InA Nanowires from Full-Band Atomistic Simulations.

In this work we theoretically explore the effect of dimensionality on the thermoelectric power factor of indium arsenide (InA) nanowires by coupling atomistic tight-binding calculations to the Linearized Boltzmann transport formalism. We consider nanowires with diameters from 40 nm (bulk-like) down to 3 nm close to one-dimensional (1D), which allows for the proper exploration of the power factor within a unified large-scale atomistic description across a large diameter range. We find that as the diameter of the nanowires is reduced below d < 10 nm, the Seebeck coefficient increases substantially, as a consequence of strong subband quantization. Under phonon-limited scattering conditions, a considerable improvement of ~6× in the power factor is observed around d = 10 nm. The introduction of surface roughness scattering in the calculation reduces this power factor improvement to ~2×. As the diameter is decreased to d = 3 nm, the power factor is diminished. Our results show that, although low effective mass materials such as InAs can reach low-dimensional behavior at larger diameters and demonstrate significant thermoelectric power factor improvements, surface roughness is also stronger at larger diameters, which takes most of the anticipated power factor advantages away. However, the power factor improvement that can be observed around d = 10 nm could prove to be beneficial as both the Lorenz number and the phonon thermal conductivity are reduced at that diameter. Thus, this work, by using large-scale full-band simulations that span the corresponding length scales, clarifies properly the reasons behind power factor improvements (or degradations) in low-dimensional materials. The elaborate computational method presented can serve as a platform to develop similar schemes for two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) material electronic structures.

Conductometric Sensing with Individual InAs Nanowires.

In this work, we isolate individual wurtzite InAs nanowires and fabricate electrical contacts at both ends, exploiting the single nanostructures as building blocks to realize two different architectures of conductometric sensors: (a) the nanowire is drop-casted onto-supported by-a SiO2/Si substrate, and (b) the nanowire is suspended at approximately 250 nm from the substrate. We test the source-drain current upon changes in the concentration of humidity, ethanol, and NO2, using synthetic air as a gas carrier, moving a step forward towards mimicking operational environmental conditions. The supported architecture shows higher response in the mid humidity range (50% relative humidity), with shorter response and recovery times and lower detection limit with respect to the suspended nanowire. These experimental pieces of evidence indicate a minor role of the InAs/SiO2 contact area; hence, there is no need for suspended nanostructures to improve the sensing performance. Moreover, the sensing capability of single InAs nanowires for detection of NO2 and ethanol in the ambient atmosphere is reported and discussed.

Midinfrared Photoluminescence up to 290 K Reveals Radiative Mechanisms and Substrate Doping-Type Effects of InAs Nanowires.

Photoluminescence (PL) as a conventional yet powerful optical spectroscopy may provide crucial insight into the mechanism of carrier recombination and bandedge structure in semiconductors. In this study, mid-infrared PL measurements on vertically aligned InAs nanowires (NWs) are realized for the first time in a wide temperature range of up to 290 K, by which the radiative recombinations are clarified in the NWs grown on n- and p-type Si substrates, respectively. A dominant PL feature is identified to be from the type-II optical transition across the interfaces between the zinc-blend (ZB) and the wurtzite (WZ) InAs, a lower-energy feature at low temperatures is ascribed to impurity-related transition, and a higher-energy feature at high temperatures originates in the interband transition of the WZ InAs being activated by thermal-induced electron transfer. The optical properties of the ZB-on-WZ and WZ-on-ZB interfaces are asymmetric, and stronger nonradiative recombination and weaker carrier-phonon interaction show up in the NWs on p-type substrate in which built-in electric field forms and leads to carrier assembling around the WZ-on-ZB interface. The results indicate that wide temperature-range infrared PL analysis can serve as efficient vehicle for clarifying optical properties and bandedge processes of the crystal-phase interfaces in vertically aligned InAs NWs.

Robust Epitaxial Al Coating of Reclined InAs Nanowires.

It was recently shown that in situ epitaxial aluminum coating of indium arsenide nanowires is possible and yields superior properties relative to ex-situ evaporation of aluminum ( Nat. Mater. 2015 , 14 , 400 - 406 ). We demonstrate a robust and adaptive epitaxial growth protocol satisfying the need for producing an intimate contact between the aluminum superconductor and the indium arsenide nanowire. We show that the (001) indium arsenide substrate allows successful aluminum side-coating of reclined indium arsenide nanowires that emerge from (111)B microfacets. A robust, induced hard superconducting gap in the obtained indium arsenide/aluminum core/partial shell nanowires is clearly demonstrated. We compare epitaxial side-coating of round and hexagonal cross-section nanowires and find the surface roughness of the round nanowires to induce a more uniform aluminum profile. Consequently, the extended aluminum grains result in increased strain at the interface with the indium arsenide nanowire, which is found to induce dislocations penetrating into round nanowires only. A unique feature of proposed growth protocol is that it supports in situ epitaxial deposition of aluminum on all three arms of indium arsenide nanowire intersections in a single growth step. Such aluminum coated intersections play a key role in engineering topologically superconducting networks required for Majorana based quantum computation schemes.

Bandgap Energy of Wurtzite InAs Nanowires.

InAs nanowires (NWs) have been grown on semi-insulating InAs (111)B substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition catalyzed by 50, 100, and 150 nm-sized Au particles. The pure wurtzite (WZ) phase of these NWs has been attested by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and selected area diffraction pattern measurements. Low temperature photoluminescence measurements have provided unambiguous and robust evidence of a well resolved, isolated peak at 0.477 eV, namely 59 meV higher than the band gap of ZB InAs. The WZ nature of this energy band has been demonstrated by high values of the polarization degree, measured in ensembles of NWs both as-grown and mechanically transferred onto Si and GaAs substrates, in agreement with the polarization selection rules for WZ crystals. The value of 0.477 eV found here for the bandgap energy of WZ InAs agrees well with theoretical calculations.

Growth of Catalyst-Free Epitaxial InAs Nanowires on Si Wafers Using Metallic Masks.

Development of heteroepitaxy growth of catalyst-free vertical III-V nanowires on Si wafers is highly desirable for future nanoscale Si-based electronic and optoelectronic devices. In this study, a proof-of-concept approach is developed for catalyst-free heteroepitaxy growth of InAs nanowires on Si wafers. Before the growth of InAs nanowires, a Si-compatible metallic film with a thickness of several tens of nanometers was predeposited on a Si wafer and then annealed to form nanosize openings so as to obtain a metallic mask. These nano-openings exposed the surface of the Si wafer, which allowed subsequent nucleation and growth of epitaxial InAs nanowires directly on the surface of the Si wafer. The small size of the nano-openings limits the lateral growth of the nanostructures but promotes their axial growth. Through this approach, catalyst-free InAs nanowires were grown on both Si (111) and (001) wafers successfully at different growth temperatures. In particular, ultralong defect-free InAs nanowires with the wurtzite structure were grown the Si (111) wafers at 550 °C using the Ni mask. This study offers a simple, cost-effective, and scalable method to grow catalyst-free III-V nanowires on Si wafers. The simplicity of the approach opens a new avenue for the growth and integration of catalyst-free high-quality heteroepitaxial III-V nanowires on Si wafers.

Orientation Dependence of Electromechanical Characteristics of Defect-free InAs Nanowires.

Understanding the electrical properties of defect-free nanowires with different structures and their responses under deformation are essential for design and applications of nanodevices and strain engineering. In this study, defect-free zinc-blende- and wurtzite-structured InAs nanowires were grown using molecular beam epitaxy, and individual nanowires with different structures and orientations were carefully selected and their electrical properties and electromechanical responses were investigated using an electrical probing system inside a transmission electron microscope. Through our careful experimental design and detailed analyses, we uncovered several extraordinary physical phenomena, such as the electromechanical characteristics are dominated by the nanowire orientation, rather than its crystal structure. Our results provide critical insights into different responses induced by deformation of InAs with different structures, which is important for nanowire-based devices.

Crystal Phase- and Orientation-Dependent Electrical Transport Properties of InAs Nanowires.

We report a systematic study on the correlation of the electrical transport properties with the crystal phase and orientation of single-crystal InAs nanowires (NWs) grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. A new method is developed to allow the same InAs NW to be used for both the electrical measurements and transmission electron microscopy characterization. We find both the crystal phase, wurtzite (WZ) or zinc-blende (ZB), and the orientation of the InAs NWs remarkably affect the electronic properties of the field-effect transistors based on these NWs, such as the threshold voltage (VT), ON-OFF ratio, subthreshold swing (SS) and effective barrier height at the off-state (ΦOFF). The SS increases while VT, ON-OFF ratio, and ΦOFF decrease one by one in the sequence of WZ ⟨0001⟩, ZB ⟨131⟩, ZB ⟨332⟩, ZB ⟨121⟩, and ZB ⟨011⟩. The WZ InAs NWs have obvious smaller field-effect mobility, conductivities, and electron concentration at VBG = 0 V than the ZB InAs NWs, while these parameters are not sensitive to the orientation of the ZB InAs NWs. We also find the diameter ranging from 12 to 33 nm shows much less effect than the crystal phase and orientation on the electrical transport properties of the InAs NWs. The good ohmic contact between InAs NWs and metal remains regardless of the variation of the crystal phase and orientation through temperature-dependent measurements. Our work deepens the understanding of the structure-dependent electrical transport properties of InAs NWs and provides a potential way to tailor the device properties by controlling the crystal phase and orientation of the NWs.

From Twinning to Pure Zincblende Catalyst-Free InAs(Sb) Nanowires.

III-V nanowires are candidate building blocks for next generation electronic and optoelectronic platforms. Low bandgap semiconductors such as InAs and InSb are interesting because of their high electron mobility. Fine control of the structure, morphology, and composition are key to the control of their physical properties. In this work, we present how to grow catalyst-free InAs1-xSbx nanowires, which are stacking fault and twin defect-free over several hundreds of nanometers. We evaluate the impact of their crystal phase purity by probing their electrical properties in a transistor-like configuration and by measuring the phonon-plasmon interaction by Raman spectroscopy. We also highlight the importance of high-quality dielectric coating for the reduction of hysteresis in the electrical characteristics of the nanowire transistors. High channel carrier mobilities and reduced hysteresis open the path for high-frequency devices fabricated using InAs1-xSbx nanowires.

Catalyst orientation-induced growth of defect-free zinc-blende structured ⟨001Ì ⟩ InAs nanowires.

In this study, we demonstrate the epitaxial growth of ⟨001̅⟩ defect-free zinc-blende structured InAs nanowires on GaAs {111}B substrate using Au catalysts in molecular beam epitaxy. It has been found that the catalysts and their underlying ⟨001̅⟩ nanowires have the orientation relationship of {11̅03}C//{002̅}InAs and [3̅302]C//[11̅0]InAs due to their small in-plane lattice mismatches between their corresponding lattice spacings perpendicular to the {001̅} atomic planes of the nanowires, leading to the formation of the {001̅} catalyst/nanowire interfaces, and consequently the formation of ⟨001̅⟩ nanowires. This study provides a practical approach to manipulate the crystal structure and structural quality of III-V nanowires through carefully controlling the crystal phase of the catalysts.

Room temperature observation of quantum confinement in single InAs nanowires.

Quantized conductance in nanowires can be observed at low temperature in transport measurements; however, the observation of sub-bands at room temperature is challenging due to temperature broadening. So far, conduction band splitting at room temperature has not been observed in III-V nanowires mainly due to the small energetic separations between the sub-bands. We report on the measurement of conduction sub-bands at room temperature, in single InAs nanowires, using Kelvin probe force microscopy. This method does not rely on charge transport but rather on measurement of the nanowire Fermi level position as carriers are injected into a single nanowire transistor. As there is no charge transport, electron scattering is no longer an issue, allowing the observation of the sub-bands at room temperature. We measure the energy of the sub-bands in nanowires with two different diameters, and obtain excellent agreement with theoretical calculations based on an empirical tight-binding model.

High-responsivity graphene/InAs nanowire heterojunction near-infrared photodetectors with distinct photocurrent on/off ratios.

Graphene is a promising candidate material for high-speed and ultra-broadband photodetectors. However, graphene-based photodetectors suffer from low photoreponsivity and I(light)/I(dark) ratios due to their negligible-gap nature and small optical absorption. Here, a new type of graphene/InAs nanowire (NW) vertically stacked heterojunction infrared photodetector is reported, with a large photoresponsivity of 0.5 AW(-1) and I(light)/I(dark) ratio of 5 × 10(2), while the photoresponsivity and I(light)/I(dark) ratio of graphene infrared photodetectors are 0.1 mAW(-1) and 1, respectively. The Fermi level (E(F)) of graphene can be widely tuned by the gate voltage owing to its 2D nature. As a result, the back-gated bias can modulate the Schottky barrier (SB) height at the interface between graphene and InAs NWs. Simulations further demonstrate the rectification behavior of graphene/InAs NW heterojunctions and the tunable SB controls charge transport across the vertically stacked heterostructure. The results address key challenges for graphene-based infrared detectors, and are promising for the development of graphene electronic and optoelectronic applications.

Low-Consumption Synaptic Devices Based on Gate-All-Around InAs Nanowire Field-Effect Transistors.

In this work, an artificial electronic synaptic device based on gate-all-around InAs nanowire field-effect transistor is proposed and analyzed. The deposited oxide layer (In2O3) on the InAs nanowire surface serves as a charge trapping layer for information storage. The gate voltage pulse serves as stimuli of the presynaptic membrane, and the drain current and channel conductance are treated as post-synaptic current and weights of the postsynaptic membrane, respectively. At low gate voltages, the device simulates synaptic behaviors including short-term depression and long-term depression. By increasing the amplitude and quantity of gate voltage pulses, the transition from short-term depression to long-term potentiation can be achieved. The device exhibits a large memory window of over 1 V and a minimal energy consumption of 12.5 pJ per synaptic event. This work may pave the way for the development of miniaturized low-consumption synaptic devices and related neuromorphic systems.

Semiconductor Nanowire Field-Effect Transistors as Sensitive Detectors in the Far-Infrared.

Engineering detection dynamics in nanoscale receivers that operate in the far infrared (frequencies in the range 0.1-10 THz) is a challenging task that, however, can open intriguing perspectives for targeted applications in quantum science, biomedicine, space science, tomography, security, process and quality control. Here, we exploited InAs nanowires (NWs) to engineer antenna-coupled THz photodetectors that operated as efficient bolometers or photo thermoelectric receivers at room temperature. We controlled the core detection mechanism by design, through the different architectures of an on-chip resonant antenna, or dynamically, by varying the NW carrier density through electrostatic gating. Noise equivalent powers as low as 670 pWHz-1/2 with 1 µs response time at 2.8 THz were reached.

Observation and Ultrafast Dynamics of Inter-Sub-Band Transition in InAs Twinning Superlattice Nanowires.

A variety of infrared applications rely on semiconductor superlattices, including, notably, the realization of high-power, compact quantum cascade lasers. Requirements for atomically smooth interface and limited lattice matching options set high technical standards for fabricating applicable heterostructure devices. The semiconductor twinning superlattice (TSL) forms in a single compound with periodically spaced twin boundaries and sharp interface junctions and can be grown with convenient synthesis methods. Therefore, employing semiconductor TSL may facilitate the development of optoelectronic applications related to superlattice structures. Here, it is shown that InAs TSL nanowires generate inter-sub-band transition channels due to the band projection and the Bragg-like electron reflection. The findings reveal the physical mechanisms of inter-sub-band transitions in TSL structure and suggest that TSL structures are promising candidates for mid-infrared optoelectronic applications.

Ultrasensitive Mid-wavelength Infrared Photodetection Based on a Single InAs Nanowire.

One-dimensional InAs nanowire (NW)-based photodetectors have been widely studied due to their potential application in mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) photon detection. However, the limited performance and complicated photoresponse mechanism of InAs NW-based photodetectors have held back their true potential for real application. In this study, we developed ferroelectric polymer P(VDF-TrFE)-coated InAs NW-based photodetectors and demonstrated that the electrostatic field caused by polarized ferroelectric materials modifies the surface electron-hole distribution as well as the band structure of InAs NWs, resulting in ultrasensitive photoresponse and a wide photodetection spectral range. Our single InAs NW photodetectors exhibit a high responsivity ( R) of 1.6 × 104 A W-1 as well as a corresponding detectivity ( D*) of 1.4 × 1012 cm·Hz1/2 W-1 at a light wavelength of 3.5 µm without an applied gate voltage, ∼3-4 orders higher than the maximum value of photoresponsivity reported or commercially used MWIR photodetectors. Moreover, our device shows below band gap photoresponse for 4.3 µm MWIR light with R of 9.6 × 102 A W-1 as well as a corresponding D* of ∼8.5 × 1010 cm·Hz1/2 W-1 at 77 K. Our study shows that this approach is promising for fabrication of high-performance NW-based photodetectors for MWIR photon detection.

Modulating Electrical Properties of InAs Nanowires via Molecular Monolayers.

In recent years, InAs nanowires have been demonstrated with the excellent electron mobility as well as highly efficient near-infrared and visible photoresponse at room temperature. However, due to the presence of a large amount of surface states that originate from the unstable native oxide, the fabricated nanowire transistors are always operated in the depletion mode with degraded electron mobility, which is not energy-efficient. In this work, instead of the conventional inorganic sulfur or alkanethiol surface passivation, we employ aromatic thiolate (ArS(-))-based molecular monolayers with controllable molecular design and electron density for the surface modification of InAs nanowires (i.e., device channels) by simple wet chemistry. More importantly, besides reliably improving the device performances by enhancing the electron mobility and the current on-off ratio through surface state passivation, the device threshold voltage (VTh) can also be modulated by varying the para-substituent of the monolayers such that the molecule bearing electron-withdrawing groups would significantly shift the VTh towards the positive region for the enhancement mode device operation, in which the effect has been quantified by density functional theory calculations. These findings reveal explicitly the efficient modulation of the InAs nanowires' electronic transport properties via ArS(-)-based molecular monolayers, which further elucidates the technological potency of this ArS(-) surface treatment for future nanoelectronic device fabrication and circuit integration.