Coaxial Multishell (In,Ga)As/GaAs Nanowires for Near-Infrared Emission on Si Substrates

• Published in: Nano letters Vol. 14; no. 5; pp. 2604 - 2609
• Main Authors: Dimakis, Emmanouil, Jahn, Uwe, Ramsteiner, Manfred, Tahraoui, Abbes, Grandal, Javier, Kong, Xiang, Marquardt, Oliver, Trampert, Achim, Riechert, Henning, Geelhaar, Lutz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 14-05-2014
• Subjects: Catalytic methods; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Emission spectroscopy; Exact sciences and technology; Gallium arsenide; Gallium arsenides; Materials science; Methods of nanofabrication; Molecular beam epitaxy; Nanocrystalline materials; Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization; Nanostructure; Nanowires; Physics; Quantum wells; Quantum wires; Semiconductors; Silicon substrates; molecular beam epitaxy; light emitting diode; semiconductor; core-shell; Gallium arsenides; Catalysts; Growth rate; Quantum wells; Light emitting diodes; Optoelectronic devices; Electroluminescence; Cathodoluminescence; Chip; III-V compound; Near infrared radiation; Light emission; Emission spectra; Molecular beam epitaxy; Adatoms; Chemical composition; Nanowires; Diffusion; Nanostructured materials; Nanomaterial synthesis; III-V semiconductors
• ISSN: 1530-6984; 1530-6992
• DOI: 10.1021/nl500428v

Efficient infrared light emitters integrated on the mature Si technology platform could lead to on-chip optical interconnects as deemed necessary for future generations of ultrafast processors as well as to nanoanalytical functionality. Toward this goal, we demonstrate the use of GaAs-based nanowires as building blocks for the emission of light with micrometer wavelength that are monolithically integrated on Si substrates. Free-standing (In,Ga)As/GaAs coaxial multishell nanowires were grown catalyst-free on Si(111) by molecular beam epitaxy. The emission properties of single radial quantum wells were studied by cathodoluminescence spectroscopy and correlated with the growth kinetics. Controlling the surface diffusivity of In adatoms along the NW side-walls, we improved the spatial homogeneity of the chemical composition along the nanowire axis and thus obtained a narrow emission spectrum. Finally, we fabricated a light-emitting diode consisting of approximately 105 nanowires contacted in parallel through the Si substrate. Room-temperature electroluminescence at 985 nm was demonstrated, proving the great potential of this technology.