Direct imaging of Indium-rich triangular nanoprisms self-organized formed at the edges of InGaN/GaN core-shell nanorods

Gordon Schmidt,Sebastian Metzner,Jürgen Christen,Frank Bertram,Peter Veit,Jana Hartmann,Marcus Müller,Hergo-Heinrich Wehmann,Andreas Waag,Hao Zhou

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-34382-y

Gordon Schmidt, Sebastian Metzner + Show 8 more

Open Access

PDF Available

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-34382-y

Copy DOI

Export

Save

Cite

Abstract
Highlights/Summary
Full-Text PDF
Similar Papers

Abstract

Listen

Higher indium incorporation in self-organized triangular nanoprisms at the edges of InGaN/GaN core-shell nanorods is directly evidenced by spectral cathodoluminescence microscopy in a scanning transmission electron microscope. The nanoprisms are terminated by three 46 nm wide a-plane nanofacets with sharp interfaces forming a well-defined equilateral triangular base in the basal plane. Redshifted InGaN luminescence and brighter Z-contrast are resolved for these structures compared to the InGaN layers on the nanorod sidewalls, which is attributed to at least 4 % higher indium content. Detailed analysis of the inner optical and structural properties reveals luminescence contributions from 417 nm up to 500 nm peak wavelength proving the increasing indium concentration inside the nanoprism towards the nanorod surface.

Highlights

Semiconductor nanorods provide a promising platform for multi-functional applications in optoelectronics as efficient light emitting diodes (LED)[1,2,3,4,5,6,7], nanolasers[8], functionalized sensors[9,10,11] and positioned single photon sources[12,13,14]
The three-dimensional InGaN/GaN core-shell nanorod array under investigation has been produced by continuous-mode metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) using selective area growth (SAG) approach. 2-inch patterned SiOx on GaN/sapphire substrates have been used as SAG templates
The 100 nm thick SiOx masking layer was fabricated by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD)

Summary

Introduction

Semiconductor nanorods provide a promising platform for multi-functional applications in optoelectronics as efficient light emitting diodes (LED)[1,2,3,4,5,6,7], nanolasers[8], functionalized sensors[9,10,11] and positioned single photon sources[12,13,14]. The nanoscopic real structure of the InGaN/GaN core-shell nanorods was examined by analytical scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). The GaN spacer decorates the m-plane core facets and the InGaN shell layer enfolds the complete GaN nanorod with sharp interfaces.

Results

Conclusion