Influence of Silver as a Catalyst on the Growth of β-Ga2O3 Nanowires on GaAs.

Badriyah Alhalaili,M Saif Islam,Hilal Cansizoglu,Daniel M Dryden,Ruxandra Vidu,Jerry Woodall,Howard Mao,Ryan James Bunk

doi:10.3390/ma13235377

Abstract

A simple and inexpensive thermal oxidation process was performed to synthesize gallium oxide (Ga2O3) nanowires using Ag thin film as a catalyst at 800 °C and 1000 °C to understand the effect of the silver catalyst on the nanowire growth. The effect of doping and orientation of the substrates on the growth of Ga2O3 nanowires on single-crystal gallium arsenide (GaAs) wafers in atmosphere were investigated. A comprehensive study of the oxide film and nanowire growth was performed using various characterization techniques including XRD, SEM, EDS, focused ion beam (FIB), XPS and STEM. Based on the characterization results, we believe that Ag thin film produces Ag nanoparticles at high temperatures and enhances the reaction between oxygen and gallium, contributing to denser and longer Ga2O3 nanowires compared to those grown without silver catalyst. This process can be optimized for large-scale production of high-quality, dense, and long nanowires.

Highlights

Ga2 O3 has attracted the attention of scientists due to its unique properties including a wide bandgap of 4.9 eV, a high melting point of 1900 ◦ C, excellent electrical conductivity, and both high thermal and chemical stability [1,2]
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that dense and long nanowires were obtained with gallium arsenide (GaAs) coated with silver and oxidized at 1000 ◦ C
Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) detected a higher atomic percentage of oxygen in β-Ga2 O3 nanowires grown on Ag-coated GaAs surfaces than on plain GaAs and in samples exposed to higher temperatures, such as 1000 ◦ C as opposed to 800 ◦ C

Summary

Introduction

Ga2 O3 has attracted the attention of scientists due to its unique properties including a wide bandgap of 4.9 eV, a high melting point of 1900 ◦ C, excellent electrical conductivity, and both high thermal and chemical stability [1,2]. These features have led to the consideration of Ga2 O3 nanowires as a useful material for applications in power electronics, solar-blind UV detectors, and device applications in harsh environments [3,4].

Methods

Results

Conclusion