Quantized Conduction and High Mobility in Selectively Grown In(x)Ga(1-x)As Nanowires.

Abstract

We report measured quantized conductance and quasi-ballistic transport in selectively regrown In0.85Ga0.15As nanowires. Very low parasitic resistances obtained by regrowth techniques allow us to probe the near-intrinsic electrical properties, and we observe several quantized conductance steps at 10 K. We extract a mean free path of 180 ± 40 nm and an effective electron mobility of 3300 ± 300 cm(2)/V·s, both at room temperature, which are among the largest reported values for nanowires of similar dimensions. In addition, optical characterization of the nanowires by photoluminescence and Raman measurement is performed. We find an unintentional increase of indium in the InxGa1-xAs composition relative to the regrown film layer, as well as partial strain relaxation.