Regulating the electronic and optical properties of GaN/InN core/shell nanowires: A first-principles study

Abstract

In this paper, electronic and optical properties of GaN/InN core/shell nanowires (CSNWs) have been theoretically investigated through the first principles calculations. The binding energy of In and N atoms on surface of six crystal planes along the [Formula: see text]-axis of GaN nanowires are all negative, which indicate that In and N atoms can be effectively deposited on the surface of GaN nanowires and preparing GaN/InN CSNWs is feasible theoretically. Calculation results of electronic properties indicate that the core/shell ratio and diameter of GaN/InN CSNWs have significant effect on the band structure, bandgap can be effectively adjusted when keeping the number of GaN layers unchanged and changing the number of InN layers. Moreover, with the increase in the number of InN layers, the absorption spectrum of GaN/InN CSNW has significant redshift and few weak absorption peaks appear in the visible light region.