Structural, Electrical, and Optical Properties of Faceted In$_{2}$ O$_{3}$ Nanostructures

Abstract

We reported the study of the growth mechanism of the In2O3 nanorods on the silicon oxide substrate and its electrical and optical properties. Both of the vapor-liquid-solid and vapor-solid (VS) mechanism occurred concurrently during the growth of In2O3 nanorods. The catalyst on the top of the nanorod is evident for the VLS mechanism. Meanwhile, the diameter of the nanorod mismatched the size of the catalyst and transmission electron microscopy study revealed that the sidewall of the nanorod was rough at the atomic scale during the growth, which is evident for the VS mechanism. The In2O3 nanorods became faceted eventually with a pyramidal tip, composed of {1 0 0} and {1 1 1} facets with lower total surface energy at the growth temperature. The electrical measurement presents the conductivity and the estimated carrier concentration, while the photoluminescence exhibits the optical characteristics. This study provides the insight for the understanding of the growth mechanism and physical properties of the In2O3 nanostructures.