Nanowire Heterostructures Research Articles

Electrical Properties of the Base‐Substrate Junction in Freestanding Core‐Shell Nanowires

AbstractWell‐defined hetero‐interfaces with controlled properties are crucial for any high‐performance, semiconductor‐based, (opto‐)electronic device. They are particularly important for device structures on the nanoscale with increased interfacial areas. Utilizing a ultrahigh‐vacuum based multi‐tip scanning tunneling microscope, this work reveals inadvertent conductivity channels between the nanowire (NW) base and the substrate, when measuring individual vertical core‐shell III‐V‐semiconductor NWs. For that, four‐terminal probing is applied on freestanding, epitaxially grown coaxial p‐GaAs/i‐GaInP/n‐GaInP NWs without the need of nanoscale lithography or deposition of electrical contacts. This advanced analysis, carried out after composition‐selective wet chemical etching, reveals a substantially degraded electrical performance of the freestanding NWs compared to detached ones. In an electron beam induced current mode of the nanosensor, charge separation at the substrate‐to‐NW base junction is demonstrated. An energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopic linescan shows an unintended compositional change of the epitaxially grown NW toward the planar layers caused by different incorporation mechanisms of Ga and In at the NW base. This approach provides direct insight into the NW‐substrate transition area and leads to a model of the conductivity channels at the NW base, which should, in principle, be considered in the fabrication of all NW heterostructures grown bottom‐up on heterogeneous substrate materials.

Hetero-radial MgO capped TiO2 nanowire arrays as a deep UV and self-powered photodetector

Nanowires acts as a potential component in photodetectors (PDs) owing to its superior capacity to generate morphology-dependent broad absorption spectrum. In this study, we have demonstrated an efficient self-powered PD based on the radial heterostructure of the MgO capping layer on top of TiO2 nanowires (RHNWs). RHNWs are highly sensitive under deep ultraviolet (UV) illumination when compared to TiO2-MgO axial heterostructure nanowires (AHNWs) PD. The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is used to simulate electric field distribution, absorption spectra and generation rate profile of the structures. The RHNWs device possesses two times lower leakage current (∼ 1.78 × 10−9 A) than AHNWs (∼ 3.84 ×10−9 A) at – 1.5 V. Theoretical analysis shows a higher photoconductive gain for RHNWs (∼ 12) than the corresponding AHNWs device (∼ 9.9). Maximum photoresponsivity of ∼ 18 A/W has been observed for RHNWs with a sharp rise time (Tr) ∼ 0.12 s and fall time (Tf) ∼ 0.13 s at 200 nm (– 9 V) and the device also behaves like a self-powered PD under white light illumination.

Reconfigurable Complementary and Combinational Logic Based on Monolithic and Single‐Crystalline Al‐Si Heterostructures

AbstractMetal‐semiconductor heterostructures providing geometrically reproducible and abrupt Schottky nanojunctions are highly anticipated for the realization of emerging electronic technologies. This specifically holds for reconfigurable field‐effect transistors, capable of dynamically altering the operation mode between n‐ or p‐type even during run‐time. Targeting the enhancement of fabrication reproducibility and electrical balancing between operation modes, here a nanoscale Al‐Si‐Al nanowire heterostructure with single elementary, monocrystalline Al leads and sharp Schottky junctions is implemented. Utilizing a three top‐gate architecture, reconfiguration on transistor level is enabled. Having devised symmetric on‐currents as well as threshold voltages for n‐ and p‐type operation as a necessary requirement to exploit complementary reconfigurable circuits, selected implementations of logic gates such as inverters and combinational wired‐AND gates are reported. In this respect, exploiting the advantages of the proposed multi‐gate transistor architecture and offering additional logical inputs, the device functionality can be expanded by transforming a single transistor into a logic gate. Importantly, the demonstrated Al‐Si material system and thereof shown logic gates show high compatibility with state‐of‐the‐art complementary metal‐oxide semiconductor technology. Additionally, exploiting reconfiguration at the device level, this platform may pave the way for future adaptive computing systems with low‐power consumption and reduced footprint, enabling novel circuit paradigms.

Nonlocal measurement of quasiparticle charge and energy relaxation in proximitized semiconductor nanowires using quantum dots

The lowest-energy excitations of superconductors do not carry an electric charge, as their wave function is equally electron-like and hole-like. This fundamental property is not easy to study in electrical measurements that rely on the charge to generate an observable signal. The ability of a quantum dot to act as a charge filter enables us to solve this problem and measure the quasiparticle charge in superconducting-semiconducting hybrid nanowire heterostructures. We report measurements on a three-terminal circuit, in which an injection lead excites a non-equilibrium quasiparticle distribution in the hybrid system, and the electron or hole component of the resulting quasiparticles is detected using a quantum dot as a tunable charge and energy filter. The results verify the chargeless nature of the quasiparticles at the gap edge and reveal the complete relaxation of injected charge and energy in a proximitized nanowire, resolving open questions in previous three-terminal experiments.

Designing Semiconductor Nanowires for Efficient Photon Upconversion via Heterostructure Engineering.

Energy upconversion via optical processes in semiconductor nanowires (NWs) is attractive for a variety of applications in nano-optoelectronics and nanophotonics. One of the main challenges is to achieve a high upconversion efficiency and, thus, a wide dynamic range of device performance, allowing efficient upconversion even under low excitation power. Here, we demonstrate that the efficiency of energy upconversion via two-photon absorption (TPA) can be drastically enhanced in core/shell NW heterostructures designed to provide a real intermediate TPA step via the band states of the narrow-bandgap region with a long carrier lifetime, fulfilling all the necessary requirements for high-efficiency two-step TPA. We show that, in radial GaAs(P)/GaNAs(P) core/shell NW heterostructures, the upconversion efficiency increases by 500 times as compared with that of the constituent materials, even under an excitation power as low as 100 mW/cm2 that is comparable to the 1 sun illumination. The upconversion efficiency can be further improved by 8 times through engineering the electric-field distribution of the excitation light inside the NWs so that light absorption is maximized within the desired region of the heterostructure. This work demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach in providing efficient photon upconversion by exploring core/shell NW heterostructures, yielding an upconversion efficiency being among the highest reported in semiconductor nanostructures. Furthermore, our work provides design guidelines for enhancing efficiency of energy upconversion in NW heterostructures.

Sub-nanometer mapping of strain-induced band structure variations in planar nanowire core-shell heterostructures

Strain relaxation mechanisms during epitaxial growth of core-shell nanostructures play a key role in determining their morphologies, crystal structure and properties. To unveil those mechanisms, we perform atomic-scale aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy studies on planar core-shell ZnSe@ZnTe nanowires on α-Al2O3 substrates. The core morphology affects the shell structure involving plane bending and the formation of low-angle polar boundaries. The origin of this phenomenon and its consequences on the electronic band structure are discussed. We further use monochromated valence electron energy-loss spectroscopy to obtain spatially resolved band-gap maps of the heterostructure with sub-nanometer spatial resolution. A decrease in band-gap energy at highly strained core-shell interfacial regions is found, along with a switch from direct to indirect band-gap. These findings represent an advance in the sub-nanometer-scale understanding of the interplay between structure and electronic properties associated with highly mismatched semiconductor heterostructures, especially with those related to the planar growth of heterostructured nanowire networks.

Preparation of functional Ga2S3 and Ga2Se3 shells around Ga2O3 nanowires via sulfurization or selenization

Combining defect semiconductors Ga2S3 and Ga2Se3 in Ga2O3-based heterostructured nanowires (NWs) have potential in photonics and optoelectronics applications due to the materials appealing optical properties. In this work, we have developed and studied Ga2O3–Ga2S3 and, for the first time, Ga2O3–Ga2Se3core-shell NWs. Ga2S3 and Ga2Se3 shell was obtained during high-temperature sulfurization and selenization process of pure Ga2O3 NWs, respectively, in a chemical vapour transport reactor. As-grown nanostructures were characterized with scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and photoluminescence measurements. Single-nanowire photodetector devices were fabricated in order to demonstrate their electric and photoconductive properties. Such novel core-shell NW heterostructures could potentially be used in next-generation nanoscale electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Ultrafast Photoresponse Using Axial n-ZnO/p-CuO Heterostructure Nanowires Array-Based Photodetectors

Photodetector (PD) based on axial n-ZnO/p-CuO heterostructure (HS) nanowires (NWs) array was fabricated on Si substrate by using glancing angle deposition (GLAD) technique. The field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) image shows the formation of a well-aligned and vertical NW structure. A typical high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM) image confirms the formation of an axial HS NW consisting of ZnO NW at the top and CuO NW at the bottom. A twofold enhanced photo-absorption was observed for axial n-ZnO/p-CuO HS NW as compared to pristine ZnO NWs. Moreover, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis prove that there is no deviation in electronic state after the formation of HS. The axial n-ZnO/p-CuO HS NW based PD exhibited a very high rectification ratio of 1200, low dark current ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}_{d}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) of 0.09 nA and an ultrafast photoresponse with rise time and fall time of 0.49 and 0.11 ms, respectively.

Light-Emitting Diodes Based on InGaN/GaN Nanowires on Microsphere-Lithography-Patterned Si Substrates.

The direct integration of epitaxial III-V and III-N heterostructures on Si substrates is a promising platform for the development of optoelectronic devices. Nanowires, due to their unique geometry, allow for the direct synthesis of semiconductor light-emitting diodes (LED) on crystalline lattice-mismatched Si wafers. Here, we present molecular beam epitaxy of regular arrays n-GaN/i-InGaN/p-GaN heterostructured nanowires and tripods on Si/SiO2 substrates prepatterned with the use of cost-effective and rapid microsphere optical lithography. This approach provides the selective-area synthesis of the ordered nanowire arrays on large-area Si substrates. We experimentally show that the n-GaN NWs/n-Si interface demonstrates rectifying behavior and the fabricated n-GaN/i-InGaN/p-GaN NWs-based LEDs have electroluminescence in the broad spectral range, with a maximum near 500 nm, which can be employed for multicolor or white light screen development.

Band structure ofn- andp-doped core-shell nanowires

We investigate the electronic band structure of modulation-doped GaAs/AlGaAs core-shell nanowires for both n- and p-doping. We developed an 8-band Burt-Foreman k.p Hamiltonian approach to describe coupled conduction and valence bands in heterostructured nanowires of arbitrary composition, growth directions, and doping. Coulomb interactions with the electron/hole gas are taken into account within a mean-field self-consistent approach. We map the ensuing multi-band envelope function and Poisson equations to optimized, non-uniform real-space grids by the finite element method. Self-consistent charge density, single-particle subbands, density of states and absorption spectra are obtained at different doping regimes. For n-doped samples, the large restructuring of the electron gas for increasing doping results in the formation of quasi-1D electron channels at the core-shell interface. Strong heavy-hole/light-hole coupling of hole states leads to non parabolic dispersions with mass inversion, similarly to planar structures, which persist at large dopings, giving rise to direct LH and indirect HH gaps. In p-doped samples the hole gas forms an almost isotropic, ring-like cloud for a large range of doping. Here, as a result of the increasing localization, HH and LH states uncouple, and mass inversion takes place at a threshold density. A similar evolution is obtained at fixed doping as a function of temperature. We show that signatures of the evolution of the band structure can be singled out in the anisotropy of linearly polarized optical absorption.

High-Resolution Mapping of Strain Partitioning and Relaxation in InGaN/GaN Nanowire Heterostructures.

Growing an In x Ga1− x N/GaN (InGaN/GaN) multi‐quantum well (MQW) heterostructure in nanowire (NW) form is expected to overcome limitations inherent in light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) based on the conventional planar heterostructure. The epitaxial strain induced in InGaN/GaN MQW heterostructure can be relaxed through the sidewalls of NW, which is beneficial to LEDs because a much larger misfit strain with higher indium concentration can be accommodated with reduced piezoelectric polarization fields. The strain relaxation, however, renders highly complex strain distribution within the NW heterostructure. Here the authors show that complementary strain mapping using scanning transmission electron microscopy and dark‐field inline holography can comprehend the strain distribution within the axial In0.3Ga0.7N/GaN MQW heterostructure embedded in GaN NW by providing the strain maps which can cover the entire NW and fine details near the sidewalls. With the quantitative evaluation by 3D finite element modelling, it is confirmed that the observed complex strain distribution is induced by the strain relaxation leading to the strain partitioning between InGaN quantum disk, GaN quantum well, and the surrounding epitaxial GaN shell. The authors further show that the strain maps provide the strain tensor components which are crucial for accurate assessment of the strain‐induced piezoelectric fields in NW LEDs.

Lattice-mismatch-free growth of organic heterostructure nanowires from cocrystals to alloys

Organic heterostructure nanowires, such as multiblock, core/shell, branch-like and related compounds, have attracted chemists’ extensive attention because of their novel physicochemical properties. However, owing to the difficulty in solving the lattice mismatch of distinct molecules, the construction of organic heterostructures at large scale remains challenging, which restricts its wide use in future applications. In this work, we define a concept of lattice-mismatch-free for hierarchical self-assembly of organic semiconductor molecules, allowing for the large-scale synthesis of organic heterostructure nanowires composed of the organic alloys and cocrystals. Thus, various types of organic triblock nanowires are prepared in large scale, and the length ratio of different segments of the triblock nanowires can be precisely regulated by changing the stoichiometric ratio of different components. These results pave the way towards fine synthesis of heterostructures in a large scale and facilitate their applications in organic optoelectronics at micro/nanoscale.

High Performance UV-A Detector Using Axial n-ZnO/p-CuO p-n Junction Heterostructure Nanowire Arrays

UV-A photodetector (PD) based on axial n-ZnO/p-CuO heterostructure (HS) nanowires (NWs) array was fabricated using GLAD (glancing angle deposition) technique. The high resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM) images confirmed the formation of axial HS NWs. The PD shows a high rectification ratio of ~ 278, with low dark current of 0.49 nA (at –1V) and fast photoresponse with rise time and fall time of 0.18 ms and 0.24 ms respectively. A high detectivity of (0.05 TJones) and low noise equivalent power of (70 pW) was also observed at +3 V for the proposed device.

Giant magnetochiral anisotropy from quantum-confined surface states of topological insulator nanowires

Wireless technology relies on the conversion of alternating electromagnetic fields into direct currents, a process known as rectification. Although rectifiers are normally based on semiconductor diodes, quantum mechanical non-reciprocal transport effects that enable a highly controllable rectification were recently discovered1–9. One such effect is magnetochiral anisotropy (MCA)6–9, in which the resistance of a material or a device depends on both the direction of the current flow and an applied magnetic field. However, the size of rectification possible due to MCA is usually extremely small because MCA relies on inversion symmetry breaking that leads to the manifestation of spin–orbit coupling, which is a relativistic effect6–8. In typical materials, the rectification coefficient γ due to MCA is usually ∣γ∣ ≲ 1 A−1 T−1 (refs. 8–12) and the maximum values reported so far are ∣γ∣ ≈ 100 A−1 T−1 in carbon nanotubes13 and ZrTe5 (ref. 14). Here, to overcome this limitation, we artificially break the inversion symmetry via an applied gate voltage in thin topological insulator (TI) nanowire heterostructures and theoretically predict that such a symmetry breaking can lead to a giant MCA effect. Our prediction is confirmed via experiments on thin bulk-insulating (Bi1−xSbx)2Te3 (BST) TI nanowires, in which we observe an MCA consistent with theory and ∣γ∣ ≈ 100,000 A−1 T−1, a very large MCA rectification coefficient in a normal conductor.

Engineering the Dipole Orientation and Symmetry Breaking with Mixed-Dimensional Heterostructures.

Engineering of the dipole and the symmetry of materials plays an important role in fundamental research and technical applications. Here, a novel morphological manipulation strategy to engineer the dipole orientation and symmetry of 2D layered materials by integrating them with 1D nanowires (NWs) is reported. This 2D InSe –1D AlGaAs NW heterostructure example shows that the in‐plane dipole moments in InSe can be engineered in the mixed‐dimensional heterostructure to significantly enhance linear and nonlinear optical responses (e.g., photoluminescence, Raman, and second harmonic generation) with an enhancement factor of up to ≈12. Further, the 1D NW can break the threefold rotational symmetry of 2D InSe, leading to a strong optical anisotropy of up to ≈65%. These results of engineering dipole orientation and symmetry breaking with the mixed‐dimensional heterostructures open a new path for photonic and optoelectronic applications.

In situ TEM investigation of indium oxide/titanium oxide nanowire heterostructures growth through solid state reactions

Heterostructured TiO2/In2O3 nanowires have been extensively applied in various photonic devices; their performance is highly related to the microstructures, which has not been, however, clearly understood; thus, it is important to investigate the microstructural evolution of the material during processing. In this work, the crystallinity and microstructure of TiO2/In2O3 nanowires were successfully controlled with the variation of annealing temperatures via solid-state reactions. The dynamic phase transformation process was demonstrated by in situ transmission electron microscope (TEM). Moreover, the elemental information at different states was identified by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). It is found that different annealing temperatures would contribute to different solid-state reactions and nanowire heterostructures. Additionally, photoresponse studies show characteristics enhancement for such nanoheterostructures. This study provides the knowledge of the fundamental science in kinetics of heterostructured nanostructures, which benefits the improvement of the performance for future photonic applications.

Exploring Axial Organic Multiblock Heterostructure Nanowires: Advances in Molecular Design, Synthesis, and Functional Applications

AbstractOrganic multiblock heterostructure nanowires (OMHNs), integrating distinct components in the same axial structure, have attracted much attention due to their excellent properties such as intrinsic good light confinement and rectification characteristics. However, rationally incorporating such features into OMHNs with rigorous 1D morphology control remains a key synthetic objective. It is because that the single components possess fundamentally distinctive properties such as size‐dependent electronic, optical, and magnetic features as well as lattice parameters. In the last decade, researchers made their own efforts to this exciting field, especially from the controlled fabrication to the advanced applications of the multiblock nanowires. As a result, various OMHNs have been developed as very promising candidates for high‐performance optoelectronic applications such as light harvesting, logic gate devices, photonic transistors, and photonic anticounterfeiting. Herein, the recent advances of OMHNs from the aspects of molecular design, synthesis, and advanced applications are reviewed, and an outlook is given providing inspiration for the future development of OMHNs toward integrated optoelectronic at nanoscale.

N‐SnOx as a Transparent Electrode and Heterojunction for p‐InP Nanowire Light Emitting Diodes

AbstractTransparent electronics are rapidly evolving with the development of transparent conducting oxides (TCOs). This work investigates both the electrical and optical properties of n‐type tin oxide (SnOx) film, deposited at various levels of oxygen concentration using magnetron sputtering. The band alignment at InP–SnOx interface is further studied and SnOx deposited at various conditions is used to demonstrate InP nanowire (NW) light emitting diodes (LEDs) to understand the trade‐off between absorption and resistance. It is found that the device with lower resistance but higher absorption outperforms in terms of output power. Emission from the devices consists of two peaks at room temperature due to conduction band‐to‐heavy hole band transition and conduction band‐to‐light hole band transition. Decreasing the operating temperature brings about quite a complex transition in all the devices, which consists of two additional peaks due to Zn acceptor level and zincblende/wurtzite (ZB/WZ) recombination at NW/substrate interface. At temperatures below 208 K, the emission peak from conduction band‐to‐light hole band transition quenches, however the emission peaks from Zn acceptor level and ZB/WZ recombination become prominent. This work lays the foundation for realizing a new generation of efficient transparent electrodes in conjunction with NWs, eliminating the complex epitaxial growth process optimization of NW shell growth, heterostructure and doping.

Hydrogen evolution reaction activity of III-V heterostructure nanowires

III-V materials have gained great interest in materials science community since a few decades due to their versatile properties. Experimenting with the crystal phase, dimensional confinement, chemical environment and external conditions open-up a window to finely tune the properties of material of interest at atomic scale. The density functional theory-based investigation of III-V semiconductors under heterostructure nanowire configuration is presented with specific focus on the electronic dispersion and band alignment. The combination of GaSb core having triangular(T)/circular(R) cross-sections with GaP and GaAs shells reveal formation of type-II heterostructure with moderate electronic band gap suggesting promising application in photocatalysis and photovoltaics. Motivated by these results, we have investigated the catalytic activity of the heterostructure nanowires towards hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Interesting results showing reliable HER activity over different surface sites of the nanowires evidently approve their importance as an active HER catalyst. Furthermore, being within nano regime, the present systems suggest cost-effective production of HER catalyst as compared to the conventional novel metal-based catalysts.

Creating Unidirectional Fast Ion Diffusion Channels in G/NiS2 -MoS2 Heterostructures for High-Performance Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Exploring novel electrode composites and their unique interface physics plays a significant role in tuning electrochemical properties for boosting the performance of sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Herein, mixed-dimensional G/NiS2 -MoS2 heterostructures are synthesized in a low-cost meteorological vulcanization process. The stable graphene supporting layer and nanowire heterostructure guarantee an outstanding structural stability to tolerate certain volume changes during the charge/discharge process. The rational construction of NiS2 -MoS2 heterostructures induces abundant interfaces and unique ion diffusion channels, which render fast electrochemical kinetics and superior reversible capacities for high-performance SIBs. Interestingly, theoretical studies reveal that the anisotropic diffusion barriers create unidirectional "high-speed" channels, which can lead to ordered and fast Na+ insertion/extraction in designed heterostructures. G/NiS2 -MoS2 anode exhibits a high capacity of 509.6mAhg-1 after 500 cycles and a coulombic efficiency >99% at 0.5Ag-1 , which also displays excellent cycling performance with the capacity of 383.8mAhg-1 after the 1000 cycles at 5Ag-1 . Furthermore, full cells are constructed exhibiting ahigh capacity of 70mAhg-1 at 0.1Ag-1 after 150 cycles and applied to light LEDs. This study provides a feasible strategy of constructing mixed-dimensional heterostructures for SIBs with excellent performance and a long service lifetime.