Selective-area Metalorganic Vapor Phase Epitaxy Research Articles

Three-Dimensional Integration of InAs Nanowires by Template-Assisted Selective Epitaxy on Tungsten.

3D integration of III-V semiconductors with Si CMOS is highly attractive since it allows combining new functions such as photonic and analog devices with digital signal processing circuitry. Thus far, most 3D integration approaches have used epitaxial growth on Si, layer transfer by wafer bonding, or die-to-die packaging. Here we present low-temperature integration of InAs on W using Si3N4 template assisted selective area metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE). Despite growth nucleation on polycrystalline W, we can obtain a high yield of single-crystalline InAs nanowires, as observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The nanowires exhibit a mobility of 690 cm2/(V s), a low-resistive, Ohmic electrical contact to the W film, and a resistivity which increases with diameter attributed to increased grain boundary scattering. These results demonstrate the feasibility for single-crystalline III-V back-end-of-line integration with a low thermal budget compatible with Si CMOS.

Effect of Plasmonic Ag Nanoparticles on Emission Properties of Planar GaN Nanowires.

The combination of plasmonic nanoparticles and semiconductor substrates changes the properties of hybrid structures that can be used for various applications in optoelectronics, photonics, and sensing. Structures formed by colloidal Ag nanoparticles (NPs) with a size of 60 nm and planar GaN nanowires (NWs) have been studied by optical spectroscopy. GaN NWs have been grown using selective-area metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. A modification of the emission spectra of hybrid structures has been observed. In the vicinity of the Ag NPs, a new emission line appears at 3.36 eV. To explain the experimental results, a model considering the Fröhlich resonance approximation is suggested. The effective medium approach is used to describe the enhancement of emission features near the GaN band gap.

Parasitic masking effect in GaN SA-MOVPE using SiO2 masks deposited by the PECVD technique

The paper reports a phenomenon of parasitic substrate masking during selective area metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (SA-MOVPE) of gallium nitride (GaN) using silicon dioxide (SiO2) masks deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) at pressures above 150 hPa. The discussion of the thermal stability and nitridation process of the SiO2 films is followed by the presentation of the experimental work results focused on the investigation of the relationship between the parasitic masking effect and pressure in the MOVPE reactor chamber. Analysis of the surface morphology is conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). A hypothesis was proposed explaining the formation of the deposition-free region that indicates silanimine (HNSi) layer formation as a possible factor responsible for the adverse inhibition of GaN nucleation.

InAs nanowire arrays for room-temperature ultra-broadband infrared photodetection.

Detection of short-wave infrared (SWIR) and mid-wave infrared (MWIR) emissions remains challenging despite their importance in many emerging applications, including night vision, space imaging and remote sensing. III-V compound semiconductor materials such as InAs have an ideal band gap covering a spectral regime from near-infrared (NIR), SWIR to MWIR. However, due to their high dark current, InAs photodetectors normally require a low-temperature operation, which has greatly limited their practical applications. Here, we report the engineering of InAs nanowire arrays to achieve efficient photodetection of light at wavelengths ranging from NIR to MWIR (3500 nm). By using selective area metal-organic vapour-phase epitaxy, we optimise the nanowire growth temperature and V/III ratio to achieve wurtzite (WZ)-based InAs nanowire arrays with a high WZ density of ∼67%. Due to the n-type background doping of the InAs nanowires and the p-type InAs substrate used for nanowire growth, a p-n junction is formed, and an ultrawide room-temperature photoresponse ranging from 500 to 3500 nm is obtained under zero bias. It is found that the waveguide modes supported by the InAs nanowires result in a high peak responsivity of 0.44 A W-1 and a detectivity of 1.25 × 1010 cm √Hz W-1 at a wavelength of 1600 nm, a bias voltage of only -0.1 V and a relatively high operating temperature of 150 K. Such a strong light trapping effect in the InAs nanowires also leads to significantly lower reflection compared to that observed in planar photodetectors, and thus strong absorption in the substrate extending the photoresponse up to the InAs bandgap edge of 3500 nm. Our work shows that through careful material optimisation and device design, InAs nanowire arrays are promising for the development of high-performance ultra-broadband infrared photodetectors for wavelengths ranging from NIR, SWIR to MWIR.

AlGaN Microfins as Nonpolar UV Emitters Probed by Time-Resolved Cathodoluminescence

Despite the continuous technological progress and recent commercialization of UV light emitting diodes for sterilization and disinfection applications, the performance of solid-state UV emitters still lags far behind that of their InGaN-based counterparts, which emit in the visible blue–green spectrum. Both fundamental physical aspects and material quality restrictions have been discussed as origin of this striking difference. In this study, GaN/AlGaN core–shell microfins with a-plane sidewalls are proposed as a model system to demonstrate the efficiency potential of ultra-low-defect nonpolar UV emitters. Such structures are manufactured by bottom-up selective-area metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy of GaN microfin cores and further overgrowth of the AlGaN active region, employing a compositionally graded GaN/AlGaN short-period superlattice for strain management. Using this approach, mostly crack-free AlGaN quantum wells emitting around 321 nm could be realized with a threading dislocation density of as low as (6 ± 3) × 107 cm–2. The carrier dynamics within the nonpolar AlGaN structures are studied by time-resolved cathodoluminescence spectroscopy, revealing fast radiative recombination lifetimes down to 0.6 ns and distinct signatures of carrier localization at low temperatures. Delayed carrier emission from localized states within the cladding is proposed to be a cause for anomalously high effective carrier lifetimes observed at temperatures below 80 K. By analyzing the characteristic temperature dependence of radiative and nonradiative recombination processes and fitting the lifetime data with an appropriate model across the whole temperature range, a room-temperature internal quantum efficiency of (40 ± 6) % is estimated for the studied sample. The findings corroborate the interest in nonpolar AlGaN structures as highly efficient UV emitters.

Growth Uniformity in Selective Area Epitaxy of AlGaN/GaN Heterostructures for the Application in Semiconductor Devices

The design of modern semiconductor devices often requires the fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) structures to integrate microelectronic components with photonic, micromechanical, or sensor systems within one semiconductor substrate. It is a technologically challenging task, as a strictly defined profile of the device structure is obligatory. This can be achieved either by chemical etching or selective deposition on a masked substrate. In this paper, the growth uniformity of AlGaN/GaN heterostructures during selective-area metalorganic vapour-phase epitaxy (SA-MOVPE) was studied. Such structures are typically used in order to fabricate high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMT). The semiconductor material was deposited through 200 μm long stripe-shaped open windows in a SiO2 mask on GaN/sapphire templates. The window width was varied from 5 μm to 160 μm, whereas mask width separating particular windows varied from 5 μm to 40 μm. The experiment was repeated for three samples differing in GaN layer thickness: 150 nm, 250 nm, and 500 nm. Based on theoretical models of the selective growth, a sufficiently uniform thickness of epitaxially grown AlGaN/GaN heterostructure has been achieved by selecting the window half-width that is smaller than the diffusion length of the precursor molecules. A Ga diffusion length of 15 μm was experimentally extracted by measuring the epitaxial material agglomeration in windows in the dielectric mask. Measurements were conducted while using optical profilometry.

Magnetization switching depending on magnetic fields applied to ferromagnetic MnAs nanodisks selectively-grown on Si (111) substrates

We report on the applied external magnetic field, B, dependence of a magnetic domain structure and magnetization switching in MnAs nanodisks on AlGaAs nanopillar buffers selectively grown on Si (111) substrates partially covered with dielectric SiO2 thin film mask patterns by selective-area metal–organic vapor phase epitaxy. The results on the B dependence of magnetic domain structures observed by magnetic force microscopy show that the ratio, or percentage, of a single magnetic domain is minimized at B = −1.5 kG in the nanodisks with an area of 4 × 104 nm2 or smaller, although the decrease to the minimum of the ratio is markedly small in the case of the nanodisks with an area of 4 × 104 nm2 or larger at B = −0.5 kG. The angle distribution of magnetization directions shows that the magnetization directions markedly tend to be parallel to the ridge directions of the hexagonal nanodisks, i.e., distribute in steps of ∼60° corresponding to the magnetic easy axes of the hexagonal NiAs-type crystal structure. The results suggest that the magnetic domains and coercive force can be tuned by controlling the MnAs nanodisk size.

Feature size control using surface reconstruction temperature in block copolymer lithography for InAs nanowire growth

Here we present a method to control the size of the openings in hexagonally organized BCP thin films of poly(styrene)-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) by using surface reconstruction. The surface reconstruction is based on selective swelling of the P4VP block in ethanol, and its extraction to the surface of the film, resulting in pores upon drying. We found that the BCP pore diameter increases with ethanol immersion temperature. In our case, the temperature range 18 to 60 °C allowed fine-tuning of the pore size between 14 and 22 nm. A conclusion is that even though the molecular weight of the respective polymer blocks is fixed, the PS-b-P4VP pore diameter can be tuned by controlling temperature during surface reconstruction. These results can be used for BCP-based nanofabrication in general, and for vertical nanowire growth in particular, where high pattern density and diameter control are of importance. Finally, we demonstrate successful growth of indium arsenide InAs vertical nanowires by selective-area metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE), using a silicon nitride mask patterned by the proposed PS-b-P4VP surface reconstruction lithography method.

Anomalous Angle-Dependent Magnetotransport Properties of Single InAs Nanowires.

We study the magnetotransport properties of single InAs nanowires grown by selective-area metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy. The semiconducting InAs nanowires exhibit a large positive ordinary magnetoresistance effect. However, a deviation from the corresponding quadratic behavior is observed for an orientation of the applied magnetic field perpendicular to the nanowire axis. This additional contribution to the magnetoresistance can be explained by diffuse boundary scattering of free carriers in the InAs nanowire and results in a reduction of the charge carrier mobility. As a consequence, angle-dependent magnetotransport measurements reveal a highly anomalous behavior. Numerical simulations have been conducted to further investigate the effect of classical boundary scattering in the nanowires. On the basis of the numerical simulations, an empirical description is derived, which yields excellent agreement with the experimental data and allows one to quantify the contribution of boundary scattering to the magnetoresistance effect.

InGaN Platelets: Synthesis and Applications toward Green and Red Light-Emitting Diodes.

In this work, we present a method to synthesize arrays of hexagonal InGaN submicrometer platelets with a top c-plane area having an extension of a few hundred nanometers by selective area metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy. The InGaN platelets were made by in situ annealing of InGaN pyramids, whereby InGaN from the pyramid apex was thermally etched away, leaving a c-plane surface, while the inclined {101̅1} planes of the pyramids were intact. The as-formed c-planes, which are rough with islands of a few tens of nanometers, can be flattened with InGaN regrowth, showing single bilayer steps and high-quality optical properties (full width at half-maximum of photoluminescence at room temperature: 107 meV for In0.09Ga0.91N and 151 meV for In0.18Ga0.82N). Such platelets offer surfaces having relaxed lattice constants, thus enabling shifting the quantum well emission from blue (as when grown on GaN) to green and red. For single InGaN quantum wells grown on the c-plane of such InGaN platelets, a sharp interface between the quantum well and the barriers was observed. The emission energy from the quantum well, grown under the same conditions, was shifted from 2.17 eV on In0.09Ga0.91N platelets to 1.95 eV on In0.18Ga0.82N platelets as a result of a thicker quantum well and a reduced indium pulling effect on In0.18Ga0.82N platelets. On the basis of this method, prototype light-emitting diodes were demonstrated with green emission on In0.09Ga0.91N platelets and red emission on In0.18Ga0.82N platelets.

Characterization of nanowire light-emitting diodes grown by selective-area metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy

We report a systematic study on the current injection and radiative carrier recombination in InP nanowire (NW) light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The InP NWs with axial p–n structures, grown by selective-area metal organic vapor-phase epitaxy, had mixed crystal structures between those of zincblende and wurtzite, mainly in the p-regions. The temperature dependence of the current–voltage (I–V), electroluminescence (EL), and current–light output (I–L) characteristics was investigated. The temperature dependence of the I–V characteristics revealed that tunneling was the main mechanism of carrier transport through the p–n junction in the present NW-LEDs. The temperature and bias voltage dependences of EL showed a complex but systematic behavior, where peaks exhibiting bias-dependent and independent energy positions coexisted and the relative intensity showed a transition with increasing temperature. The external quantum efficiency showed a droop at low temperatures, indicating a reduced injection efficiency at low temperatures. These observations were explained by the radiative and nonradiative tunneling, and suggested a strong effect of the nonradiative tunneling at low temperatures.

Selective-area growth of magnetic MnAs nanodisks on Si (1 1 1) substrates using multiple types of dielectric masks

We report on selective-area metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy and structural characterizations of magnetic MnAs nanodisk structures after the AlGaAs buffer layer growth on Si (1 1 1) substrates using multiple types of mask materials and designs, which are mask patterns (I) and (II) of SiO2 and SiON removing (I) the mask materials outside 100 × 100 µm2 square regions with periodical circular openings and (II) only the periodical circular openings within the 100 × 100 µm2 square regions. The results of structural characterizations show that two key issues, which are the unintentional growth of MnSi alloy in Si substrates and MnAs alloy with approximately 17% of Si atoms on nanodisks, are typically observed in the case of Si substrates with mask pattern (I) of SiO2. On the other hand, these two key issues are not observed in the case of Si substrates with mask pattern (II) of SiON. These results suggest that mask pattern (II) of SiON are effective to prevent the unintentional reactions of Mn atoms with Si substrates for growing MnAs nanodisks with a high degree of uniformity.

Magnetic domain structure and domain wall analysis of ferromagnetic MnAs nanodisks selectively-grown on Si (111) substrates for spintronic applications

We report on the experimental and analytic results on magnetic domain and domain wall structures of MnAs nanodisks on AlGaAs nanopillar buffers selectively grown on Si (111) substrates partially covered with dielectric SiO2 thin film mask patterns using selective-area metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy. The results on the size dependence of the magnetic domain structure in MnAs nanodisks investigated by magnetic force microscopy show that a single domain is predominant in the MnAs nanodisks with an area of approximately 3 × 104 nm2 or less. It is also indicated that in the nanodisks with an area of approximately 6 × 104 nm2 or more, multiple domains, in particular, two magnetic domain structures with a 180° domain wall, are predominant. In addition, in the case of nanodisks with multiple domains, not only Néel walls but also Bloch walls are possibly formed, according to the detailed analyses of the magnetic force microscope images obtained. These results suggest that the magnetic domains and domain walls can be tuned by the control of the MnAs nanodisk size making them interesting nanostructures for spintronic applications.

Growth and characterization of GaAs nanowires on Ge(1 1 1) substrates by selective-area MOVPE

We report the growth of GaAs nanowires (NWs) on a Ge substrate using selective-area metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (SA-MOVPE) for solar cell applications. Vertical GaAs NWs were aligned on a non-polar Ge(1 1 1) substrate by implementing As surface treatment and buffer layer growth. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) showed the occurrence of a twin in the NW and no dislocation at the GaAs/Ge interface. Photoluminescence spectra suggested luminescence from a type-II quantum well structure originated from the twin and defect-levels due to Ga vacancies and Ge interdiffusion from the Ge substrate.

Selective-area growth of pulse-doped InAs nanowires on Si and vertical transistor application

III-V compound semiconductors are promising channel materials for the future low-power and high-performance transistor because of their high electron/hole mobility. Here, we report on the integration of vertical InAs nanowire (NW)-channels on Si by selective-area metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) with a pulse doping technique and demonstration of an InAs NW vertical surrounding-gate transistors. The device had a small subthreshold slope of 68 mV/decade, a normalized transconductance of 0.25 μS/μm, and on/off ratio of around 107. The axial junction with the pulse doping effectively suppressed off-state leakage current resulting in good electrostatic gate control.

Reducing Zn diffusion in single axial junction InP nanowire solar cells for improved performance

In this work axial n-i-p junction InP nanowires were grown by selective-area metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (SA-MOVPE) technique with the growth sequence starting from n-segment. The optical properties and carrier lifetimes of the n-, i- and p-type segments were studied and compared using time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) and cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements. We demonstrate for the first time that CL is capable of resolving the electrical profile of the nanowires, namely the varied lengths of the n-, i- and p-segments, providing a simple and effective approach for nanowire growth calibration and optimization. The CL result was further confirmed by electron beam induced current (EBIC) and photocurrent mapping measurements performed from the fabricated single nanowire solar cell devices. It is revealed that despite a non-optimized device structure (very long n-region and short i-region), the n-i-p nanowire solar cells show improved power conversion efficiency (PCE) than the previously reported p-i-n (growth starts with p-segment) single nanowire solar cells due to reduced p-type dopant (Zn) diffusion during the growth of n-i-p solar cell structure.

Analyses of magnetization switching and magnetic domains in lateral MnAs nanowires in combination with structural characterization

We report on structural and magnetic characterization results of lateral MnAs nanowires formed by selective-area metal–organic vapor phase epitaxy. The lateral MnAs nanowires observed by backscattered and secondary electron microscopies have a high aspect ratio (i.e., 2.6 µm long and 360 nm wide) and well-defined crystal facets. The external magnetic field dependence in magnetic force microscopy observations of the lateral nanowires reveals that single and multiple magnetic domains were formed in the lateral nanowires. This study suggests that magnetic domains are tuned by the structural control of lateral nanowires. However, no magnetization switching is observed under a relatively high external magnetic field of 5000 G, which should be enough for the magnetization switching of the lateral nanowires, possibly owing to the magnetization switching of the magnetic force microscope tip itself used in this study during observations.

Single-photon emission from InAsP quantum dots embedded in density-controlled InP nanowires

We attempted to control the density and size of InP-based nanowires (NWs) and nanowire quantum dots (NW-QDs) during selective-area metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. InP nanowire arrays with a 5 µm pitch and an average NW diameter d of 67 nm were successfully grown by optimization of growth conditions. InAsP quantum dots were embedded in these density-controlled InP NW arrays, and clear single-photon emission and exciton-biexciton cascaded emission were confirmed by excitation-dependent photoluminescence and photon correlation measurements.

Magnetization in vertical MnAs/InAs heterojunction nanowires

The authors report on the magnetic characterization results of ferromagnetic MnAs/semiconducting InAs heterojunction nanowires fabricated by selective-area metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy. Single magnetic domains are formed in MnAs nanoclusters. Thin MnAs nanoclusters are magnetized parallel to one of the magnetic easy axes, i.e., a-axes, owing to the shape and magneto-crystalline anisotropies of the nanoclusters. On the other hand, in the case of thick MnAs nanoclusters, which are elongated along the magnetic hard axis, i.e., c-axis, magnetization directions are parallel to the c-axis of the nanoclusters predominantly owing to the shape anisotropy. The shape of MnAs nanoclusters is a key to control the magnetizations and magnetic domains.

Growth of InGaAs nanowires on Ge(111) by selective-area metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy

We report the growth of InGaAs nanowires (NWs) on Ge(111) substrates using selective-area metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy (SA-MOVPE) for novel InGaAs/Ge hybrid complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) applications. Ge(111) substrates with periodic arrays of mask opening were prepared, and InGaAs was selectively grown on the opening region of Ge(111). A uniform array of InGaAs NWs with a diameter around 100nm was successfully grown using appropriate preparation of the initial surfaces with an AsH3 thermal treatment and flow-rate modulation epitaxy (FME). We found that optimizing partial pressure of AsH3 and the number of FME cycles improved the yield of vertical InGaAs NWs. Line-scan profile analysis of energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrometry showed that the In composition in the InGaAs NW was almost constant from the bottom to the top. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis revealed that the interface between InGaAs NW and Ge had misfit dislocations, but their distance was longer than that expected from the difference in their lattice constants.