The effect of Sb addition on the morphology of self-catalyzed InAsSb nanowires (NWs) has been systematically investigated. InAs NWs were grown by molecular beam epitaxy with and without antimony (Sb) flux. It is demonstrated that trace amounts of Sb flux are capable of tuning the geometry of NWs, i.e., enhancing lateral growth and suppressing axial growth. We attribute this behavior to the surfactant effect of Sb which results in modifications to the kinetic and thermodynamic processes. A thermodynamic mechanism that accounts for Sb segregation in InAsSb NWs is also elucidated. This study opens a new route towards precisely controlled NW geometries by means of Sb addition.

For the first time, we report a complete control of crystal structure in InAs(1-x)Sb(x) NWs by tuning the antimony (Sb) composition. This claim is substantiated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy combined with photoluminescence spectroscopy. The pure InAs nanowires generally show a mixture of wurtzite (WZ) and zinc-blende (ZB) phases, where addition of a small amount of Sb (∼2-4%) led to quasi-pure WZ InAsSb NWs, while further increase of Sb (∼10%) resulted in quasi-pure ZB InAsSb NWs. This phase transition is further evidenced by photoluminescence (PL) studies, where a dominant emission associated with the coexistence of WZ and ZB phases is present in the pure InAs NWs but absent in the PL spectrum of InAs0.96Sb0.04 NWs that instead shows a band-to-band emission. We also demonstrate that the Sb addition significantly reduces the stacking fault density in the NWs. This study provides new insights on the role of Sb addition for effective control of nanowire crystal structure.

We demonstrate the self‐catalyst growth of vertically aligned InAs nanowires on bare Si(111) by droplet epitaxy. The growth conditions of indium droplets suitable for nucleation and growth of nanowires have been identified. We have then realized vertically aligned and non‐tapered InAs nanowires on bare Si(111) substrates through optimal indium droplets. It was found that the lateral dimensions and density of nano‐wires are defined by the indium droplets. This technique unravels a controllable, cost‐effective and time‐efficient route to fabricating functional monolithic hybrid structures of InAs nanowires on silicon. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

The control of optical and transport properties of semiconductor heterostructures is crucial for engineering new nanoscale photonic and electrical devices with diverse functions. Core–shell nanowires are evident examples of how tailoring the structure, i.e., the shell layer, plays a key role in the device performance. However, III–V semiconductors bandgap tuning has not yet been fully explored in nanowires. Here, a novel InAs/AlSb core–shell nanowire heterostructure is reported grown by molecular beam epitaxy and its application for room temperature infrared photodetection. The core–shell nanowires are dislocation‐free with small chemical intermixing at the interfaces. They also exhibit remarkable radiative emission efficiency, which is attributed to efficient surface passivation and quantum confinement induced by the shell. A high‐performance core–shell nanowire phototransistor is also demonstrated with negative photoresponse. In comparison with simple InAs nanowire phototransistor, the core–shell nanowire phototransistor has a dark current two orders of magnitude smaller and a sixfold improvement in photocurrent signal‐to‐noise ratio. The main factors for the improved photodetector performance are the surface passivation, the oxide in the AlSb shell and the type‐II bandgap alignment. The study demonstrates the potential of type‐II core–shell nanowires for the next generation of photodetectors on silicon.

The monolithic integration of InAs(1-x)Sb(x) semiconductor nanowires on graphitic substrates holds enormous promise for cost-effective, high-performance, and flexible devices in optoelectronics and high-speed electronics. However, the growth of InAs(1-x)Sb(x) nanowires with high aspect ratio essential for device applications is extremely challenging due to Sb-induced suppression of axial growth and enhancement in radial growth. We report the realization of high quality, vertically aligned, nontapered and ultrahigh aspect ratio InAs(1-x)Sb(x) nanowires with Sb composition (xSb(%)) up to ∼12% grown by indium-droplet assisted molecular beam epitaxy on graphite substrate. Low temperature photoluminescence measurements show that the InAs(1-x)Sb(x) nanowires exhibit bright band-to-band related emission with a distinct redshift as a function of Sb composition providing further confirmation of successful Sb incorporation in as-grown nanowires. This study reveals that the graphite substrate is a more favorable platform for InAs(1-x)Sb(x) nanowires that could lead to hybrid heterostructures possessing potential device applications in optoelectronics.

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We report the self-catalysed growth of InAs nanowires (NWs) on graphite thin films using molecular beam epitaxy via a droplet-assisted technique. Through optimising metal droplets, we obtained vertically aligned InAs NWs with highly uniform diameter along their entire length. In comparison with conventional InAs NWs grown on Si (111), the graphite surface led to significant effects on the NWs geometry grown on it, i.e. larger diameter, shorter length with lower number density, which were ascribed to the absence of dangling bonds on the graphite surface. The axial growth rate of the NWs has a strong dependence on growth time, which increases quickly in the beginning then slows down after the NWs reach a length of approximately 0.8 μm. This is attributed to the combined axial growth contributions from the surface impingement and sidewall impingement together with the desorption of adatoms during the diffusion. The growth of InAs NWs on graphite was proposed following a vapour-solid mechanism. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals that the NW has a mixture of pure zinc-blende and wurtzite insertions.

The recent discovery of flexible graphene monolayers has triggered extensive research interest for the development of III-V/graphene functional hybrid heterostructures. In order to fully exploit their enormous potential in device applications, it is essential to optimize epitaxial growth for the precise control of nanowire geometry and density. Herein, we present a comprehensive growth study of InAs nanowires on graphitic substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. Vertically well-aligned and thin InAs nanowires with high yield were obtained in a narrow growth temperature window of 420–450 °C within a restricted domain of growth rate and V/III flux ratio. The graphitic substrates enable high nanowire growth rates, which is favourable for cost-effective device fabrication. A relatively low density of defects was observed. We have also demonstrated InAs-NWs/graphite heterojunction devices exhibiting rectifying behaviour. Room temperature photovoltaic response with a cut-off wavelength of 3.4 μm was demonstrated. This elucidates a promising route towards the monolithic integration of InAs nanowires with graphite for flexible and functional hybrid devices.