We report the growth of vertical,
high-quality GaAs0.9Sb0.1 nanowires (NWs) with
improved density on oxygen
(O2) plasma-treated monolayer graphene/SiO2/p-Si(111)
by self-catalyzed molecular beam epitaxy. An O2 plasma
treatment of the graphene under mild conditions enabled modification
of the surface functionalization and improved reactivity of the graphene
surface to semiconductor adatoms. The rise in the disorder peak of
the Raman mode, decreased surface conductivity, and creation of additional
O2 groups of plasma-treated graphene compared to that of
pristine graphene confirmed functionalization of the graphene. To
enhance the nucleation centers further for the vertical yield of NWs
on the graphene surface, NWs were grown on a higher Sb composition
GaAs0.6Sb0.4 stem for surface engineering the
graphene surface via the surfactant effect of Sb and for better lattice
matching. The NWs grown under optimal conditions exhibited a zinc
blende crystal structure with no discernible structural defects. The
NWs with a GaAs-passivated shell exhibited photoluminescence emission
at 1.35 eV at 4 K and 1.28 eV at room temperature. The ensemble device
fabricated with a top segment of GaAsSb NW-doped n-type using a GaTe
captive source exhibited an optical responsivity of 110 A/W with a
detectivity of 1.1 × 1014 Jones. These results of
hybrid GaAsSb NW heterostructure/graphene devices show significant
potential toward the fabrication of flexible near-infrared photodetector
device applications. Further, the simple and efficient O2 plasma treatment approach for surface engineering of graphene in
conjunction with a high Sb compositional stem has shown to be a promising
route that can be broadly applicable for the growth of other III–V
ternary material systems for improving the vertical yield of NWs.