Polarity conversion of GaN nanowires grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy
International audience; It is demonstrated that the N-polarity of GaN nanowires (NWs) spontaneously nucleated on Si (111) by molecular beam epitaxy can be reversed by intercalation of an Al-or Ga-oxynitride thin layer. The polarity change has been assessed by a combination of chemical etching, Kelvin probe force microscopy, cathodo-and photoluminescence spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy experiments. Cathodoluminescence of the Ga-polar NW section exhibits a higher intensity in the band edge region, consistent with a reduced incorporation of chemical impurities. The polarity reversal method we propose opens the path to the integration of optimized metal-polar NW devices on any…
Growth of zinc-blende GaN on muscovite mica by molecular beam epitaxy
Abstract The mechanisms of plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxial growth of GaN on muscovite mica were investigated. Using a battery of techniques, including scanning and transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, cathodoluminescence, Raman spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction, it was possible to establish that, in spite of the lattice symmetry mismatch, GaN grows in epitaxial relationship with mica, with the [11–20] GaN direction parallel to [010] direction of mica. GaN layers could be easily detached from the substrate via the delamination of the upper layers of the mica itself, discarding the hypothesis of a van der Waals growth mode. Mixture of wurtzite (hexagonal) and z…
Growth, structural and optical properties of GaN/AlN and GaN/GaInN nanowire heterostructures
Abstract After discussing the GaN NW nucleation issue, we will present the structural properties of axial and radial (i.e. core/shell) GaN/AlN NW heterostructures and adress the issue of critical thickness during the growth of such heterostructures. Next, we will present the growth of InGaN NWs on a GaN NW base. It will be shown that the morphology and structural properties of the InGaN NW sections depend on the In content: for high In content a flat top is observed and plastic relaxation is occuring, with mismatch dislocations formed at the InGaN/GaN interface. By contrast, for In content below 25% InGaN NWs exhibit a pencil-like shape assigned to a purely elastic strain relaxation process…
Impact of kinetics on the growth of GaN on graphene by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy.
International audience; The growth of GaN on graphene by molecular beam epitaxy was investigated. The most stable epitaxial relationship, i.e. [00.1]-oriented grains, is obtained at high temperature and N-rich conditions, which match those for nanowire growth. Alternatively, at moderate temperature and Ga-rich conditions, several metastable orientations are observed at the nucleation stage, which evolve preferentially towards [00.1]-oriented grains. The dependence of the nucleation regime on growth conditions was assigned to Ga adatom kinetics. This statement is consistent with the calculated graphene/GaN in-plane lattice coincidence and supported by a combination of transmission electron m…
Growth, structural and optical properties of AlGaN nanowires in the whole composition range.
International audience; We report on the growth of AlxGa1-xN nanowires by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy for x in the 0.3-0.8 range. Based on a combination of macro- and micro-photoluminescence, Raman spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy experiments, it is shown that the structural and optical properties of AlGaN NWs are governed by the presence of compositional fluctuations associated with strongly localized electronic states. A growth model is proposed, which suggests that, depending on growth temperature and metal adatom density, macroscopic composition fluctuations are mostly of kinetic origin and are directly related to the nucleation of the AlGaN na…