Structural and optical properties of vertically aligned InP nanowires grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy

Vertically aligned InP nanowires were successfully grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy under metal-catalyzed vapor–liquid–solid growth processes. Au nanoparticles with a nominal diameter of 20 nm were used as the seed to control the diameter of the nanowires. Scanning and transmission electron microscopic studies showed highly dense nanowires with uniform diameters along the length direction, and the zinc-blende structure of the nanowires with 1 1 1 growth direction, respectively. Cathodeluminescence measurements showed a significant blueshift in the spectral peak position compared to bulk InP due to the quantum confinement of the carriers in the nanowires.     

Free-standing and vertically aligned InP nanowires grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

Metalorganic vapor phase epitaxial technique has been used to grow surface mounted vertical and uniform cross-sectional InP nanowires on a wafer scale basis. The growth was carried out under the vapor–liquid–solid mechanism using Au colloidal nanoparticles of nominal diameters of 10 and 20 nm, and their properties were compared. The effect of the pre-growth anneals and growth temperatures on the stability of the nanowires were studied in detail. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopic studies showed average diameter of the nanowires in the range of 20–35 nm, and of length 700 nm with growth direction of 1 1 1. Room temperature photoluminescence measurements of the nanowires grown on 10 and 20 nm Au particles showed strong peaks, which were blue shifted by 25 and 32 meV, respectively, compared to bulk InP.     

化学气相沉积法制备Zn2GeO4纳米线及其发光性质的研究

利用化学气相沉积法（CVD）,气-液-固（VLS）生长法则在表面溅有金属Au催化剂层的1 cm×1 cm的Si片上制备三元Zn₂GeO₄纳米线。X射线衍射仪（XRD）测试结果表明,锌源与锗源质量比为8：1时可成功制备出Zn₂GeO₄纳米结构;扫描电子显微镜（SEM）测试结果表明,Zn₂GeO₄纳米线直径为100 nm,长度为10~11 μm;光致发光（PL）测试结果表明,Zn₂GeO₄纳米线在432和480 nm处具有两个发光峰,最后对其生长机理进行了分析。     

ZnO纳米线的合成与生长机理

采用化学气相沉积系统制备ZnO纳米线,以覆盖一层约5nm厚的Ag薄膜的单晶Si(001)为衬底,纳米线的生长遵循气-液-固(VLS)机理。对得到的样品采用X射线衍射(XRD)和扫描电镜(SEM)进行晶体结构和形貌的表征。XRD结果表明衬底温度在600~700℃时生长的ZnO纳米线具有六方结构和统一的取向。通过扫描电子显微镜分析,比较了生长温度对纳米线直径和长度的影响。实验表明我们可以通过催化剂和温度来实现ZnO纳米线生长的可控。与传统的VLS生长方式不同的是在我们制备的ZnO纳米线顶端并没有看到催化剂颗粒,表明纳米线的生长方式是底部生长,我们对其生长机理进行了研究。     

Silicon nanowires synthesized by vapor–liquid–solid growth on excimer laser annealed thin gold film

The fabrication of Si nanowires has been demonstrated using excimer laser annealed thin gold film as the catalyst and vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) growth. Au nanoparticles with mean diameters of 12, 13 and 15 nm were formed by excimer laser annealing (ELA) of Au film with thickness of 2.5, 5 and 10 nm, respectively. The results show that the silicon nanowires (SiNWs) with desired diameter can be obtained by controlling the Au film thickness and laser power density.     

Synthesis, characterization and photoluminescence of tin oxide nanoribbons and nanowires

In this work we report the successful formation of tin oxide nanowires and tin oxide nanoribbons with high yield and by using simple cheap method. We also report the formation of curved nanoribbon, wedge-like tin oxide nanowires and star-like nanowires. The growth mechanism of these structures has been studied. Scanning electron microscope was used in the analysis and the EDX analysis showed that our samples is purely Sn and O with ratio 1:2. X-ray analysis was also used in the characterization of the tin oxide nanowire and showed the high crystallinity of our nanowires. The mechanism of the growth of our1D nanostructures is closely related to the vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) process. The photoluminescence PL measurements for the tin oxide nanowires indicated that there are three stable emission peaks centered at wavelengths 630, 565 and 395 nm. The nature of the transition may be attributed to nanocrystals inside the nanobelts or to Sn or O vacancies occurring during the growth which can induce trapped states in the band gap.     

Nanostructure size evolution during Au-catalysed growth by carbo-thermal evaporation of well-aligned ZnO nanowires on (100)Si

We report the structural and morphological properties of well-aligned ZnO nanowires grown at 750 °C on Au-deposited and annealed (100)Si substrates using carbo-thermal evaporation. As-grown nanowires are made of wurtzite ZnO, have cylindrical shape and carry droplet-like nanoparticles (NPs) at their tips, as expected for vapour–liquid–solid (VLS) growth. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction measurements demonstrate that the NPs are made of pure fcc Au. No secondary Au/Zn alloy phases were detected. Bragg diffraction patterns confirmed that the nanowires were grown with their crystal c-axes parallel to the [100] direction of Si (i.e. normal to the substrate surface), while Au NPs are mostly (111)-oriented. The diameter distribution of ZnO nanowires mimics that of the Au NPs at their tips. A quantitative study of the nanostructure size distribution after sequential annealing and growth steps evidences the occurrence of three nanoscale processes: (i) Ostwald ripening and/or coalescence of Au NPs before nanowire nucleation, (ii) Au-catalysed VLS nucleation and axial growth of ZnO nanowires and (iii) radial growth of nanowires by a vapour–solid process. These processes originate the NP and nanowire size evolution during the experiments. The present findings are interpreted in terms of Zn vapour pressure changes during carbo-thermal evaporation. PACS 61.46.+w; 68.65.-k; 81.16.Dn     

Optical properties of individual GaAs quantum dots embedded into AlGaAs nanowires

The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of semiconductor structures, namely, Al_0.3Ga_0.7As-based quasi-one-dimensional cylindrical nanowires (nanowhiskers), are measured. The diameter of a typical nanowire is 20–50 nm, and its length was 0.5–1.0 μm. Samples containing one or several GaAs-based quantum dots at the center of the quantum wire are studied. The dot thickness is 2 nm, and the dot diameter is 15–40 nm. Individual nanowhiskers, several nanowhiskers (3–4), and ensembles consisting of many nanowhiskers are studied. The PL spectra are measured for different optical-excitation intensities and in magnetic fields of up to 11 T.     

碳泡沫衬底上氮化铝纳米线的生长及其光致发光特性研究

为了简化了AlN/C复合泡沫材料的制备流程, 本文采用复分解反应法制备AlN纳米材料, 并通过800℃退火处理使其在碳泡沫衬底上重结晶为六方相AlN纳米线. 通过形貌表征测试, 纳米线为表面光滑的长直形圆柱体, 直径约50 nm, 长度10 μm以上, 在碳微球表面沿[001]方向生长. 同时, 采用VLS生长机理对纳米线的生长进行了解释. 对样品光致发光谱的研究表明, 中心波长423 nm处存在一尖锐发光峰且随温度升高发生明显的红移现象, 系C替N杂质能级跃迁发光所致. 样品在紫光波段具有良好的光致发光特性, 有望应用于光探测器领域.     

Synthesis and optical characterization of vertically grown ZnO nanowires in high crystallinity through vapor-liquid-solid growth mechanism

The gas-phase growth and optical characteristics of 1-dimensional ZnO nanostructure have been investigated. The ZnO nanowires (NWs) were grown vertically on Au coated silicon substrates by vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mechanism using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The ZnO NWs were grown in the crystal direction of [0 0 0 1]. The ZnO NWs exhibit the uniform size of less than 100 nm in diameter and up to 5 μm in length. Photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of ZnO NWs shows the strong band-edge emission at ∼380 nm (∼3.27 eV) without significant deep-level defect emission. The exciton lifetime of ZnO NWs was measured to be approximately 150 ± 10 ps.     

Sawtooth faceting in silicon nanowires

We observe in situ the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth of Si nanowires, in UHV-CVD using Au catalyst. The nanowire sidewalls exhibit periodic sawtooth faceting, reflecting an oscillatory growth process. We interpret the facet alternation as resulting from the interplay of the geometry and surface energies of the wire and liquid droplet. Such faceting may be present in any VLS growth system in which there are no stable orientations parallel to the growth direction. The sawtooth structure has important implications for electronic mobility and scattering in nanowire devices.     

Growth Behavior of CdS Nanoparticles Embedded in Polymer and Sol-Gel Silica Matrices: Relationship with Surface-State Related Luminescence

Chemical techniques were employed to synthesize CdS nanoparticles embedded in polymer (PEG 300) and sol-gel silica matrices. Systematic growth of particles (radius 3–9 nm) was obtained by adjusting post-deposition annealing temperature and time to examine the dependence of surface-state–related luminescence on particle size. Photoluminescence (PL) peak energy showed a linear dependence with a gentle slope in the weak confinement region and a steep slope in the strong confinement region, the divergence being observed near the excitonic Bohr radius for CdS. The empirical relation proposed for the weak confinement region could be used for estimating chemically prepared CdS nanoparticle size with a high degree of reliability from PL peak energy.     

Electronic transmission through a quantum wire by side-attached nanowires

A system of arrays of nanowires side-coupled to a quantum wire is studied. Transport through the quantum wire is investigated by using a noninteracting Anderson tunneling Hamiltonian. An analytical expression of the conductance at zero temperature is given, showing a band with alternating forbidden and allowed minibands due to the discrete structure of the nanowires. A generalization of the odd–even parity symmetry is found in this system, whose conductance exhibits a forbidden miniband in the center of the band for an odd number of sites in the nanowires, while shows an allowed band for an even number.     

Ce掺杂Si纳米线的制备及其蓝光发射特性

以抛光和“金字塔”织构表面的单晶Si(100)为衬底,分别以Au和Au-Al为金属催化剂,在温度为1 100 ℃、N₂气流量为1 500 sccm、生长时间为15～60 min等工艺条件下,制备了直径约为50～200 nm、长度为数微米至数十微米和不同分布的Si纳米线。然后,利用CeO₂粉末为掺杂剂,在温度为1 100～1 200 ℃、N₂流量为1 000 sccm、掺杂时间为30～60 min等工艺条件下对Si纳米线进行Ce掺杂。实验研究了不同Si纳米线长度、密度和分布等对Ce3+蓝光发射的影响。室温下利用Hitachi F-4600型荧光分光光度计对样品的激发光谱和发射光谱进行了测试和分析,同时利用FLS920全功能型荧光光谱仪对样品的荧光量子效率进行了测试。结果表明,在Si纳米线生长时间为30 min、织构表面和密度相对较低时以及最佳激发光波长为328 nm时,样品发射光波长为405 nm(5d→2F_5/2)荧光强度较大,实现了强的蓝光发射,其荧光量子效率达到了65.57%。通过光谱功率分布和CIE-1931标准公式进行计算,Ce掺杂Si纳米线样品的色坐标为(0.16, 0.03);发光强度大,量子效率高使其在照明、显示等领域有着潜在的应用价值,同时对Si纳米线在发光领域的研究和应用具有一定的参考价值。     

Anti-Reflection Characteristics of Si Nanowires for Enhanced Photoluminescence from CdTe/CdS Quantum Dots

CdTe/CdS quantum dots(QDs) are fabricated on Si nanowires(NWs) substrates with and without Au nanoparticles(NPs). The formation of Au NPs on Si NWs can be certified as shown in scanning electron microscopy images. The optical properties of samples are also investigated. It is interesting to find that the photoluminescence(PL) intensity of Cd Te/Cd S QD films on Si nanowire substrates with Au NPs is significantly increased,which can reach 8-fold higher than that of samples on planar Si without Au NPs. The results of finite-difference time-domain simulation indicate that Au NPs induce stronger localization of electric field and then boost the PL intensity of QDs nearby. Furthermore, the time-resolved luminescence decay curve shows the PL lifetime, which is about 5.5 ns at the emission peaks of QD films on planar, increasing from 1.8 ns of QD films on Si NWs to4.7 ns after introducing Au NPs into Si NWs.     

Large-scale fast production of amorphous Si-Al-O nanowires under ambient conditions

A novel approach to the large-scale and fast production of free-standing nanowires and microwires under ambient conditions is reported. The method is based on the interaction of a high power laser beam with a commercial ceramic substrate under a high-pressure gas jet under ambient conditions. Large quantities of amorphous Si-Al oxide nanowires were produced and characterized. An explanation for the growth of the nanowires based in the vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) mechanism is proposed . PACS 81.05.Je; 81.07.b     

Si纳米线的固-液-固可控生长及其形成机理分析

以Au膜作为金属催化剂,直接从n-(111)Si单晶衬底上制备了直径为30—60nm和长度从几微米到几十微米的高质量Si纳米线.实验研究了Au膜层厚、退火温度、N2气流量和生长时间对Si纳米线形成的影响.结果表明,通过合理选择和优化组合上述各种工艺条件,可以实现直径、长度、形状和取向可控的纳米线生长.基于固-液-固生长机理,定性阐述了Si纳米线的形成过程.     

Preparation and photoluminescence of Sc-doped ZnO nanowires

We demonstrate bulk synthesis of single-crystal Sc-doped ZnO nanowires by using (Sc+Zn) powders at . These mass nanowires are characterized through X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction, and high-resolution TEM, which have uniform diameters of about 40 nm and microns of several decades in length. The growth of ZnScO nanowires is suggested for self-catalyzed vapor–liquid–solid. In particular, PL spectra of these nanowires show emission peaks that intensely shift to long wavelength with increasing Sc and the doping quantity is found responsible for the different characteristics, in which PL mechanism is explained in detail.     

Synthesis and characterization of GaN nanowires by a catalyst assisted chemical vapor deposition

GaN nanowires have been fabricated on Si(1 1 1) substrates by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method with NiCl₂ as catalyst and their compositions, microstructures, morphologies and light emitting properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT-IR spectrophotometer (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL). The results demonstrate that the nanowires are single-crystal GaN with hexagonal wurtzite structure and high crystalline quality, having the size of 20-50 nm in diameter and several tens of microns in length with some nano-droplets on their tips, which reveals that the growth mechanism of GaN nanowires agrees with vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) process. Five first-order Raman active phonon bands move to low shift and A₁(TO), E₁(TO), and E₂ (high) bands are overlapped and broaden, which is caused by uncertainty in the phonon wave vector. Five non-first-order active Raman phonons also appear, which is caused by the small dimension and high surface disorder degree. A blue-shift of the band-gap emission occurs due to quantum confinement effect.     

温度对CdS纳米颗粒形状和光致发光特性的影响

采用反胶束法,在常温和低温下(接近零度)合成了硅土包裹的CdS纳米颗粒.高分辨电镜表明常温下合成的颗粒呈现直径小于5 nm的球形,而在低温下出现了短棒形和长达微米量级的线形.通过对实验过程的分析表明:不仅合成CdS纳米颗粒溶液的浓度,而且温度对CdS纳米颗粒的形状产生了重要的影响.进一步研究了CdS纳米颗粒的光致发光特性.