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Structural and Chemical Evolution of the Spontaneous Core-Shell Structures of AlxGa1-xN/GaN Nanowires

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2014

Rabie Fath Allah ,
Teresa Ben  and
David González
Rabie Fath Allah*
Affiliation:
Dpto. Ciencia de los Materiales e Ingeniería Metalúrgica y Q.I., Facultad de Ciencias, Apdo. 40, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain
Teresa Ben
Affiliation:
Dpto. Ciencia de los Materiales e Ingeniería Metalúrgica y Q.I., Facultad de Ciencias, Apdo. 40, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain
David González
Affiliation:
Dpto. Ciencia de los Materiales e Ingeniería Metalúrgica y Q.I., Facultad de Ciencias, Apdo. 40, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain
*
*Corresponding author. rabie.fath@uca.es
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Abstract

A study by electron microscopy techniques of the structural and compositional properties of AlxGa1-xN/GaN nanowire (NW) heterostructures on Si(111) is presented. AlxGa1-xN depositions grown without catalyst by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy were designed to form NWs in the range of 0.20<x<0.40 with different lengths and growth temperatures. The NWs exhibit a well-defined core-shell radial structure with a complex chemical distribution along and across the growth direction that finally affects the NW morphology. All the wires have an initial stage with a maximum Al content in the core slightly above the GaN/AlxGa1-xN interface, which initially decreases exponentially with the NW height depending on the nominal Al content and the growth temperature. In longer NWs, this trend changes and evolves increasing both the Al/Ga ratio and the core diameter as well as sharpening the shell. Adatom surface kinetic differences and the geometrical shadow effect during the growth are the probable drivers of this behavior.

Keywords

electron microscopy techniquesstructural and compositional propertiesAlxGa1-xN/GaN nanowirecore-shell radial structurecomplex chemical distributionAl content
Type
Materials Applications
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 20 , Issue 4 , August 2014 , pp. 1254 - 1261
Copyright
© Microscopy Society of America 2014 

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