A review of the electrical properties of semiconductor nanowires: Insights gained from terahertz conductivity spectroscopy

Accurately measuring and controlling the electrical properties of semiconductor nanowires is of paramount importance in the development of novel nanowire-based devices. In light of this, terahertz (THz) conductivity spectroscopy has emerged as an ideal non-contact technique for probing nanowire electrical conductivity and is showing tremendous value in the targeted development of nanowire devices. THz spectroscopic measurements of nanowires enable charge carrier lifetimes, mobilities, dopant concentrations and surface recombination velocities to be measured with high accuracy and high throughput in a contact-free fashion. This review spans seminal and recent studies of the electronic properties of nanowires using THz spectroscopy. A didactic description of THz time-domain spectroscopy, optical pump–THz probe spectroscopy, and their application to nanowires is included. We review a variety of technologically important nanowire materials, including GaAs, InAs, InP, GaN and InN nanowires, Si and Ge nanowires, ZnO nanowires, nanowire heterostructures, doped nanowires and modulation-doped nanowires. Finally, we discuss how THz measurements are guiding the development of nanowire-based devices, with the example of single-nanowire photoconductive THz receivers.The authors gratefully acknowledge EPSRC (UK) for research funding. H J Joyce gratefully acknowledges the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 for her research fellowship.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from IOP via https://doi.org/10.1088/0268-1242/31/10/10300

Modulation of terahertz polarization on picosecond timescales using polymer-encapsulated semiconductor nanowires

© OSA 2017. We exploit the photoconductivity of semiconductor nanowires to achieve ultrafast broad-bandwidth modulation of THz pulses. A modulation depth of -8 dB was exhibited by a polarizer consisting of 14 layers of nanowires encapsulated in polymer

Evolution of Wurtzite Structured GaAs Shells Around InAs Nanowire Cores

GaAs was radially deposited on InAs nanowires by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition and resultant nanowire heterostructures were characterized by detailed electron microscopy investigations. The GaAs shells have been grown in wurtzite structure, epitaxially on the wurtzite structured InAs nanowire cores. The fundamental reason of structural evolution in terms of material nucleation and interfacial structure is given

The infuence of atmosphere on performance of pure-phase WZ and ZB InAs nanowire transistors

We compare the characteristics of phase-pure MOCVD grown ZB and WZ InAs nanowire transistors in several atmospheres: air, dry pure N2 and O2, and N2 bubbled through liquid H2O and alcohols to identify whether phase-related structural/surface differences affect their response. Both WZ and ZB give poor gate characteristics in dry state. Adsorption of polar species reduces off-current by 2-3 orders of magnitude, increases on-off ratio and significantly reduces sub-threshold slope. The key difference is the greater sensitivity of WZ to low adsorbate level. We attribute this to facet structure and its influence on the separation between conduction electrons and surface adsorption sites. We highlight the important role adsorbed species play in nanowire device characterisation. WZ is commonly thought superior to ZB in InAs nanowire transistors. We show this is an artefact of the moderate humidity found in ambient laboratory conditions: WZ and ZB perform equally poorly in the dry gas limit yet equally well in the wet gas limit. We also highlight the vital role density-lowering disorder has in improving gate characteristics, be it stacking faults in mixed-phase WZ or surface adsorbates in pure-phase nanowires.This work was funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the University of New South Wales

Enhanced performance of InAsP nanowires with ultra-thin passivation layer

Surface passivation with a higher band gap shell has been shown to successfully reduce the density of surface states at the surface of nanowires. The effect of ultra-thin InP passivation layers of thicknesses ∼ 3 -5 nm coated on InAsP nanowires is investigated and compared to bare InAsP nanowires. The ultra-thin passivation exhibited an improvement in carrier lifetime and mobility by approximately a factor of 3. Surface recombination velocity was decreased by at least a factor of 3

Polarization and temperature dependence of photoluminescence from zincblende and wurtzite InP nanowires

We use polarization-resolved and temperature-dependent photoluminescence of single zincblende (ZB) (cubic) and wurtzite (WZ) (hexagonal) InPnanowires to probe differences in selection rules and bandgaps between these two semiconductor nanostructures. The WZ nanowires exhibit a bandgap80meV higher in energy than the ZB nanowires. The temperature dependence of the PL is similar but not identical for the WZ and ZB nanowires. We find that ZB nanowires exhibit strong polarization parallel to the nanowire axis, while the WZ nanowires exhibit polarized emission perpendicular to the nanowire axis. This behavior is interpreted in terms of the different selection rules for WZ and ZB crystal structures.A.M., L.V.T., T.B.H., H.E.J., L.M.S., and J.M.Y.-R. acknowledge support from the Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology of the University of Cincinnati and the National Science Foundation through Grant Nos. EEC/NUE 0532495 and ECCS 0701703. The Australian authors acknowledge support from the Australian Research Council. Y.K. acknowledges support by the Korean Science and Engineering Foundation KOSEF through Grant No. F01- 2007-000-10087-0

Exploring the band structure of Wurtzite InAs nanowires using photocurrent spectroscopy

We use polarized photocurrent spectroscopy in a nanowire device to investigate the band structure of hexagonal Wurtzite InAs. Signatures of optical transitions between four valence bands and two conduction bands are observed which are consistent with the symmetries expected from group theory. The ground state transition energy identified from photocurrent spectra is seen to be consistent with photoluminescence emitted from a cluster of nanowires from the same growth substrate. From the energies of the observed bands we determine the spin orbit and crystal field energies in Wurtzite InAs. This information is vital to the development of crystal phase engineering of this important III-V semiconductor.ER

The Effects of Surfaces and Surface Passivation on the Electrical Properties of Nanowires and Other Nanostructures: Time-Resolved Terahertz Spectroscopy Studies

The electrical properties of nanomaterials are strongly influenced by their surfaces, which in turn are strongly influenced by device processing and passivation procedures. Optical pump-terahertz probe spectroscopy is ideal for measuring the native properties of these materials, determining the changes induced by device processing, and studying the effectiveness of surface passivation procedures. Here we study the electronic properties of III-V nanowires and other nanomaterials in both their native and encapsulated/integrated states, which is uniquely possible with terahertz spectroscopy

Nanowires in Terahertz Photonics: Harder, Better, Stronger, Faster

By virtue of their quasi one-dimensional geometries, III-V semiconductor nanowires present unique capabilities for terahertz photonic devices. Ultrafast terahertz polarisation modulators and miniature terahertz photoconductive detectors are two examples of such nanowire-based devices. By the same token, terahertz methods such as terahertz conductivity spectroscopy offer unparalleled insight into the electronic processes that dictate the performance of nanowire-based devices

Fast Room-Temperature Detection of Terahertz Quantum Cascade Lasers with Graphene-Loaded Bow-Tie Plasmonic Antenna Arrays

We present a fast room-temperature terahertz detector based on interdigitated bow-tie antennas contacting graphene. Highly efficient photodetection was achieved by using two metals with different work functions as the arms of a bow-tie antenna contacting graphene. Arrays of the bow-ties were fabricated in order to enhance the responsivity and coupling of the incoming light to the detector, realizing an efficient imaging system. The device has been characterized and tested with a terahertz quantum cascade laser emitting in single frequency around 2 THz, yielding a responsivity of ∼34 μA/W and a noise-equivalent power of ∼1.5 × 10$^{-7}$ W/Hz$^{1/2}$.R.D., Y.R., and H.E.B. acknowledge financial support from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Grant No. EP/J017671/1, Coherent Terahertz Systems). S.H. acknowledges funding from EPSRC (Grant No. EP/K016636/1, GRAPHTED). H.L. and J.A.Z. acknowledge financial support from the EPSRC (Grant No. EP/L019922/1). J.A.A.-W. acknowledges a Research Fellowship from Churchill College, Cambridge. H.J.J. thanks the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 for her Research Fellowship.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from American Chemical Society via https://doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.6b0040