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Title: Correlated Nanoscale Analysis of the Emission from Wurtzite versus Zincblende (In,Ga)As/GaAs Nanowire Core–Shell Quantum Wells

Journal Article · · Nano Letters

Although the properties of wurtzite GaAs have been extensively researched during the past decade, little is known about the influence of the crystal polytype on ternary (In,Ga)As quantum well structures. We address this concern with a unique combination of correlated, spatially resolved measurement techniques on core–shell nanowires that contain extended segments of both the zincblende and wurtzite polytypes. Cathodoluminescence hyperspectral imaging reveals a blue-shift of the quantum well emission energy by 75 ± 15 meV in the wurtzite polytype segment. Nanoprobe X-ray diffraction and atom probe tomography enable k·p calculations for the specific sample geometry to reveal two comparable contributions to this shift. First, there is a 30% drop in In mole fraction going from the zincblende to the wurtzite segment. Second, the quantum well is under compressive strain, which has a much stronger impact on the hole ground state in the wurtzite than in the zincblende segment. Our findings illustrate the role of the crystal structure in tuning the emission of (In,Ga)As quantum wells and pave the way to exploit the possibilities of three-dimensional band gap engineering in core–shell nanowire heterostructures. At the same time, we have demonstrated an advanced characterization toolkit for the investigation of semiconductor nanostructures.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division; National Science Foundation (NSF); German Research Foundation (DFG)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1542074
Journal Information:
Nano Letters, Vol. 19, Issue 7; ISSN 1530-6984
Publisher:
American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 10 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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