Multi-spectral optical absorption in substrate-free nanowire arrays
- Department of Engineering Physics, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L7 (Canada)
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 (Canada)
A method is presented of fabricating gallium arsenide (GaAs) nanowire arrays of controlled diameter and period by reactive ion etching of a GaAs substrate containing an indium gallium arsenide (InGaP) etch stop layer, allowing the precise nanowire length to be controlled. The substrate is subsequently removed by selective etching, using the same InGaP etch stop layer, to create a substrate-free GaAs nanowire array. The optical absorptance of the nanowire array was then directly measured without absorption from a substrate. We directly observe absorptance spectra that can be tuned by the nanowire diameter, as explained with rigorous coupled wave analysis. These results illustrate strong optical absorption suitable for nanowire-based solar cells and multi-spectral absorption for wavelength discriminating photodetectors. The solar-weighted absorptance above the bandgap of GaAs was 94% for a nanowire surface coverage of only 15%.
- OSTI ID:
- 22350762
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 105; ISSN APPLAB; ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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