skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Multi-spectral optical absorption in substrate-free nanowire arrays

Abstract

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%.

Authors:
; ; ;  [1]; ; ;  [2]
  1. Department of Engineering Physics, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4L7 (Canada)
  2. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 (Canada)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22350762
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Applied Physics Letters
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 105; Journal Issue: 12; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY; ABSORPTION; GALLIUM ARSENIDES; GALLIUM PHOSPHIDES; INDIUM COMPOUNDS; IONS; LAYERS; NANOWIRES; PHOTODETECTORS; SOLAR CELLS; SPECTRA; SUBSTRATES; SURFACES; WAVELENGTHS

Citation Formats

Zhang, Junpeng, Chia, Andrew, Boulanger, Jonathan, LaPierre, Ray, Dhindsa, Navneet, Khodadad, Iman, Saini, Simarjeet, and Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1. Multi-spectral optical absorption in substrate-free nanowire arrays. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4896772.
Zhang, Junpeng, Chia, Andrew, Boulanger, Jonathan, LaPierre, Ray, Dhindsa, Navneet, Khodadad, Iman, Saini, Simarjeet, & Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1. Multi-spectral optical absorption in substrate-free nanowire arrays. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4896772
Zhang, Junpeng, Chia, Andrew, Boulanger, Jonathan, LaPierre, Ray, Dhindsa, Navneet, Khodadad, Iman, Saini, Simarjeet, and Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1. 2014. "Multi-spectral optical absorption in substrate-free nanowire arrays". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4896772.
@article{osti_22350762,
title = {Multi-spectral optical absorption in substrate-free nanowire arrays},
author = {Zhang, Junpeng and Chia, Andrew and Boulanger, Jonathan and LaPierre, Ray and Dhindsa, Navneet and Khodadad, Iman and Saini, Simarjeet and Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1},
abstractNote = {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%.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4896772},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22350762}, journal = {Applied Physics Letters},
issn = {0003-6951},
number = 12,
volume = 105,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Sep 22 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Mon Sep 22 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}