Non-equilibrium induction of tin in germanium: towards direct bandgap Ge1-xSnx nanowires

Biswas, Subhajit; Doherty, Jessica; Saladukha, Dzianis; Ramasse, Quentin; Majumdar, Dipanwita; Upmanyu, Moneesh; Singha, Achintya; Ochalski, Tomasz J.; Morris, Michael A.; Holmes, Justin D.

Non-equilibrium induction of tin in germanium: towards direct bandgap Ge1-xSnx nanowires

dc.contributor.author	Biswas, Subhajit
dc.contributor.author	Doherty, Jessica
dc.contributor.author	Saladukha, Dzianis
dc.contributor.author	Ramasse, Quentin
dc.contributor.author	Majumdar, Dipanwita
dc.contributor.author	Upmanyu, Moneesh
dc.contributor.author	Singha, Achintya
dc.contributor.author	Ochalski, Tomasz J.
dc.contributor.author	Morris, Michael A.
dc.contributor.author	Holmes, Justin D.
dc.contributor.funder	Science Foundation Ireland	en
dc.date.accessioned	2016-04-30T10:50:46Z
dc.date.available	2016-04-30T10:50:46Z
dc.date.issued	2016-04-20
dc.date.updated	2016-04-26T14:14:17Z
dc.description.abstract	The development of non-equilibrium group IV nanoscale alloys is critical to achieving new functionalities, such as the formation of a direct bandgap in a conventional indirect bandgap elemental semiconductor. Here, we describe the fabrication of uniform diameter, direct bandgap Ge1-xSnx alloy nanowires, with a Sn incorporation up to 9.2[thinsp]at.%, far in excess of the equilibrium solubility of Sn in bulk Ge, through a conventional catalytic bottom-up growth paradigm using noble metal and metal alloy catalysts. Metal alloy catalysts permitted a greater inclusion of Sn in Ge nanowires compared with conventional Au catalysts, when used during vapour-liquid-solid growth. The addition of an annealing step close to the Ge-Sn eutectic temperature (230[thinsp][deg]C) during cool-down, further facilitated the excessive dissolution of Sn in the nanowires. Sn was distributed throughout the Ge nanowire lattice with no metallic Sn segregation or precipitation at the surface or within the bulk of the nanowires. The non-equilibrium incorporation of Sn into the Ge nanowires can be understood in terms of a kinetic trapping model for impurity incorporation at the triple-phase boundary during growth.	en
dc.description.sponsorship	Science Foundation Ireland (14/IA/2513, 12/RC/2278, SFI International Strategic Co-operation Award (ISCA) India-Ireland programme, SFI/14/US/I3057)	en
dc.description.status	Peer reviewed	en
dc.description.version	Accepted Version	en
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf	en
dc.identifier.articleid	11405
dc.identifier.citation	Biswas, S., Doherty, J., Saladukha, D., Ramasse, Q., Majumdar, D., Upmanyu, M., Singha, A., Ochalski, T., Morris, M. A. and Holmes, J. D. (2016) 'Non-equilibrium induction of tin in germanium: towards direct bandgap Ge1−xSnx nanowires', 7, 11405. doi: 10.1038/ncomms11405	en
dc.identifier.doi	10.1038/ncomms11405
dc.identifier.endpage	12	en
dc.identifier.issn	2041-1723
dc.identifier.journaltitle	Nature Communications	en
dc.identifier.startpage	11405-1	en
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10468/2505
dc.identifier.volume	11405-7	en
dc.language.iso	en	en
dc.publisher	Nature Publishing Group	en
dc.relation.uri	http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2016/160420/ncomms11405/full/ncomms11405.html
dc.rights	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/	en
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/	en
dc.subject	Physical sciences	en
dc.subject	Materials science	en
dc.subject	Nanotechnology	en
dc.subject	Physical chemistry	en
dc.title	Non-equilibrium induction of tin in germanium: towards direct bandgap Ge1-xSnx nanowires	en
dc.type	Article (peer-reviewed)	en