Enhanced THz emission efficiency of composition-tunable InGaAs nanowire arrays

Beleckaite, I.; Treu, J.; Morkoetter, S.; Doeblinger, M.; Xu, X.; Adomavicius, R.; Finley, J. J.; Koblmüller, G. and Krotkus, A. (2017): Enhanced THz emission efficiency of composition-tunable InGaAs nanowire arrays. In: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 110, No. 20, 201106

Abstract

We report the terahertz (THz) emission properties of composition-tunable, intrinsically n-type InGaAs nanowire (NW) arrays using THz time-domain spectroscopy. By tuning the alloy composition of In1-xGaxAs NWs from pure InAs (x(Ga)=0) up to the intermediate composition (x(Ga)similar to 0.5), a substantially enhanced (>3-fold) THz emission efficiency is found, which is ascribed to a reduction in electron accumulation at the NW surface and respective electron scattering at donor-type surface defects. These findings are also confirmed by photoexcitation wavelength dependent measurements, while the THz emission characteristics are further found to be different from corresponding bulk-type planar InGaAs. In particular, NWs exhibit no distinct maxima in THz excitation spectra as caused by electron scattering to subsidiary conduction band valleys and commonly observed in the majority of bulk semiconductors. The wavelength-dependent emission spectra further reveal distinct signatures of modified intervalley scattering, revealing the underlying polytypism of intermixed wurtzite and zincblende phases in the investigated InGaAs NWs. Published by AIP Publishing.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Faculties: Chemistry and Pharmacy > Department of Chemistry
• Subjects: 500 Science > 540 Chemistry
• ISSN: 0003-6951
• Language: English