Epitaxy of silicon doped gallium arsenide by molecular beam method

Enhanced Photoresponsivity of a GaAs Nanowire Metal-Semiconductor-Metal Photodetector by Adjusting the Fermi Level

Metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM)-structured GaAs-based nanowire photodetectors have been widely reported because they are promising as an alternative for high-performance devices. Owing to the Schottky built-in electric fields in the MSM structure photodetectors, enhancements in photoresponsivity can be realized. Thus, strengthening the built-in electric field is an efficacious way to make the detection capability better. In this study, we fabricate a single GaAs nanowire MSM photodetector with superior performance by doping-adjusting the Fermi level to strengthen the built-in electric field. An outstanding responsivity of 1175 A/W is obtained. This is two orders of magnitude better than the responsivity of the undoped sample. Scanning photocurrent mappings and simulations are performed to confirm that the enhancement in responsivity is because of the increase in the hole Schottky built-in electric field, which can separate and collect the photogenerated carriers more effectively. The eloquent evidence clearly proves that doping-adjusting the Fermi level has great potential applications in high-performance GaAs nanowire photodetectors and other functional photodetectors.

Correlated Chemical and Electrically Active Dopant Analysis in Catalyst-Free Si-Doped InAs Nanowires

Direct correlations between dopant incorporation, distribution, and their electrical activity in semiconductor nanowires (NW) are difficult to access and require a combination of advanced nanometrology methods. Here, we present a comprehensive investigation of the chemical and electrically active dopant concentrations in n-type Si-doped InAs NW grown by catalyst-free molecular beam epitaxy using various complementary techniques. N-type carrier concentrations are determined by Seebeck effect measurements and four-terminal NW field-effect transistor characterization and compared with the Si dopant distribution analyzed by local electrode atom probe tomography. With increased dopant supply, a distinct saturation of the free carrier concentration is observed in the mid-10¹⁸ cm^-3 range. This behavior coincides with the incorporated Si dopant concentrations in the bulk part of the NW, suggesting the absence of compensation effects. Importantly, excess Si dopants with very high concentrations (>10²⁰ cm^-3) segregate at the NW sidewall surfaces, which confirms recent first-principles calculations and results in modifications of the surface electronic properties that are sensitively probed by field-effect measurements. These findings are expected to be relevant also for doping studies of other noncatalytic III-V NW systems.