Surface effects of vapour-liquid-solid driven Bi surface droplets formed during molecular-beam-epitaxy of GaAsBi

Herein we investigate a (001)-oriented GaAs1−xBix/GaAs structure possessing Bi surface droplets capable of catalysing the formation of nanostructures during Bi-rich growth, through the vapourliquid-solid mechanism. Specifically, self-aligned “nanotracks” are found to exist trailing the Bi droplets o...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Steele, J.A., Lewis, R.A., Horvat, J., Nancarrow, M.J.B., Henini, M., Fan, D., Mazur, Y.I., Schmidbauer, M, Ware, M.E., Yu, S.Q., Salamo, G.J.
Format: Article
Published: Nature Publishing Group 2016
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34884/
_version_ 1848794954152804352
author Steele, J.A.
Lewis, R.A.
Horvat, J.
Nancarrow, M.J.B.
Henini, M.
Fan, D.
Mazur, Y.I.
Schmidbauer, M
Ware, M.E.
Yu, S.Q.
Salamo, G.J.
author_facet Steele, J.A.
Lewis, R.A.
Horvat, J.
Nancarrow, M.J.B.
Henini, M.
Fan, D.
Mazur, Y.I.
Schmidbauer, M
Ware, M.E.
Yu, S.Q.
Salamo, G.J.
author_sort Steele, J.A.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Herein we investigate a (001)-oriented GaAs1−xBix/GaAs structure possessing Bi surface droplets capable of catalysing the formation of nanostructures during Bi-rich growth, through the vapourliquid-solid mechanism. Specifically, self-aligned “nanotracks” are found to exist trailing the Bi droplets on the sample surface. Through cross-sectional high-resolution transmission electron microscopy the nanotracks are revealed to in fact be elevated above surface by the formation of a subsurface planar nanowire, a structure initiated mid-way through the molecular-beam-epitaxy growth and embedded into the epilayer, via epitaxial overgrowth. Electron microscopy studies also yield the morphological, structural, and chemical properties of the nanostructures. Through a combination of Bi determination methods the compositional profile of the film is shown to be graded and inhomogeneous. Furthermore, the coherent and pure zincblende phase property of the film is detailed. Optical characterisation of features on the sample surface is carried out using polarised micro-Raman and micro-photoluminescence spectroscopies. The important light producing properties of the surface nanostructures are investigated through pump intensity-dependent micro PL measurements, whereby relatively large local inhomogeneities are revealed to exist on the epitaxial surface for important optical parameters. We conclude that such surface effects must be considered when designing and fabricating optical devices based on GaAsBi alloys.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T19:24:24Z
format Article
id nottingham-34884
institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T19:24:24Z
publishDate 2016
publisher Nature Publishing Group
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling nottingham-348842020-05-04T18:03:42Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34884/ Surface effects of vapour-liquid-solid driven Bi surface droplets formed during molecular-beam-epitaxy of GaAsBi Steele, J.A. Lewis, R.A. Horvat, J. Nancarrow, M.J.B. Henini, M. Fan, D. Mazur, Y.I. Schmidbauer, M Ware, M.E. Yu, S.Q. Salamo, G.J. Herein we investigate a (001)-oriented GaAs1−xBix/GaAs structure possessing Bi surface droplets capable of catalysing the formation of nanostructures during Bi-rich growth, through the vapourliquid-solid mechanism. Specifically, self-aligned “nanotracks” are found to exist trailing the Bi droplets on the sample surface. Through cross-sectional high-resolution transmission electron microscopy the nanotracks are revealed to in fact be elevated above surface by the formation of a subsurface planar nanowire, a structure initiated mid-way through the molecular-beam-epitaxy growth and embedded into the epilayer, via epitaxial overgrowth. Electron microscopy studies also yield the morphological, structural, and chemical properties of the nanostructures. Through a combination of Bi determination methods the compositional profile of the film is shown to be graded and inhomogeneous. Furthermore, the coherent and pure zincblende phase property of the film is detailed. Optical characterisation of features on the sample surface is carried out using polarised micro-Raman and micro-photoluminescence spectroscopies. The important light producing properties of the surface nanostructures are investigated through pump intensity-dependent micro PL measurements, whereby relatively large local inhomogeneities are revealed to exist on the epitaxial surface for important optical parameters. We conclude that such surface effects must be considered when designing and fabricating optical devices based on GaAsBi alloys. Nature Publishing Group 2016-07-05 Article PeerReviewed Steele, J.A., Lewis, R.A., Horvat, J., Nancarrow, M.J.B., Henini, M., Fan, D., Mazur, Y.I., Schmidbauer, M, Ware, M.E., Yu, S.Q. and Salamo, G.J. (2016) Surface effects of vapour-liquid-solid driven Bi surface droplets formed during molecular-beam-epitaxy of GaAsBi. Scientific Reports, 6 (28860). pp. 1-17. ISSN 2045-2322 http://www.nature.com/articles/srep28860 doi:10.1038/srep28860 doi:10.1038/srep28860
spellingShingle Steele, J.A.
Lewis, R.A.
Horvat, J.
Nancarrow, M.J.B.
Henini, M.
Fan, D.
Mazur, Y.I.
Schmidbauer, M
Ware, M.E.
Yu, S.Q.
Salamo, G.J.
Surface effects of vapour-liquid-solid driven Bi surface droplets formed during molecular-beam-epitaxy of GaAsBi
title Surface effects of vapour-liquid-solid driven Bi surface droplets formed during molecular-beam-epitaxy of GaAsBi
title_full Surface effects of vapour-liquid-solid driven Bi surface droplets formed during molecular-beam-epitaxy of GaAsBi
title_fullStr Surface effects of vapour-liquid-solid driven Bi surface droplets formed during molecular-beam-epitaxy of GaAsBi
title_full_unstemmed Surface effects of vapour-liquid-solid driven Bi surface droplets formed during molecular-beam-epitaxy of GaAsBi
title_short Surface effects of vapour-liquid-solid driven Bi surface droplets formed during molecular-beam-epitaxy of GaAsBi
title_sort surface effects of vapour-liquid-solid driven bi surface droplets formed during molecular-beam-epitaxy of gaasbi
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34884/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34884/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34884/