III-V semiconductor nanowires for ultrafast device applications

Semiconductor nanowires possess excellent material and electronic properties, and have been used to demonstrate the emergence of new physics and devices at the nanoscale. In the past, focus has been placed on increasing the carrier lifetime to make the nanowires more like traditional bulk material; in this project, we propose to make fundamentally new devices based on the incredibly short carrier lifetime yet high material quality observed in tailored nanowires. Specifically, ultra-fast switching transistors, gigahertz-speed photodetectors and terahertz-frequency on-chip electronics will be targeted, which when combined with industry-compatible manufacturing techniques provide groundbreaking new applications for nanowire devices.