Lithography-free shell-substrate isolation for core-shell GaAs nanowires

A facile and scalable lithography-free technique⁵ for the rapid construction of GaAs core-shell nanowires incorporating shell isolation from the substrate is reported. The process is based on interrupting NW growth and applying a thin spin-on-glass (SOG) layer to the base of the NWs and resuming core-shell NW growth. NW growth occurred in an atmospheric pressure metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE) system with gold nanoparticles used as catalysts for the vapour-liquid-solid growth. It is shown that NW axial core growth and radial shell growth can be resumed after interruption and even exposure to air. The SOG residues and native oxide layer that forms on the NW surface are shown to prevent or perturb resumption of epitaxial NW growth if not removed. Both HF etching and in situ annealing of the air-exposed NWs in the MOVPE were shown to remove the SOG residues and native oxide layer. While both procedures are shown capable of removing the native oxide and enabling resumption of epitaxial NW growth, in situ annealing produced the best results and allowed construction of pristine core-shell NWs. No growth occurred on SOG and it was observed that axial NW growth was more rapid when a SOG layer covered the substrate. The fabricated p-core/n-shell NWs exhibited diode behaviour upon electrical testing. The isolation of the NW shells from the substrate was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and electrical measurements. The crystal quality of the regrown core-shell NWs was verified with a high resolution transmission electron microscope. The reported technique potentially provides a pathway using MOVPE for scalable and high-throughput production of shell-substrate isolated core-shell NWs on an industrial scale.