Nanosails Showcasing Zn₃As₂ as an Optoelectronic-Grade Earth Abundant Semiconductor

Zn₃As₂ is a promising earth-abundant semiconductor material. Its bandgap, around 1 eV, can be tuned across the infrared by alloying and makes this material suited for applications in optoelectronics. Here, we report the crystalline structure and electrical properties of strain-free Zn₃As₂ nanosails, grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy. We demonstrate that the crystalline structure is consistent with the P4₂/nmc ((D¹⁵_4h)) α”-Zn₃As₂ metastable phase. Temperature-dependent Hall effect measurements indicate that the material is degenerately p-doped with a hole mobility close to 10³ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹. Our results display the potential of Zn₃As₂ nanostructures for next generation energy harvesting and optoelectronic devices.