In situ doping of catalyst-free InAs nanowires

Abstract

We report on in situ doping of InAs nanowires grown by metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy without any catalyst particles. The effects of various dopant precursors (Si2H6, H2S, DETe, CBr4) on the nanowire morphology and the axial and radial growth rates are investigated to select dopants that enable control of the conductivity in a broad range and that concomitantly lead to favorable nanowire growth. In addition, the resistivity of individual wires was measured for different gas-phase concentrations of the dopants selected, and the doping density and mobility were extracted. We find that by using Si 2H6 axially and radially uniform doping densities up to 7 × 1019 cm-3 can be obtained without affecting the morphology or growth rates. For sulfur-doped InAs nanowires, we find that the distribution coefficient depends on the growth conditions, making S doping more difficult to control than Si doping. Moreover, above a critical sulfur gas-phase concentration, compensation takes place, limiting the maximum doping level to 2 × 1019 cm-3. Finally, we extract the specific contact resistivity as a function of doping concentration for Ti and Ni contacts. © 2012 IOP Publishing Ltd.