Nanowires could compensate for 6% lattice constant deviation

Growing indium arsenide (InAs) and gallium arsenide (GaAs) heterostructures is theoretically impossible due to a lattice constant deviation of 6%. However, a team of researchers from INAC and Institut Néel has overcome this hurdle by using the vapor-liquid-solid method to grow nanowires. The vaporized indium and arsenic atoms migrate in a liquid gold nanodroplet located at the extremity of a GaAs nanowire, exiting in the form of a crystal of the same diameter on the GaAs.
The resulting structure is free from dislocations at the interfaces as long as the liquid gold nanodroplet measures less than 40 nm. The researchers are now working on growing GaAs on InAs. They plan to use the technique to grow nanowires with integrated quantum dots that can be positioned at will for new photonic transmitters.

Contact: mailto:moira.hocevar@neel.cnrs.fr

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