Structural Characterization of GaN Nanowires Fabricated via Direct Reaction of Ga Vapor and Ammonia

Abstract

We report structural studies of large-scale wurtzite GaN nanowires fabricated by direct reaction of Ga vapor and NH₃. This recently reported growth technique [1] demonstrates processing of GaN one-dimensional structures as thin as 26 nm and up to 500 μm in length. This method is both interesting and attractive in that fabrication is carried out without the assistance of template materials as required by other methods. In this study, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is used to characterize the nanowires, while x-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) data provide supporting structural/compositional analysis. Our structural investigation reveals the presence of thin hexagonal platelets, which we believe play a critical role in the nucleation, growth, and orientation of the wires. In particular, our findings indicate that most of the wires grow along the [2110] direction, normal to the platelet edges.