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Nanowire encapsulation with polymer for electrical isolation and enhanced optical properties

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Abstract

Light management and electrical isolation are essential for the majority of optoelectronic nanowire (NW) devices. Here, we present a cost-effective technique, based on vapor-phase deposition of parylene-C and subsequent annealing, that provides conformal encapsulation, anti-reflective coating, improved optical properties, and electrical insulation for GaAs nanowires. The process presented allows facile encapsulation and insulation that is suitable for any nanowire structure. In particular, the parylene-C encapsulation functions as an efficient antireflection coating for the nanowires, with reflectivity down to <1% in the visible spectrum. Furthermore, the parylene-C coating increases photoluminescence intensity, suggesting improved light guiding to the NWs. Finally, based on this process, a NW LED was fabricated, which showed good diode performance and a clear electroluminescence signal. We believe the process can expand the fabrication possibilities and improve the performance of optoelectronic nanowire devices.

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by the Nwires project (Academy of Finland project #284529) and by the Moppi project of Aalto Energy Efficiency Program. T. H. wishes to thank Emil Aaltonen Foundation, Tekniikan Edistämissäätiö, Ulla Tuominen Foundation and Walter Ahlström Foundation for supporting the research. Majority of the work was performed in the Micronova clean room facilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Micro- and Nanosciences, Micronova, Aalto University, P.O. Box 13500, FI-00076, Aalto, Finland

    Tuomas Haggren, Ali Shah, Anton Autere, Joona-Pekko Kakko, Veer Dhaka, Maria Kim, Teppo Huhtio, Zhipei Sun & Harri Lipsanen

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  1. Tuomas Haggren
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  2. Ali Shah
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  3. Anton Autere
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  4. Joona-Pekko Kakko
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  5. Veer Dhaka
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  6. Maria Kim
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  7. Teppo Huhtio
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  8. Zhipei Sun
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  9. Harri Lipsanen
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Correspondence to Tuomas Haggren or Harri Lipsanen.

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Haggren, T., Shah, A., Autere, A. et al. Nanowire encapsulation with polymer for electrical isolation and enhanced optical properties. Nano Res. 10, 2657–2666 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-017-1468-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-017-1468-8

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