Electrical conductivity of InN nanowires and the influence of the native indium oxide formed at their surface.

Werner, Florian; Limbach, Friederich; Carsten, Michael; Denker, Christian; Malindretos, Joerg; Rizzi, Angela · Nano Lett · 2009

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The electrical properties of InN nanowires were investigated in four-point probe measurements. The dependence of the conductance on the wire diameter allows distinguishing between "core" bulk (quadratic) and "shell" sheet (linear) contributions. Evidence of the formation of a thin In(2)O(3) layer at the surface of the nanowires is provided by X-ray core level photoemission spectroscopy. The shell conductivity is therefore ascribed to an electron accumulation layer forming at the radial InN/In(2)O(3) interface. Although conductance through the accumulation layer dominates for nanowires below a critical diameter of about 55 nm, the core channel cannot be neglected, even for small nanowires.