High electron mobility in strained GaAs nanowires.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 34789741.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-021-27006-z and PMC identifier 8599471.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Transistor concepts based on semiconductor nanowires promise high performance, lower energy consumption and better integrability in various platforms in nanoscale dimensions. Concerning the intrinsic transport properties of electrons in nanowires, relatively high mobility values that approach those in bulk crystals have been obtained only in core/shell heterostructures, where electrons are spatially confined inside the core. Here, it is demonstrated that the strain in lattice-mismatched core/shell nanowires can affect the effective mass of electrons in a way that boosts their mobility to distinct levels. Specifically, electrons inside the hydrostatically tensile-strained gallium arsenide core of nanowires with a thick indium aluminium arsenide shell exhibit mobility values 30-50 % higher than in equivalent unstrained nanowires or bulk crystals, as measured at room temperature. With such an enhancement of electron mobility, strained gallium arsenide nanowires emerge as a unique means for the advancement of transistor technology.