Unveiling Variations in Electronic and Atomic Structures Due to Nanoscale Wurtzite and Zinc Blende Phase Separation in GaAs Nanowires.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38767455.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c01262 and PMC identifier 11157649.
- 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
Phase separation is an intriguing phenomenon often found in III-V nanostructures, but its effect on the atomic and electronic structures of III-V nanomaterials is still not fully understood. Here we study the variations in atomic arrangement and band structure due to the coexistence of wurtzite (WZ) and zinc blende (ZB) phases in single GaAs nanowires by using scanning transmission electron microscopy and monochromated electron energy loss spectroscopy. The WZ lattice distances are found to be larger (by ∼1%), along both the nanowire length direction and the perpendicular direction, than the ZB lattice. The band gap of the WZ phase is ∼20 meV smaller than that of the ZB phase. A shift of ∼70 meV in the conduction band edge between the two phases is also found. The direct and local measurements in single GaAs nanowires reveal important effects of phase separation on the properties of individual III-V nanostructures.