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Direct imaging of the atomic structure inside a nanowire by scanning tunnelling microscopy

Nature Materials volume 3, pages 519–523 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

Semiconductor nanowires are expected to be important components in future nano-electronics and photonics1,2. Already a wide range of applications has been realized, such as high-performance field-effect transistors3, bio/chemical sensors4, diode logics5,6 and single-nanowire lasers7. As nanowires have small cross-sections and large surface-to-bulk ratios, their properties can be significantly influenced by individual atomic-scale structural features3,7,8,9, and they can have properties9 or even atomic arrangements10 with no bulk counterparts. Hence, experimental methods capable of directly addressing the atomic-scale structure of nanowires are highly desirable. One such method is scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), which, by direct imaging of the atomic and electronic structure of surfaces has revolutionized the perception of nanoscale objects and low-dimensional systems11,12. Here we demonstrate how combining STM with an embedding scheme allows us to image the interior of semiconductor nanowires with atomic resolution. Defect structures such as planar twin segments and single-atom impurities are imaged inside a GaAs nanowire. Further, we image an intriguing GaAs nanowire that is separated into two distinct nanocrystallites along the growth direction of the wire.

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Figure 1: Schematic model of the steps involved in the growth of the imaged structures.
Figure 2: SEM images of AlGaAs embedded GaAs nanowires.
Figure 3: The interior of a GaAs nanowire imaged by STM, the [11̄1] nanowire growth direction lies in-plane with the surface scanned by the STM.
Figure 4: Cross-section through a GaAs nanowire imaged by STM, the [11̄1] nanowire growth direction lies out of plane to the surface scanned by the STM.

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Acknowledgements

R. Wallenberg is gratefully acknowledged for useful discussions. This work was performed within the Nanometer Structure Consortium at Lund University, and was supported by the Swedish Research Council (VR), the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF), the Crafoord Foundation, and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Synchrotron Radiation Research, Lund University, Box 118, Lund, 22100, Sweden

    Anders Mikkelsen, Lassana Ouattara, Jesper N. Andersen & Edvin Lundgren

  2. Solid State Physics, Lund University, Box 118, Lund, 22100, Sweden

    Niklas Sköld, Magnus Borgström, Lars Samuelson & Werner Seifert

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  1. Anders Mikkelsen
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Correspondence to Anders Mikkelsen.

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Mikkelsen, A., Sköld, N., Ouattara, L. et al. Direct imaging of the atomic structure inside a nanowire by scanning tunnelling microscopy. Nature Mater 3, 519–523 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1164

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