Enhanced luminescence from catalyst-free grown InP nanowires

Abstract

The surface effects in the optical properties of catalyst-free grown InP nanowires are investigated. Both as-grown nanowires and nanowires treated with hydrofluoric acid are studied using low- and room-temperature continuous-wave and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements and transmission electron microscopy. It is shown that the room-temperature photoluminescence intensity is increased by two orders of magnitude after the surface treatment, and that there is also a significant increase in the double-exponential photoluminescence decay time.