Influence of Mg Doping on GaN Nanowires

Abstract

Abstract Magnesium‐doped GaN nanowires with different dopant concentrations are synthesized and their morphology, structure, growth properties, crystallinity, and optical properties investigated. The nanowires are single‐crystalline with hexagonal wurzite structure, and doping with 5 atom % of Mg gives nanowires with the best morphology and crystallinity (see HRTEM image). magnified image Magnesium‐doped GaN nanowires with different dopant concentrations are synthesized by ammoniating Ga 2 O 3 thin films doped with Mg at 900 °C. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX), high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and room‐temperature photoluminescence (PL) are employed to characterize the influences on the morphology, structure, crystallinity, and optical properties of Mg‐doped GaN nanowires. The results demonstrate that the nanowires are single‐crystalline with hexagonal wurzite structure. GaN nanowires doped with 5 atom % of Mg have the best morphology and crystallinity with a single‐crystalline structure, and at this composition the PL spectrum with the strongest UV peak is observed. The growth mechanism of crystalline GaN nanowires is discussed briefly.