Wurtzite GaN nanocolumns grown on Si(001) by molecular beam epitaxy

Abstract

Wurtzite single crystal GaN nanocolumns were grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on bare Si(001) substrates. Nanocolumns with diameters in the range of 20–40nm have no traces of extended defects and they grow aligned along the [0001] direction. Photoluminescence measurements in nanocolumns evidence a very high crystal quality in terms of intense and narrow excitonic emissions. Raman scattering data show that the nanocolumns are strain-free. These results open the way to an efficient integration of optoelectronic devices with the complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology.