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Monolithic Growth of Ultrathin Ge Nanowires on Si(001)

J. J. Zhang, G. Katsaros, F. Montalenti, D. Scopece, R. O. Rezaev, C. Mickel, B. Rellinghaus, L. Miglio, S. De Franceschi, A. Rastelli, and O. G. Schmidt
Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 085502 – Published 23 August 2012
Physics logo See Synopsis: Self-Elongating Nanowires
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Abstract

Self-assembled Ge wires with a height of only 3 unit cells and a length of up to 2 micrometers were grown on Si(001) by means of a catalyst-free method based on molecular beam epitaxy. The wires grow horizontally along either the [100] or the [010] direction. On atomically flat surfaces, they exhibit a highly uniform, triangular cross section. A simple thermodynamic model accounts for the existence of a preferential base width for longitudinal expansion, in quantitative agreement with the experimental findings. Despite the absence of intentional doping, the first transistor-type devices made from single wires show low-resistive electrical contacts and single-hole transport at sub-Kelvin temperatures. In view of their exceptionally small and self-defined cross section, these Ge wires hold promise for the realization of hole systems with exotic properties and provide a new development route for silicon-based nanoelectronics.

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  • Received 15 May 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.085502

© 2012 American Physical Society

Synopsis

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Self-Elongating Nanowires

Published 23 August 2012

A new self-assembly process creates nanowires of germanium without the metal catalyst required in earlier experiments.

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Authors & Affiliations

J. J. Zhang1,*, G. Katsaros1,5, F. Montalenti2, D. Scopece2, R. O. Rezaev1,6, C. Mickel4, B. Rellinghaus4, L. Miglio2, S. De Franceschi3, A. Rastelli1,5, and O. G. Schmidt1

  • 1Institute for Integrative Nanosciences, IFW Dresden, D-01069 Dresden, Germany
  • 2L-NESS and Department of Materials Science, University of Milano-Bicocca, I-20125 Milano, Italy
  • 3SPSMS, CEA-INAC/UJF-Grenoble 1, F-38054 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
  • 4Institute for Metallic Materials, IFW Dresden, D-01069 Dresden, Germany
  • 5Institute of Semiconductor and Solid State Physics, University Linz, A-4040 Linz, Austria
  • 6Laboratory of Mathematical Physics, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Lenin Avenue 30, 634050 Tomsk, Russia

  • *j.zhang@ifw-dresden.de

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Issue

Vol. 109, Iss. 8 — 24 August 2012

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