Experimental investigation of electron transport properties of gallium nitride nanowires

We report transport properties of gallium nitride (GaN) nanowires grown using direct reaction of ammonia and gallium vapor. Reliable devices, such as four-terminal resistivity measuring structures and field-effect transistors, were realized by dielectrophoretically aligning the nanowires on an oxidized silicon substrate and subsequently applying standard microfabrication techniques. Room-temperature resistivity in the range of (1.0-6.2) x 10(-2) ohm cm was obtained for the nanowires with diameters ranging from 200 to 90 nm. Temperature-dependent resistivity and mobility measurements indicated the possible sources for the n-type conductivity and high background charge carrier concentration in these nanowires. Specific contact resistance in the range of 5.0 x 10(-5) ohm cm(2) was extracted for Ti/Al/Ti/Au metal contacts to GaN nanowires. Significant reduction in the activation energy of the dopants at low temperatures (< 200 K) was observed in the temperature-dependent resistivity measurement of these nanowires, which is linked to the onset of degeneracy. Temperature-dependent field-effect mobility measurements indicated that the ionized impurity scattering is the dominant mechanism in these nanowires at all temperatures. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.