Current rectification in a single GaN nanowire with a well-defined p-n junction

This letter discusses Mg incorporation in GaN nanowires with diameters similar to35 nm, fabricated by vapor-liquid-solid synthesis in p-type nanowires. Turning on the Mg doping halfway through the synthesis produced nanowires with p-n junctions that showed excellent rectification properties down to 2.6 K. The nanowires are shown to possess good-quality, crystalline, hexagonal GaN inner cores surrounded by an amorphous GaN outer layer. Most wires grow such that the crystalline c axis is normal to the long axis of the nanowire. The temperature dependence of the current-voltage characteristics is consistent with electron tunneling through a voltage-dependent barrier. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.