Growth and characterisation of nitride nanostructures

The group III nitrides are fascinating materials, which, due to their large, direct bandgaps, have found widespread application in optoelectronics devices. The self-assembled growth of nanostructures has the potential to improve device characteristics and to stimulate the development of new concepts. Some exciting research on nitride nanostructures has already been carried out, but to truly understand their formation and control their properties many aspects of materials science must be brought together. It is necessary to understand nitride crystal structures and surface properties, to identify the growth modes in both homo- and heteroepitaxy, and to explore the thermodynamic and chemical factors that control them. To elucidate the properties of nanostructures also requires understanding of the unusual band structure of the nitrides, and knowledge of its effects on the luminescent characteristics of nanostructure arrays and individual quantum dots. In other materials systems, particularly Ge/Si and InAs/GaAs, a wealth of research has already been done to aid understanding of the formation and properties of self-assembled nanostructures. This will be reviewed in exploring the behaviour of the nitrides, and discoveries about nitride nanostructures will be used in turn to expand the overall picture of nanostructure growth.