Photoluminescence of GaAs nanowhiskers grown on Si substrate

GaAs nanowhiskers were grown by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy on (111) Si substrates using the vapor-liquid-solid growth mode. The diameter of the nanowhiskers was defined by polydisperse catalytic Au nanoparticles in the range from 5 to 100 nm deposited on the Si substrate from the liquid phase. The low-temperature photoluminescence spectra exhibit a series of unresolved exciton-related transitions shifted to a shorter wavelength due to the quantization effects. Despite some structure defects, relatively high photoluminescence intensity and its linear dependence on the excitation power without saturation confirms the good material quality of fabricated GaAs nanowhiskers. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.