Nanowires Can Be Tuned to Range of Wavelengths for Optoelectronics

A research team at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), in collaboration with researchers at Technische Universität (TU) Dresden and Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) in Hamburg, has produced nanowires with operating wavelengths that can be tuned over a wide range by altering the structure of the nanowire’s shell. Fine-tuned nanowires could take on several roles in an optoelectronic component, making the component more powerful, cost-effective, and easier to integrate. The researchers grew gallium arsenide nanowires epitaxially on silicon substrates. Then they enclosed the wafer-thin wires in another layer of material to which they added indium. The mismatched crystal structure of the materials was intended...