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We report on the technology and the electrical properties of two different contact systems on n-GaAs nanowires. Annealed Ge/Ni/Ge/Au and Pd/Ge/Au multilayer metallization were investigated. Rapid thermal annealing at temperatures common for identical contact systems on n-GaAs layers is found to be crucial due to an enhanced out-diffusion of the Ga component into the Au contact layer. The maximum annealing temperatures ensuring intact nanowires are 320 °C for Ge/Ni/Ge/Au and 280 °C for Pd/Ge/Au. The fabricated Pd/Ge/Au contacts reveal a specific contacts resistance of 2.77 × 10-7 Ωcm2, which is about one order of magnitude lower compared to the values of Ge/Ni/Ge/Au and also lower than Pd/Ge/Au contacts on bulk material (1.2 × 10-6 Ωcm2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Well-defined semiconductor heterostructures are a basic requirement for the development of high-performance optoelectronic devices. In order to achieve the desired properties, a thorough study of the electrical behavior with a suitable spatial resolution is essential. For this, various sophisticated tip-based methods can be employed, such as conductive atomic force microscopy or multitip scanning tunneling microscopy (MT-STM). We demonstrate that in any tip-based measurement method, the tip-to-semiconductor contact is decisive for reliable and precise measurements and in interpreting the properties of the sample. For that, we used our ultrahigh-vacuum-based MT-STM coupled in vacuo to a reactor for the preparation of nanowires (NWs) with metal organic vapor phase epitaxy, and operated our MT-STM as a four-point nanoprober on III-V semiconductor NW heterostructures. We investigated a variety of upright, free-standing NWs with axial as well as coaxial heterostructures on the growth substrates. Our investigation reveals charging currents at the interface between the measuring tip and the semiconductor via native insulating oxide layers, which act as a metal-insulator-semiconductor capacitor with charging and discharging conditions in the operating voltage range. We analyze in detail the observed I - V characteristics and propose a strategy to achieve an optimized tip-to-semiconductor junction, which includes the influence of the native oxide layer on the overall electrical measurements. Our advanced experimental procedure enables a direct relation between the tip-to-NW junction and the electronic properties of as-grown (co)axial NWs providing precise guidance for all future tip-based investigations., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Nanowire chip-based electrical and optical devices such as biochemical sensors, physical detectors, or light emitters combine outstanding functionality with a small footprint, reducing expensive material and energy consumption. The core functionality of many nanowire-based devices is embedded in their p-n junctions. To fully unleash their potential, such nanowire-based devices require - besides a high performance - stability and reliability. Here, we report on an axial p-n junction GaAs nanowire X-ray detector that enables ultra-high spatial resolution (~200 nm) compared to micron scale conventional ones. In-operando X-ray analytical techniques based on a focused synchrotron X-ray nanobeam allow probing the internal electrical field and observing hot electron effects at the nanoscale. Finally, we study device stability and find a selective hot electron induced oxidization in the n-doped segment of the p-n junction. Our findings demonstrate capabilities and limitations of p-n junction nanowires, providing insight for further improvement and eventual integration into on-chip devices.

The detection of doping dependent values like contact- and path resistances along nanowires (NWs) still proves to be rather challenging compared to planar structures. Unfortunately, the usually used and well established TLM (transmission line measurement) setup exhibits some drawbacks. Complex preliminary preparation steps and the necessity of ohmic contacts limit the investigation to certain semiconductor materials. The simultaneous determination of contact- and path resistances with an unknown distribution makes an analysis on complex structures like tapered nanowires very challenging. Our approach is the utilization of a multi-tip scanning tunneling microscope (MT-STM) as a four point prober, which allows the investigation of freestanding nanowires with an increased spatial resolution. Here, the used measurement setup allows a local separation of current injection and potential measurement and thus a highly precise determination of path resistances. Tapered p-doped GaAs-NWs were used to compare both techniques. Whereas the evaluation of the axial doping profile by MT-STM was rather simple, correction factors had to be introduced for the TLM measurement to calculate the specific resistances and transfer length. By comparing the results of both methods for the very same NW-sample, the precision and accuracy of MT-STM measurements was demonstrated. We found an agreement, which allows the conclusion that both methods exhibit advantages; however the MT-STM was determined as the more precise setup, which enables additional characterization capabilities, such as surface, temperature or light dependent measurements.