InAs(1-x)Sb(x) Branches on Wurtzite and Zincblende InAs Nanowires

Abstract: Here we demonstrate that InAs1-xSbx branches grown on InAs trunks partially adopt the wurtzite crystal structure when grown on wurtzite InAs, and found signs of a hard limit for how much Sb can be incorporated in a wurtzite structure. Antimonide nanowires have a narrow growth parameter window, and binary antimonide compounds have a strong preference for the zincblende crystal structure. Previous studies have shown that it is possible to grow binary antimonide nanowires in the wurtzite structure, but for ternaries the structure changes from wurtzite to zincblende when adding a very small amount of Sb. We have attempted to force the InAs1-xSbx branches to adopt the wurtzite structure by growing them from secondary seed particles deposited on wurtzite InAs nanowires. Branch growth was done on both zincblende and wurtzite nanowires of different diameters, with varying ratio of group V precursors and V/III ratio. Our results show that the Sb solid composition in the branches is tuneable by varying the studied growth parameters, which is of interest for the development of branched nanowire infrared sensors.