Sub-nanometer mapping of strain-induced band structure variations in planar nanowire core-shell heterostructures

Sara Martí-Sánchez, Marc Botifoll, Eitan Oksenberg, Christian Koch, Carla Borja, Maria Chiara Spadaro, Valerio Giulio, Quentin Ramasse, F. Javier García de Abajo, Ernesto Joselevich and Jordi Arbiol ()
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Sara Martí-Sánchez: Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC and BIST, Campus UAB, Bellaterra
Marc Botifoll: Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC and BIST, Campus UAB, Bellaterra
Eitan Oksenberg: Weizmann Institute of Science
Christian Koch: Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC and BIST, Campus UAB, Bellaterra
Carla Borja: Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC and BIST, Campus UAB, Bellaterra
Maria Chiara Spadaro: Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC and BIST, Campus UAB, Bellaterra
Valerio Giulio: The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology
Quentin Ramasse: SuperSTEM Laboratory, STFC Daresbury Campus
F. Javier García de Abajo: The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology
Ernesto Joselevich: Weizmann Institute of Science
Jordi Arbiol: Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC and BIST, Campus UAB, Bellaterra

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Strain relaxation mechanisms during epitaxial growth of core-shell nanostructures play a key role in determining their morphologies, crystal structure and properties. To unveil those mechanisms, we perform atomic-scale aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy studies on planar core-shell ZnSe@ZnTe nanowires on α-Al2O3 substrates. The core morphology affects the shell structure involving plane bending and the formation of low-angle polar boundaries. The origin of this phenomenon and its consequences on the electronic band structure are discussed. We further use monochromated valence electron energy-loss spectroscopy to obtain spatially resolved band-gap maps of the heterostructure with sub-nanometer spatial resolution. A decrease in band-gap energy at highly strained core-shell interfacial regions is found, along with a switch from direct to indirect band-gap. These findings represent an advance in the sub-nanometer-scale understanding of the interplay between structure and electronic properties associated with highly mismatched semiconductor heterostructures, especially with those related to the planar growth of heterostructured nanowire networks.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31778-3

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