A Study of GaAs_1–xSb_x Axial Nanowires Grown on Monolayer Graphene by Ga-Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy for Flexible Near-Infrared Photodetectors

We report the successful growth of high-quality GaAs1–xSbx nanowires on monolayer graphene/SiO2/p-Si (111) using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) for the application of a flexible near-infrared photodetector. A systematic and detailed study of NW growth parameters, namely, growth temperature, V/III beam equivalent pressure (BEP) ratio, and Ga shutter opening duration, has been carried out. Growth of vertical ⟨111⟩ oriented nanowires on graphene with 4 K photoluminescence emission in the range 1.24–1.38 eV has been achieved. The presence of a weak D mode in Raman spectra of NWs grown on graphene suggests that NW growth did not alter the intrinsic properties of the monolayer graphene. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and a selective area diffraction pattern confirmed the zinc-blende crystal structure of the NWs. This study suggests that Sb as a surfactant plays a critical role in the surface engineering of the substrate, leading to the superior optical quality of NWs exhibiting a higher 4 K photoluminescence intensity and lower full width at half maxima (fwhm) with significant improvement in optical responsivity compared to NWs grown on Si substrate of similar Sb composition.