Silicon is the workhorse among semiconductors in electronics. In optoelectronics, where light signals are processed along with electronic signals, gallium arsenide is the workhorse light emitter—for example in LEDs and lasers—but getting GaAs to cooperate with Si remains challenging. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have now grown GaAs needles that poke out of a Si substrate, and the needles emit bright photoluminescence at room temperature. About 3–4 µm long and tapering at a gentle 6- to 9-degree angle down to tips about 2–5 nm across, needles like the one shown here were grown to match the crystal structure of the Si despite a 4% lattice mismatch where they meet the substrate. Working in Connie Chang-Hasnain’s lab, graduate student Michael Moewe says that he expects the needles to be valuable in several applications including atomic force microscopy; the sharp tips can be grown in arrays without additional etching...
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
1 July 2008
July 01 2008
Citation
Philip F. Schewe; Photoluminescence in nanoneedles. Physics Today 1 July 2008; 61 (7): 16–17. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4796892
Download citation file:
PERSONAL SUBSCRIPTION
Purchase an annual subscription for $25. A subscription grants you access to all of Physics Today's current and backfile content.
Sign In
You could not be signed in. Please check your credentials and make sure you have an active account and try again.
7
Views
Citing articles via
The lessons learned from ephemeral nuclei
Witold Nazarewicz; Lee G. Sobotka
FYI science policy briefs
Lindsay McKenzie; Jacob Taylor