Growth and luminescence of ternary semiconductor ZnCdSe nanowires by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition.

ZnCdSe alloy nanowires were successfully grown on the GaAs (100) substrate by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition using Au as a catalyst. The nanowires display two distinct types of morphology. The majority of them are straight, uniform in diameter, and have a smooth surface. However, a significant portion of them contain one or two constrictions along their length. The alloy is found to be rich in Zn; its composition, as determined from X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis, is close to Zn(0.9)Cd(0.1)Se. The peak energy of its room temperature near-band-edge photoluminescence is also consistent with this composition. X-ray diffraction pattern and transmission electron microscopy find both types of nanowires to be single crystalline, have the metastable wurtzite structure, and a growth direction along 100. The presence of an Au-Cd-Zn alloy particle at the tip of the nanowires supports vapor-liquid-solid as the growth mechanism. The appearance of constrictions in some of the nanowires is found to be linked to the existence of structural defects, possibly stacking faults, during growth.