Investigations into the growth of GaN nanowires by MOCVD using azidotrimethylsilane as nitrogen source

Gallium trichloride (GaCl₃) and azidotrimethylsilane (CH₃)₃SiN₃ were employed as alternatives gallium and nitrogen precursors respectively in the growth of GaN nanowires via a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system. Au pre-deposition on Si (100) substrate was using as catalysis seed to grown of GaN nanowires. X-Ray, FE-SEM and AFM analyses reveal that nanowires grown at temperature 1050 C present morphology characteristic to model VLS. Scanning electron microscopy reveal a surface morphology made up of wurzite that suggests that wires growth involve a melting process. A nucleation and growth mechanism, involving the congruent melting clusters of precursor molecules on the hot substrate surface, is therefore invoked to explain these observations. We attributed the improved growth behavior to the 'nearer-to-equilibrium' growth and may be close to local thermodynamic equilibrium.