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arXiv · 2601.10495

Growth and Morphology of InN Nanowires on Si<111> and Si<100> at Back-End-Of-Line Compatible Temperatures

Andrea Orlando-cunnac·Arthur Arnaud·Martien Den Hertog·Ettore Coccato·Vincent Calvo·Jonathan Steckel·Eva Monroy
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Abstract

InN nanowires were grown on Si<111> and Si<100> substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy using a thin AlN buffer layer at temperatures compatible with the thermal budget limitation imposed by Back-End-Of-Line processing. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction reveals different nucleation behaviors on the two substrate orientations, with higher structural disorder in the case of Si<100>. However, vertically aligned nanowires with hexagonal cross section and N polarity are obtained on both substrates. A statistical analysis of nanowire morphology as a function of growth temperature indicates similar trends in diameter, density, and length on Si<111> and Si<100>, which are explained by adatom kinetics during growth. Nanowires on Si<100> exhibit improved uniformity and reduced tapering, attributed to the different nanowire nucleation due to microstructural properties of the AlN buffer layer. The results demonstrate the feasibility of growing high-quality InN nanowires on Si<100>, supporting their potential for monolithic integration of nanowire-based photodetectors on silicon.

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Andrea Orlando-cunnac, Arthur Arnaud, Martien Den Hertog, Ettore Coccato, Vincent Calvo, Jonathan Steckel, Eva Monroy. 2026-01-15. Growth and Morphology of InN Nanowires on Si<111> and Si<100> at Back-End-Of-Line Compatible Temperatures. https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.10495

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