Microstructural properties and initial growth behavior of InN nanobats grown on a Si(111) substrate

Bat-like InN nanostructures were successfully grown on GaN/AlN/Si(1 1 1) substrates using molecular beam epitaxy method. The initial growth behavior and structural properties of InN nanobats were studied from a nanostructural point of view. During the initial stage of the growth, a nucleation process and a shape-decision process took place in which 3-dimensional (3-D) GaN nanoislands and nanorods were formed on AlN initiation layer/Si substrate. This was followed by the independent growth of 3-D InN nanoislands and nanorods. Lateral expansion of the InN nanobats was observed, and the diameter of InN bats then reached a fixed value. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This work was supported by the Next Generation New Technology Development Program by MOCIE, Korea. This work was partially supported by the the Terabit Nano Device (TND) of the Frontier-21 program