Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
In this paper, we report Raman Scattering (RS) and photoluminescence (PL) measurements of Ge nanowires (NWs) grown via vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) using chemical vapor deposition silicon substrates consisting of (100) and (111) crystallographic orientations. Ge NWs grown are ∼40 nm in diameter, approximately a micrometer in length, and a sharp narrow Raman peak at ∼300 cm−1 indicates single crystal quality. An absence of SiGe peak in the Raman spectra indicates that SiGe interdiffusion is insignificant for the NW volume. Low temperature PL-intensity-dependence spectra indicate that the observed emission originates at the Ge NW – Si substrate interface, where SiGe intermixing has been detected. This interface is formed differently for (111) and (100) oriented Si substrates due to the <111> preferential growth direction of Ge NWs.