Nano Express
Critical aspects of substrate nanopatterning for the ordered growth of GaN nanocolumns
- † Equal contributors
1 ISOM and Electrical Engineering Dept. (DIE), Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Telecomunicaciónes (ETSIT), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid s/n, Madrid, 28040, Spain
2 Paul Drude Institut für Festköperelektronik, Hausvogteiplatz 5-7, Berlin, 10117, Germany
Nanoscale Research Letters 2011, 6:632 doi:10.1186/1556-276X-6-632
Published: 14 December 2011Abstract
Precise and reproducible surface nanopatterning is the key for a successful ordered growth of GaN nanocolumns. In this work, we point out the main technological issues related to the patterning process, mainly surface roughness and cleaning, and mask adhesion to the substrate. We found that each of these factors, process-related, has a dramatic impact on the subsequent selective growth of the columns inside the patterned holes. We compare the performance of e-beam lithography, colloidal lithography, and focused ion beam in the fabrication of hole-patterned masks for ordered columnar growth. These results are applicable to the ordered growth of nanocolumns of different materials.
