Web Release Date: June 20,
The Role of Quantum Confinement in p-Type Doped Indium Phosphide Nanowires
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Departamento de Física de la Materia Condensada, Facultad de Física, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, E-15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, Center for Computational Materials, Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712, and Departments of Physics and Chemical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712
Received February 12, 2007
Revised May 12, 2007
Abstract:
The impurity state responsible for current flow in zinc-doped indium phosphide nanowires is characterized through first-principles calculations based on a real-space implementation of density functional theory and pseudopotentials. The binding energy of the acceptor state is predicted to range from the value of the acceptor state in the bulk up to values of ~0.2 eV in the thinner nanowires as a result of the two-dimensional quantum confinement. The location of the impurity atom within the nanomaterial is not found to play a prominent role in determining the characteristic properties of the state. Our results show that, in thin nanowires, quantum confinement can move the defect level deep into the energy gap.
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