Multispectral absorptance from large-diameter InAsSb nanowire arrays in a single epitaxial growth on silicon

Vertical III-V nanowires are capable of resonant absorption at specific wavelengths by tuning the nanowire diameter, thereby exceeding the absorption of equivalent thin films. These properties may be exploited to fabricate multispectral infrared (IR) photodetectors, directly integrated with Si, without the need for spectral filters or vertical stacking of heterostructures as required in thin film devices. In this study, multiple InAsSb nanowire arrays were grown simultaneously on Si by molecular beam epitaxy with nanowire diameter controlled by the nanowire period (spacing between nanowires). This is the first such study of patterned InAsSb nanowires where control of nanowire diameter and multispectral absorption are demonstrated. The antimony flux was used to control axial and radial growth rates using a selective-area catalyst-free growth method, achieving large diameters, spanning 440–520 nm, which are necessary for optimum IR absorption. Fourier transform IR spectroscopy revealed IR absorptance peaks due to the HE11 resonance of the nanowire arrays in agreement with optical simulations. Due to the dependence of the HE11 resonance absorption on nanowire diameter, multispectral absorption was demonstrated in a single material system and a single epitaxial growth step without the need for bandgap tuning. This work demonstrates the potential of InAsSb nanowires for multispectral photodetectors and sensor arrays in the short-wavelength IR region.