Determination of diffusion lengths in nanowires using cathodoluminescence

We used cathodoluminescence imaging to determine diffusion lengths in III-V semiconductor nanowires, grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition seeded by gold nanoparticles. Intensity profiles were recorded either from the interface between the substrate and homogeneous nanowires, or from segments in nanowires containing axial heterostructures to determine the diffusion length. We determined diffusion lengths of 0.10 to 0.90 mu m, the shortest for uncapped wires. The reduction is attributed largely to surface recombination. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3473829]