ZnSe–Si Bi‐coaxial Nanowire Heterostructures

We report on the fabrication, structural characterization, and luminescence properties of ZnSe/Si bi‐coaxial nanowire heterostructures. Uniform ZnSe/Si bi‐coaxial nanowire heterostructures are grown on silicon substrates by the simple one‐step thermal evaporation of ZnSe powder in the presence of hydrogen. Both ZnSe and silicon are single‐crystalline in the bi‐coaxial nanowire heterostructures, and there is a sharp interface along the nanowire axial direction. Furthermore, secondary nanostructures of either ZnSe nanobrushes or a SiO_x sheath are also grown on the primary bi‐coaxial nanowires, depending on the ratio of the source materials. The experimental evidence strongly suggests that bi‐coaxial nanowires are formed via a co‐growth mechanism, that is, ZnSe terminates specific surfaces of silicon and leads to anisotropic, one‐dimensional silicon growth, which simultaneously serves as preferential nucleation sites for ZnSe, resulting in the bi‐coaxial nanowire heterostructures. In addition, the optical properties of ZnSe/Si nanowires are investigated using low‐temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy.