Electron transport and optical properties of structures with atomic tin nanowires on vicinal GaAs substrates

Electron transport and optical properties are studied for structures with atomic tin nanowires (Sn-NWs) on vicinal GaAs substrates with misorientation angles of 0.3 and 3° with respect to the exact (100) orientation. Saturation-current anisotropy is revealed in the current–voltage characteristics of the samples for current flows along (‖ orientation) and across (⊥ orientation) the Sn-NWs: the current ratios I ‖ / I ⊥ are ∼1.2 and ∼2.5 for homostructures and pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (PHEMT) structures, respectively. The effect of the pulling voltage and illumination on current oscillations is studied in real time in the case of current flows perpendicular to the Sn-NWs. Clear anisotropy of the PHEMT frequency characteristics is shown.