Nanoimprint lithography based selective area growth of indium phosphide nanopillar arrays on non-single-crystal templates

Selective area growth (SAG) of single crystalline indium phosphide (InP) nanopillars was demonstrated on an array of template segments composed of a stack of gold and amorphous silicon. The template segments were patterned by UV nanoimprint lithography on a silicon substrate covered with a natural oxide, and the SAG was achieved by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Our SAG is different from conventional SAG in one critical aspect. In our SAG, growth of InP takes place selectively on a pre-defined array of template segments made of non-single crystal materials on a foreign substrate. The grown InP nanopillars were studied for their structural, chemical and optical properties. The new SAG process is not limited to the specific materials such as InP nanopillars and silicon substrate used in this demonstration; our approach enables flexible and scalable nanofabrication using industrially proven tools and a wide range of semiconductors on various non-semiconductor substrates. •The Selectrive Area Growth (SAG) process demonstrated in this paper is not limited to the specific materials utilized here.•The SAG process demonstrated in this work utilizes UV nanoimprint lithography.•A-Si/Au template segments served as catalysts and nucleation sites for single-crystalline nanopillars on various non-single crystalline substrates.•Metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) was used to deposit the single crystal semiconductor pillars in a patterned array.•The SAG process described in this paper is not the conventional process utilized today.