Synthesis and photoluminescence of single-crystalline GaN nanowires and nanorods

Single-crystalline GaN nanowires and nanorods have been successfully grown on Si(1 1 1) substrates by magnetron sputtering through ammoniating the Ga 2O 3/Nb films at 900 °C in a quartz tube. The GaN nanowires and nanorods have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field-emission transmission electron microscope (FETEM), and photoluminescence. The results show that the diameters of the nanowires are about 50 nm while the diameters of the nanorods are within 100–200 nm. Photoluminescence of the GaN nanostructure materials revealed only a strong and broad UV light emission peak at 369 nm. Finally, the growth mechanism of GaN nanostructure materials is also briefly discussed.