Abstract
The spiral deposition of InGaN with a quasiperiodical distribution of indium content along the growth direction for forming InGaN nanoneedles (NNs) with the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mode is demonstrated. The VLS growth is implemented by using Au nanoparticles (NPs) as the catalyst in metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The Au NPs on a GaN template are generated through pulsed laser irradiation. The observation of spiral deposition is based on the analyses of the scanning results in the high angle annular dark field and energy dispersive X-ray measurements of transmission electron microscopy. In the measurements, the composition variations along and perpendicular to the growth direction (the c-axis) are illustrated. The alternating indium content along the growth direction is attributed to a quasiperiodically pulsed behavior of indium supersaturation process in the melted Au NP at the top of an InGaN NN. The spiral deposition of InGaN is due to the formation of an NN at the location of an Au NP with a screw-type dislocation beneath in the GaN template, at which the growth of a quasi-one-dimensional structure can be easily initiated.