High-Yield Growth and Tunable Morphology of Bi₂Se₃ Nanoribbons Synthesized on Thermally Dewetted Au

Abstract

The yield and morphology (length, width, thickness) of stoichiometric Bi2Se3 nanoribbons grown by physical vapor deposition is studied as a function of the diameters and areal number density of the Au catalyst nanoparticles of mean diameters 8–150 nm formed by dewetting Au layers of thicknesses 1.5–16 nm. The highest yield of the Bi2Se3 nanoribbons is reached when synthesized on dewetted 3 nm thick Au layer (mean diameter of Au nanoparticles ~10 nm) and exceeds the nanoribbon yield obtained in catalyst-free synthesis by almost 50 times. The mean lengths and thicknesses of the Bi2Se3 nanoribbons are directly proportional to the mean diameters of Au catalyst nanoparticles. In contrast, the mean widths of the Bi2Se3 nanoribbons do not show a direct correlation with the Au nanoparticle size as they depend on the contribution ratio of two main growth mechanisms—catalyst-free and vapor–liquid–solid deposition. The Bi2Se3 nanoribbon growth mechanisms in relation to the Au catalyst nanoparticle size and areal number density are discussed. Determined charge transport characteristics confirm the high quality of the synthesized Bi2Se3 nanoribbons, which, together with the high yield and tunable morphology, makes these suitable for application in a variety of nanoscale devices.

Keywords

• Bi₂Se₃
• nanoribbon
• synthesis
• physical vapor deposition