Electrodeposited Single Crystalline PbTe Nanowires and Their Transport Properties

Abstract

Single crystalline PbTe nanowires were potentiostatically electrodeposited by a template-directed method using track-etched polycarbonate membranes as scaffolds in acidic nitrate baths. They exhibited a face-centered cubic (FCC) structure with a preferred growth direction about 31 degrees against the [200] direction. By galvanic displacing the ends of PbTe nanowire with gold prior to electrode microfabrication, the Schottky barrier (i.e., native PbTe oxide) at the interfaces between nanowire and electrodes was eliminated/reduced to form an ohmic contact between nanowire and electrodes. Field effect transistor (FET) transfer characteristics indicated that the electrodeposited single-crystalline PbTe nanowires are p-type semiconductors with the estimated field effect carrier mobility and concentration of 3.32 +/- 0.15 cm(2)/(V s) and 1.85 +/- 1.06 x 10(18) cm(-3), respectively.