Single-step, catalyst-free plasma-assisted synthesis and growth mechanism of single-crystalline aluminum nitride nanorods

摘要

Synthesis of one-dimensional A1N nanostructures commonly requires high process temperatures (>900 ℃), metal catalyst, and hazardous gas/powder precursors. We report on a simple, single-step, catalyst-free, plasma-assisted growth of dense patterns of size-uniform single-crystalline A1N nanorods at a low substrate temperature (-650 ℃) without any catalyst or hazardous precursors. This unusual growth mechanism is based on highly effective plasma dissociation of N_2 molecules, localized species precipitation on A1N islands, and reduced diffusion on the nitrogen-rich surface. This approach can also be used to produce other high-aspect-ratio oxide and nitride nanostructures for applications in energy conversion, sensing, and optoelectronics.