Synthesis and characterization of indium nitride nanowires by plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition

High-quality indium nitride (InN) nanowires were synthesized in a high temperature furnace on Au-coated Si substrates through the reaction of indium metal vapor with highly reactive nitrogen radicals generated by N2 plasma. Highly-reactive nitrogen radicals provided a wide process window for the synthesis of InN nanowires by lowering the process temperature to avoid the decomposition of InN. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectra further showed that the as-synthesized InN nanowires were perfect single crystallites of wurtzite structure with the growth direction along [110].