Optical properties of single InP and GaAs nanowire heterostructures

Semiconductor nanowire (NW) heterostructures are increasingly important building blocks for electronic and optoelectronic devices. III-V nanowires with attention to well-controlled growth parameters, high structural quality and high optical quality NWs with unusually long recombination lifetimes can be achieved. We probe these NWs experimentally with both CW and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. The large surface-to-volume ratio is an intrinsic characteristic of nanowires which highlights the critical importance of surface and interface quality.