Synthesis and electrical properties of p-type CdTe nanowires

CdTe nanowires (NWs) are synthesised via a thermal evaporation process, and the structure characterisations reveal that the as-synthesised NWs are single crystalline with a zinc blende structure and a crystal growth direction of [111]. Nano-field-effect transistors are fabricated based on individual CdTe NWs, and the electrical properties demonstrate that the CdTe NWs have p-type conductivity with a mobility (μ_h) of 6.8 × 10^{- 2} cm² V^{- 1} S^{- 1} and carrier concentration (n_h) about 3.6 × 10¹⁹ cm^{- 3}. This significant p-type conductivity is attributed to the intrinsic defects of Cd vacancies in NWs, and then, the high-aspect ratio and nearly perfect single-crystalline quality in one-dimensional NWs are conducive to excellent electron transfer characteristics. The synthesised NWs with significant p-type conductivity will be very attractive candidates for nanoelectronic devices.