Mismatched alloy nanowires for electronic structure tuning

Electronic structure engineering is essential for producing materials suited for efficient solid-state devices. Mismatched semiconductors offer wide tunability of electronic structure with only a small change in composition. Here, we report a combined compound-elemental source vapor transport method for synthesis of mismatched alloy nanowires (NWs) of ZnSe1−xTex across the composition range. The alloy composition can be continuously tuned by varying the growth temperature from ZnSe (x = 0) at higher temperature to ZnTe (x = 1) at lower temperature. The nanowires have structure and bandgaps consistent with their compositions, with lattice parameters varying with Vegard’s law and emissions following predicted extreme bandgap bowing.