Bottom-Up Formation of III-Nitride Nanowires: Past, Present, and Future for Photonic Devices

Abstract

The realization of semiconductor heterostructures marks a significant advancement beyond silicon technology, driving progress in high-performance optoelectronics and photonics, including high-brightness light emitters, optical communication, and quantum technologies. In less than a decade since 1997, nanowires research has expanded into new application-driven areas, highlighting a significant shift toward more challenging and exploratory research avenues. It is therefore essential to reflect on the past motivations for nanowires development, and explore the new opportunities it can enable. The advancement of heterogeneous integration using dissimilar substrates, materials, and nanowires-semiconductor/electrolyte operating platforms is ushering in new research frontiers, including the development of perovskite-embedded solar cells, photoelectrochemical (PEC) analog and digital photonic systems, such as PEC-based photodetectors and logic circuits, as well as quantum elements, such as single-photon emitters and detectors. This review offers rejuvenating perspectives on the progress of these group-III nitride nanowires, aiming to highlight the continuity of research toward high impact, use-inspired research directions in photonics and optoelectronics.