Growth and Characterization of Nickel Catalyzed Gallium Oxide Nanowires on Sapphire Substrate

Beta gallium oxide (beta-Ga2O3) nanowires (NWs) were synthesized via chemical vapor deposition in argon atmosphere using gallium as a precursor and sapphire substrate coated with ultra thin film of nickel (Ni). In this report, we report the growth of beta-Ga2O3 NWs as a function of deposition time. The structure and morphology of grown NWs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results revealed that single crystal growth of the NWs and their crystallinity improved with the increase in the deposition time. The diameter of beta-Ga2O3 NWs varied in the range between 40-80 nm and their length was observed up to many micrometers. The optical property of NWs was determined using UV-visible spectrophotometer and the bandgap of beta-Ga2O3 NWs was found to be about 4.30 eV.