Transformation from β-Ga₂O₃ to GaN Nanowires via Nitridation

Element doping is an important way to modify the properties of semiconductor materials. In our previous work, it was found that nitrogen-doping in β-Ga₂O₃ nanowires can induce a novel luminescence emission (around 740nm) caused by generation of acceptor levels at the middle of the band gap of the β-Ga₂O₃
nanowires. Here we report that further heavy doping of nitrogen can transform the β-Ga₂O₃ nanowires completely into wurtzite structured GaN nanowires. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectrum are used to evaluate the transition process. Both XRD and Raman analysis reveal that the monoclinic β-Ga₂O₃ nanowires start phase transformation at a temperature around 850°C towards wurtzite structured GaN. Our results will be very helpful to profound our understanding of the doping induced effects and phase transformation in semiconductor compounds.