β-Ga(2)O(3) Nanostructures: Chemical Vapor Deposition Growth Using Thermally Dewetted Au Nanoparticles as Catalyst and Characterization

β-Ga(2)O(3) nanostructures, including nanowires (NWs), nanosheets (NSHs), and nanorods (NRs), were synthesized using thermally dewetted Au nanoparticles as catalyst in a chemical vapor deposition process. The morphology of the as-grown β-Ga(2)O(3) nanostructures depends strongly on the growth temperature and time. Successful growth of β-Ga(2)O(3) NWs with lengths of 7–25 μm, NSHs, and NRs was achieved. It has been demonstrated that the vapor–liquid–solid mechanism governs the NW growth, and the vapor–solid mechanism occurs in the growth of NSHs and NRs. The X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the as-grown nanostructures were highly pure single-phase β-Ga(2)O(3). The bandgap of the β-Ga(2)O(3) nanostructures was determined to lie in the range of 4.68–4.74 eV. Characteristic Raman peaks were observed with a small blue and red shift, both of 1–3 cm(−1), as compared with those from the bulk, indicating the presence of internal strain and defects in the as-grown β-Ga(2)O(3) nanostructures. Strong photoluminescence emission in the UV-blue spectral region was obtained in the β-Ga(2)O(3) nanostructures, regardless of their morphology. The UV (374–377 nm) emission is due to the intrinsic radiative recombination of self-trapped excitons present at the band edge. The strong blue (404–490 nm) emissions, consisting of five bands, are attributed to the presence of the complex defect states in the donor (V(O)) and acceptor (V(Ga) or V(Ga–O)). These β-Ga(2)O(3) nanostructures are expected to have potential applications in optoelectronic devices such as tunable UV–Vis photodetectors.