Growth modulation of Ga₂S₃ horizontal nanowires and its optical properties

Highly ordered Ga₂S₃ horizontal nanowires (NWs) on r-plane sapphire were successfully grown by chemical vapor deposition using carbothermal reduction reaction. By adjusting experimental conditions, the density of NWs has increased from 8.4 × 10⁶ to 4.0 × 10⁷ mm^-2. The morphology, structure, composition and optical properties of Ga₂S₃ NWs were characterized through field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscope, transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, Raman, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and so on. The Au particles at the end of the NWs prove that the growth of the horizontal NWs is controlled by the VLS mechanism. The measurement of nonlinear properties of Ga₂S₃ nanomaterials indicates one-dimensional Ga₂S₃ processes excellent nonlinear effect. Our work opens a new way to synthesize Ga₂S₃ NWs and provides a reference to explore the optical applications of Ga₂S₃ nanomaterials such as micro tunable laser in the future.