InAs-based nanowires hold a promise to offer transformational technologies for infrared photonic applications. Site-controlled InAs nanowire growth on low-cost Si substrates offers the practical integration advantages that silicon photonics benefits from. This includes the realisation of cheap photonic circuitries, light emitters and detectors that are otherwise expensive to realise with III/V material-based substrates. This chapter details the growth development of advanced faceted multi-quantum well structures within InAs nanowires using molecular beam epitaxy. We review the crystal structure for the faceted quantum wells along with an analysis of their optical emission characteristics which shows quantum confinement and localisation of the carriers on the quantum well nanostructure. This enables tuning of the emission wavelength and enhanced emission intensity up to the technologically important room-temperature operation point.
Part of the book: Nanowires