Semiconductor Alloy Nanowires and Nanobelts With Tunable Optical Properties

Recent advancements in the study of alloy semiconductor nanowires (NWs) and nanobelts are reviewed with a special perspective on their applications in optoelectronics with widely tunable bandgaps. Special emphasis is on the composition-graded alloy NWs. An extremely wide range of alloy compositions (thus bandgaps) can be achieved on a single substrate in a single growth run, creating an unprecedented materials capability that is not possible with planar epitaxial growth. Applications of such unique materials in widely tunable lasers and full-spectrum solar cells are discussed.