Synthesis of single crystalline GaN nanoribbons on sapphire (0001) substrates

Single crystalline GaN nanoribbons were synthesized through nitriding Ga2O3 thin films deposited on sapphire (0001) substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The component and structure of nanoribbons were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The flat and smooth ribbon-like nanostructures are high quality single crystalline hexagonal wurtzite GaN. The thickness and width-to-thickness ratio of the grown GaN nanoribbons are in the range of 8–15 nm and ∼5–10, respectively.