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We have confirmed the presence of narrow, degenerately-doped axial siliconnanowire (SiNW) $p$-$n$ junctions via off-axis electron holography (EH). SiNWswere grown via the vapor-solid-liquid (VLS) mechanism using gold (Au) as thecatalyst, silane (SiH$_{4}$), diborane (B$_{2}$H$_{6}$) and phosphine(PH$_{3}$) as the precursors, and hydrochloric acid (HCl) to stabilize thegrowth. Two types of growth were carried out, and in each case we exploredgrowth with both $n$/$p$ and $p$/$n$ sequences. In the first type, we abruptlyswitched the dopant precursors at the desired junction location, and in thesecond type we slowed the growth rate at the junction to allow the dopants toreadily leave the Au catalyst. We demonstrate degenerately-doped $p$/$n$ and$n$/$p$ nanowire segments with abrupt potential profiles of $1.02\pm0.02$ and$0.86\pm0.3$ V, and depletion region widths as narrow as $10\pm1$ nm via EH.Low temperature current-voltage measurements show an asymmetric curvature inthe forward direction that resemble planar gold-doped tunnel junctions, wherethe tunneling current is hidden by a large excess current. The resultspresented herein show that the direct VLS growth of degenerately-doped axialSiNW $p$-$n$ junctions is feasible, an essential step in the fabrication ofmore complex SiNW-based devices for electronics and solar energy.

Abrupt degenerately-doped silicon nanowire tunnel junctions