Fabrication of electrically conductive nanowires using high-density dislocations in AlN thin films

We fabricated conductive nanowires in insulating AlN thin films by doping Mn along high-density unidirectional threading dislocations. Investigation of the dislocation microstructures by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution scanning TEM revealed that Mn segregates to the dislocation cores. Strain analysis around the dislocations suggests that the strong attractive interaction between the Mn ions and the strain field around the dislocations enhances the confinement of the Mn only in the vicinity of the dislocation cores. Atomic force microscopy measurements under contact-current mode detected the local electrical conduction along the Mn-doped dislocations. The present results open up the possibility for fabricating functional nanowires using dislocations in thin films.