ABSTRACT
The capability to control and manipulate semiconductor materials
at the nanoscale has opened up new frontiers in the promising
fields of nanoelectronics and nanophotonics. However, the strict requirements set by advanced quantum technologies keep spurring
the search for smart fabrication methods, offering the means to
precisely control the position and electronic properties of individual
nanostructures. This chapter describes an original nanofabrication
approach based on the spatially selective hydrogenation of dilute nitride semiconductors. The strong N-H interaction in dilute
nitrides turns H diffusion into a multiple trapping process, resulting
in the formation of extremely sharp heterointerfaces between H-
free and H-containing regions. This finding-combined with the
striking effects of hydrogen on the electronic, optical, electrical, and
structural properties of dilute nitrides-allows for the fabrication
of a novel class of site-controlled micro-and nanostructures, whose
properties meet a wide set of technological applications, ranging
from nanophotonics to integrated optical and electrical circuits. A
number of examples are described in the following sections, and
future directions are discussed.
