We synthesized Ge-doped SnO2 nanowires by heating a mixture of Sn and Ge powders. The dominant growth mechanisms turned out to be a vapor-solid (VS) process. Photoluminescence (PL) study at 7 K revealed that 2.2 eV-band and 2.6 eV-bands have been significantly intensified and reduced, respectively, by introducing the Ge elements. With the assistance of XPS and Raman spectra, we suggested that the intensification of 2.2 eV-band originated from the GeO2 phase. Since XRD spectra, lowmagnification transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image and selected area electron diffraction coincidentally negated the presence of crystalline GeO2 phase, we suggest that the GeO2 structure is mainly amorphous.
Keywords: Nanowires, SnO2, Germanium, Photoluminescence.