Photocurrent and photoconductance properties of a GaAs nanowire

We report on photocurrent and photoconductance processes in a freely suspended p-doped single GaAs nanowire. The nanowires are grown by molecular beam epitaxy, and they are electrically contacted by a focused ion beam deposition technique. The observed photocurrent is generated at the Schottky contacts between the nanowire and metal source-drain electrodes, while the observed photoconductance signal can be explained by a photogating effect induced by optically generated charge carriers located at the surface of the nanowire. Both optoelectronic effects are sensitive to the polarization of the exciting laser field, enabling polarization dependent photodetectors.