(527b) Controlling the Nucleation and Growth of III-V Semiconductor Nanowires

Self catalytic synthesis of GaSb nanowires with antimony tip-led growth and bulk nucleation of GaSb nanowires out of a gallium droplet is demonstrated. We propose a concept based on the equilibrium solubility of the constituents and the critical nuclei size at the synthesis conditions to explain the observed growth modes. The proposed framework can be used to predict the synthesis conditions that will lead to either tip-led or bulk nucleation. We consolidate our argument with the synthesis of gallium tip led GaSb nanowires at pre-determined conditions and extend the applicability of the same by the synthesis of antimony tip-led Indium antimonide nanowires. The ability to grow nanowires with control over the material at the tip can be used to develop strategies for self-catalytic synthesis of ternary nanowires and nanowire based hetero-structures.