Diameter modulation as a route to probe the vapour–liquid–solid growth kinetics of semiconductor nanowires

Abstract

A method is presented for interrogating the kinetics of semiconductor nanowire growth via the vapour–liquid–solid (VLS) technique. Morphological markers, generated via user-defined changes to diameter along the nanowire axial direction, enable the accurate and facile extraction of growth rate from scanning electron microscopy images. Trimethylsilane, SiH(CH3)3, is utilized for this purpose and does not influence growth rate and/or kinking when introduced separately from GeH4. As a proof of concept, we apply this approach to determine the diameter, temperature, and pressure dependence of Au-catalyzed Ge nanowire growth.