Morphology control of GaN nanowires by vapor-liquid-solid growth

We synthesized GaN nanowires on sapphire substrate by metal organic chemical vapour deposition. The GaN nanowires were grown via vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth catalyzed with Ni thin film. Shape of nanowires depended on the substrate temperature and the growth pressure. The wire-like structure with high aspect ratio changed into the tapered structure with increasing substrate temperature, and with increasing the growth pressure. This dependency was attributed to the change of the surface diffusion length of source atoms. The VLS growth of GaN nanowire was revealed that the source species, absorbed at the eutectic droplet, came along the side wall of the nanowire as well as other semiconductor nanowires. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)