Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

A review of nanowire growth promoted by alloys and non-alloying elements with emphasis on Au-assisted III-V nanowires

Dick Thelander, Kimberly LU (2008) In Progress in Crystal Growth and Characterization of Materials 54(3-4). p.138-173
Abstract
Seed particles of elements or compounds which may or may not form alloys are now used extensively in promoting well-controlled nanowire growth. The technology has evolved following the well-known Vapour-Liquid-Solid (VLS) model which was developed over 40 years ago. This model indicates that a liquid alloy is formed from the seed particle and the growth precursor(s), resulting in crystal growth by precipitation from a supersaturated solution. The enhanced growth rate compared to the bulk growth from the vapour is typically attributed to preferential decomposition of precursor materials at or near the particle surface. Recently, however, there has been much interest in further developing this model, which was developed for Au-assisted Si... (More)
Seed particles of elements or compounds which may or may not form alloys are now used extensively in promoting well-controlled nanowire growth. The technology has evolved following the well-known Vapour-Liquid-Solid (VLS) model which was developed over 40 years ago. This model indicates that a liquid alloy is formed from the seed particle and the growth precursor(s), resulting in crystal growth by precipitation from a supersaturated solution. The enhanced growth rate compared to the bulk growth from the vapour is typically attributed to preferential decomposition of precursor materials at or near the particle surface. Recently, however, there has been much interest in further developing this model, which was developed for Au-assisted Si whiskers (with diameter on the micrometre scale), in order to generally describe particle-assisted growth on the nanoscale using a variety of materials and growth systems. This review discusses the current understanding of particle-assisted nanowire growth. The aim is first to give an overview of the historical development of the model, with a discussion of potential growth mechanisms. In particular, the enhancement of growth rate in one dimension due to preferential deposition at the particle-wire interface will be discussed. Then, the particular example of Ill-V nanowires grown by metal-organic vapour phase epitaxy using Au particles will be revised, with details of the various growth processes involved in this system. The aim of this review is not to provide a conclusive answer to the question of why nanowires grow from seed particle alloys, but to describe the progress made towards this goal of a unified theory of growth, and to clarify the current standing of the question. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
vapour phase epitaxy, Metal-organic, VLS model, Group III-V nanowires, Gold particles, alloys, Seed particle, Nanowire growth, Particle-assisted nanowire growth
in
Progress in Crystal Growth and Characterization of Materials
volume
54
issue
3-4
pages
138 - 173
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000262294700002
  • scopus:56949107839
ISSN
0960-8974
DOI
10.1016/j.pcrysgrow.2008.09.001
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f0524259-31b3-4d12-b217-5c92409b0383 (old id 1376034)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:47:43
date last changed
2022-04-22 05:13:51
@article{f0524259-31b3-4d12-b217-5c92409b0383,
  abstract     = {{Seed particles of elements or compounds which may or may not form alloys are now used extensively in promoting well-controlled nanowire growth. The technology has evolved following the well-known Vapour-Liquid-Solid (VLS) model which was developed over 40 years ago. This model indicates that a liquid alloy is formed from the seed particle and the growth precursor(s), resulting in crystal growth by precipitation from a supersaturated solution. The enhanced growth rate compared to the bulk growth from the vapour is typically attributed to preferential decomposition of precursor materials at or near the particle surface. Recently, however, there has been much interest in further developing this model, which was developed for Au-assisted Si whiskers (with diameter on the micrometre scale), in order to generally describe particle-assisted growth on the nanoscale using a variety of materials and growth systems. This review discusses the current understanding of particle-assisted nanowire growth. The aim is first to give an overview of the historical development of the model, with a discussion of potential growth mechanisms. In particular, the enhancement of growth rate in one dimension due to preferential deposition at the particle-wire interface will be discussed. Then, the particular example of Ill-V nanowires grown by metal-organic vapour phase epitaxy using Au particles will be revised, with details of the various growth processes involved in this system. The aim of this review is not to provide a conclusive answer to the question of why nanowires grow from seed particle alloys, but to describe the progress made towards this goal of a unified theory of growth, and to clarify the current standing of the question. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.}},
  author       = {{Dick Thelander, Kimberly}},
  issn         = {{0960-8974}},
  keywords     = {{vapour phase epitaxy; Metal-organic; VLS model; Group III-V nanowires; Gold particles; alloys; Seed particle; Nanowire growth; Particle-assisted nanowire growth}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3-4}},
  pages        = {{138--173}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Progress in Crystal Growth and Characterization of Materials}},
  title        = {{A review of nanowire growth promoted by alloys and non-alloying elements with emphasis on Au-assisted III-V nanowires}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pcrysgrow.2008.09.001}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.pcrysgrow.2008.09.001}},
  volume       = {{54}},
  year         = {{2008}},
}