Random stacking sequences in III-V nanowires are correlated

Abstract

We investigate crystal plane stacking in InP nanowires with marked wurtzite/zinc-blende phase mixing. We measure the length distributions of hexagonal and cubic segments and the frequencies of all short sequences of monolayers. This reveals spatial correlations extending over several monolayers, which we describe in terms of conditional probabilities. Results can be modeled by considering the energy barriers for nucleation on top of all types of preexisting stacking. A quantitative agreement is obtained only if the interaction with the underlying layers involves the edge energy of the nucleus.