Suppression of three dimensional twinning for a 100% yield of vertical GaAs nanowires on silicon

Abstract

Multiple seed formation by three-dimensional twinning at the initial stages of growth explains the manifold of orientations found when self-catalyzed GaAs nanowires grow on silicon. This mechanism can be tuned as a function of the growth conditions by changing the relative size between the GaAs seed and the Ga droplet. We demonstrate how growing under high V/III ratio results in a 100% yield of vertical nanowires on silicon(111). These results open up the avenue towards the efficient integration of III-V nanowire arrays on the silicon platform.