Towards ultrafast and highly efficient optoelectronic devices based on III–V nanowires

III–V semiconductor nanowires show great promise as nanocomponents of future high-performance optoelectronic devices, with applications ranging from solar energy harvesting to terahertz communications systems. These nanowires can be fabricated in a scalable, reproducible and tightly controlled manner by metalorganic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD). Two methods are commonly used for the MOCVD of nanowires:(i) the vapour–liquid–solid (VLS) method using Au nanoparticles to drive anisotropic growth and (ii) selective area epitaxy (SAE) in which nanowires nucleate selectively in unmasked areas on the substrate. The VLS method has the advantages of tight control over the crystal structure (zinc-blende or wurtzite) and straightforward fabrication of radial (core–shell) heterostructures. SAE is more suitable for the fabrication of axial heterostructures and axially-doped homostructures, and is more …