Growth of III-V semiconductor nanowires and their heterostructures

In this paper, we present a review about recent progress on the growth of III-V semiconductor homo-and heterostructured nanowires. We will first deliver a general discussion on the crystal structure and the conventional growth mechanism of one dimensional nanowires. Then we provide a review about most widely used growth techniques, sample preparation and the cutting edge characterization techniques including advanced electron microscopy, in situ electron diffraction, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and atom probe tomography. In the end, the growth of different heteostructured III-V semiconductor nanowires will be reviewed. We will focus on the morphology dependence, temperature influence, and III/V flux ratio dependent growth. The perspective and an outlook of this field is discussed in order to foresee the future of the fundamental research and application of these one dimensional nanostructures.