Epitaxial directional growth of indium-doped tin oxide nanowire arrays

In this report, we show controlled in-situ doping of a single crystalline metal oxide nanowire, using indium-doped tin oxide (In-SnO2) as an example, during a heteroepitaxial growth process. Highly regular and high-density arrays of In-SnO2 nanowires, which demonstrate three-and four-fold growth symmetry, are obtained directly on optical sapphire substrates. Similar synthesis strategies, involving careful selection of desired growth conditions and smart manipulation of favorable thermodynamic properties, could be extended to production of various doped metal oxide nanowires.