title: From droplets to nanowires: dynamics of vapor-liquid-solid growth.
abstract: Starting with a liquid eutectic droplet on a surface, we calculate its dynamical evolution into an epitaxial nanowire via the vapor-liquid-solid growth process. Our continuum approach incorporates kinetic effects and crystalline anisotropy in a natural way. Some realistic features appear automatically even for an isotropic solid, e.g., the tapered wire base. Crystal anisotropy leads to a richer variety of morphologies. For example, sixfold anisotropy leads to a wire shape having broken symmetry and an intriguing resemblance to the 110-oriented Si wires seen in Au-catalyzed growth on Si (111), while higher symmetry leads to a shape more like <111> Si wires.
authors.affiliation: IBM Research Division, T. J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598, USA.
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tersoff