title: Narrowing the length distribution of Ge nanowires.
abstract: Synthesis of nanostructures of uniform size is fundamental because the size distribution directly affects their physical properties. We present experimental data demonstrating a narrowing effect on the length distribution of Ge nanowires synthesized by the Au-catalyzed molecular beam epitaxy on Si substrates. A theoretical model is developed that is capable of describing this puzzling behavior. It is demonstrated that the direction of the diffusion flux of sidewall adatoms is size dependent and has a major effect on the growth rate of differently sized nanowires. We also show that there exists a fundamental limitation on the maximum nanowire length that can be achieved by molecular beam epitaxy where the direction of the beam is close to the growth axis.
authors.affiliation: St. Petersburg Academic University, Khlopina 8/3, 194021 St. Petersburg, Russia.
authors.forename: V G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Dubrovskii
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lambert
authors.forename: J-P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Nys
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Grandidier
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stiévenard
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pareige