title: Jumping-catalyst dynamics in nanowire growth.
abstract: Nanowire growth is generally considered a steady-state process, but oscillatory phenomena are known to often play a fundamental role. Here we identify a natural sequence of distinct growth modes, in two of which the catalyst droplet jumps periodically on and off a crystal facet. The oscillatory modes result from a mismatch between catalyst size and wire diameter; they enable growth of straight smooth-sided wires even when the droplet is too small to span the wire tip. Jumping-catalyst growth modes are seen both in computer simulations of vapor-liquid-solid growth, and in movies of Si nanowire growth obtained by in situ microscopy. Our simulations also provide new insight into nanowire kinking.
authors.affiliation: IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598, USA.
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.affiliation: IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tersoff
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kodambaka
authors.affiliation: IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598, USA.
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Ross