title: Atomic Resolution in Situ Imaging of a Double-Bilayer Multistep Growth Mode in Gallium Nitride Nanowires.
abstract: We study the growth of GaN nanowires from liquid Au-Ga catalysts using environmental transmission electron microscopy. GaN wires grow in either ⟨112̅0⟩ or ⟨11̅00⟩ directions, by the addition of {11̅00} double bilayers via step flow with multiple steps. Step-train growth is not typically seen with liquid catalysts, and we suggest that it results from low step mobility related to the unusual double-height step structure. The results here illustrate the surprising dynamics of catalytic GaN wire growth at the nanoscale and highlight striking differences between the growth of GaN and other III-V semiconductor nanowires.
authors.affiliation: Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory , Upton, New York 11973, United States.
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Gamalski
authors.affiliation: IBM Research Division, T. J. Watson Research Center , Yorktown Heights, New York 10598, United States.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tersoff
authors.affiliation: Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory , Upton, New York 11973, United States.
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Stach
keywords: Gallium nitride; environmental transmission electron microscopy; nanowire; step flow