Semiconductor nanowire growth and integration

To date, numerous studies have been carried out to explore nanowires as new building blocks in electronics, photonics, solar-cells, batteries, nanogenerators, and biological/chemical sensors. Commonly cited properties of nanowires in these studies that can be advantageous are the small diameters, large surface area and smooth surfaces of the nanowire materials. For example, the large surface area and small diameters enabled nanowire electrodes to outperform thin-lm electrodes in battery applications in terms of rate of charging/discharging and stability (e.g., small diameters can better sustain strain without cracking), while the nearlyperfect material quality has enabled optical and electrical pumped nanowire lasers. Controlled nanowire growth has also enabled biosensors with integrated detectors and electrodes, all achieved in a single nanowire during growth. Another aspect that sets the “bottom-up” nanowire system apart is the ability to obtain high quality nanowire heterostructures during