Diameter modulation as a route to probe the vapour–liquid–solid growth kinetics of semiconductor nanowires

A method is presented for interrogating the kinetics of semiconductor nanowire growth via the vapour–liquid–solid (VLS) technique. Morphological markers, generated via user-defined changes to diameter along the nanowire axial direction, enable the accurate and facile extraction of growth rate from scanning electron microscopy images. Trimethylsilane, SiH(CH₃)₃, is utilized for this purpose and does not influence growth rate and/or kinking when introduced separately from GeH₄. As a proof of concept, we apply this approach to determine the diameter, temperature, and pressure dependence of Au-catalyzed Ge nanowire growth.