Crystal growth of semiconductor nanowires from a liquid droplet depends on the stability of this droplet’s liquid–solid interface. Because of the assisting property of the droplet, growth will be hindered if the droplet is displaced onto the nanowire sidewalls. Using real-time observation of such growth by in situ transmission electron microscopy combined with theoretical analysis of the surface energies involved, we observe a reoccurring truncation at the edge of the droplet–nanowire interface. We demonstrate that creating a truncation widens the parameter range for having a droplet on the top facet, which allows continued nanowire growth. Combining experiment and theory provides an explanation for the previously reported truncation phenomenon of the growth interface based only on droplet wetting dynamics. In addition to determining the fundamental limits of droplet-assisted nanowire growth, this allows experimental estimation of the surface tension and the surface energies of the nanowire such as the otherwise metastable wurtzite GaAs {101̅0} facet.

中文翻译：

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基于液滴动力学的III-V纳米线生长极限。

半导体纳米线从液滴的晶体生长取决于该液滴的液固界面的稳定性。由于小滴的辅助特性，如果将小滴移到纳米线侧壁上，则会阻碍生长。利用原位透射电子显微镜实时观察这种生长，并结合所涉及的表面能的理论分析，我们观察到了液滴-纳米线界面边缘的重复截断。我们证明了创建一个截断会拓宽在顶部面上具有液滴的参数范围，从而使纳米线得以持续生长。结合实验和理论，仅基于液滴润湿动力学，可以解释先前报道的生长界面截断现象。