Epitaxial growth of ZnSe and ZnSe/CdSe nanowires on ZnSe

Abstract

Abstract We report the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth of ZnSe nanowires (NWs) on a ZnSe(100) epilayer assisted by gold catalyst. Gold dewetting assists in the formation of nanotrenches along the [0‐1‐1] direction in the ZnSe buffer layer. Nucleation of the gold catalyst in the trenches leads to the growth of NWs preferentially in directions orthogonal to the trenches. The wires adopt mostly the wurtzite type structure and grow along the c‐axis. CdSe quantum dots were inserted in the ZnSe NWs. The CdSe insertions systematically adopt a cubic zinc‐blende arrangement with a [111] growth axis, as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)