Controlling crystal phases in GaAs nanowires grown by Au-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

Control of the crystal phases of GaAs nanowires (NWs) is essential to eliminate the formation of stacking faults which deteriorate the optical and electronic properties of the NWs. In addition, the ability to control the crystal phase of NWs provides an opportunity to engineer the band gap without changing the crystal material. We show that the crystal phase of GaAs NWs grown on GaAs(111)B substrates by molecular beam epitaxy using the Au-assisted vapor-liquid-solid growth mechanism can be tuned between wurtzite (WZ) and zinc blende (ZB) by changing the V/III flux ratio. As an example we demonstrate the realization of WZ GaAs NWs with a ZB GaAs insert that has been grown without changing the substrate temperature.