Control and understanding of kink formation in InAs-InP heterostructure nanowires

Nanowire heterostructures are of special interest for band structure engineering due to an expanded range of defect-free material combinations. However, the higher degree of freedom in nanowire heterostructure growth comes at the expense of challenges related to nanowire-seed particle interactions, such as undesired composition, grading and kink formation. To better understand the mechanisms of kink formation in nanowires, we here present a detailed study of the dependence of heterostructure nanowire morphology on indium pressure, nanowire diameter, and nanowire density. We investigate InAs-InP-InAs heterostructure nanowires grown with chemical beam epitaxy, which is a material system that allows for very abrupt heterointerfaces. Our observations indicate that the critical parameter for kink formation is the availability of indium, and that the resulting morphology is also highly dependent on the length of the InP segment. It is shown that kinking is associated with the formation of an inclined facet at the interface between InP and InAs, which destabilizes the growth and leads to a change in growth direction. By careful tuning of the growth parameters, it is possible to entirely suppress the formation of this inclined facet and thereby kinking at the heterointerface. Our results also indicate the possibility of producing controllably kinked nanowires with a high yield.