| Abstract
| - The origin and scope of the solution−liquid−solid (SLS) growth method for semiconductor nanowires are reviewed. Comparisons are drawn to the analogous catalyzed-growth methods employing the vapor−liquid−solid and supercritical fluid−liquid−solid mechanisms. Synthetic aspects are emphasized, and a summary of recent results for the SLS method is provided.
- The serendipitously discovered solution−liquid−solid (SLS) mechanism has been refined into a nearly generalsynthetic method for semiconductor nanowires. Purposeful control of diameters and diameter distributions is achieved.The synthesis proceeds by a solution-based catalyzed-growth mechanism in which nanometer-scale metallic dropletscatalyze the decomposition of metallo-organic precursors and crystalline nanowire growth. Related growth methodsproceeding by the analogous vapor−liquid−solid (VLS) and supercritical fluid−liquid−solid (SFLS) mechanisms areknown, and the relative attributes of the methods are compared. In short, the VLS method is most general andappears to afford nanowires of the best crystalline quality. The SLS method appears to be advantageous forproducing the smallest nanowire diameters and for variation and control of surface ligation. The SFLS method mayrepresent an ideal compromise. Recent results for SLS growth are summarized.
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