Synthesis of indium nanostructure-laces by multi-step Glancing Angle Deposition

• Indium nanostructure-laces are synthesized by multi-step Glancing Angle Deposition.
• Each nanostructure-lace is composed of a nanowire-base trunk and uniform blocks.
• Indium blocks attach on In nanowires regularly.

The synthesis of indium nanostructure-laces is achieved by multi-step Glancing Angle Deposition (GLAD). With combination of substrate rotation and air exposure in a multi-step deposition, we accomplished the uniformly assembling nanowires with nanoparticles. Analyses by transmission electron microscopy reveal the presence of pure indium composition. The growth mechanism of nanostructure-laces is studied and discussed. This result shows that multi-step GLAD is a simple and low-cost technique to fabricate nanostructures.