The self-seeded growth of InAsSb nanowires on silicon by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy

• InAs1−xSbx nanowires are grown by MOVPE via a self-seeded mechanism.
• The x has an obvious effect on the morphology and crystal quality.
• The crystal quality of nanowires with a small x is greatly improved.
• The effect mechanism of Sb on the growth of the nanowires is clarified.

We present a study on the growth of InAs1−xSbx alloy nanowires directly on Si (111) substrates via a self-seeded mechanism for the first time. Through varying group V flow rate ratios, InAs1−xSbx nanowires with x=from 0 to 0.43 are obtained. It is found that Sb content has a significant effect on the morphology and crystal quality of the formed InAs1−xSbx nanowires. Furthermore, the axial and radial growth rates of the nanowires change in opposite trends with increasing group V flow rate ratio. This indicates that the growth rate of InAs1−xSbx nanowires is ultimately determined by Sb compositions of the nanowires. In addition, the scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy measurements reveal that the dimensional uniformity and crystal quality of InAsSb nanowires with a small amount of Sb compositions are greatly improved compared to the reference InAs nanowires. The effect mechanism of Sb on the growth of InAs1−xSbx nanowires is clarified, which will be a guide for making high-quality InAs1−xSbx nanowires and relevant heterostructure devices in the future.