Self-catalysed InAs1-xSbx nanowires grown directly on bare Si substrates

•Self-catalysed InAs1-xSbx nanowires grown directly on bare Si substrates.•InAs1-xSbx nanowires directly grown on bare Si substrates without employing the commonly used nucleation nanowire stems which could be problematic in device applications.•Pre-deposited Indium droplets were employed to facilitate InAs1-xSbx nanowire nucleation and growth.•Unravels a promising route for the direct integration of InAs1-xSbx nanowires with the well-established Silicon platform.

We report the self-catalysed growth of InAs1-xSbx nanowires directly on bare Si substrates. Vertically aligned and non-tapered InAs1-xSbx nanowires were realized via indium-assisted nucleation without using nanowire stems. The compositions of the InAs1-xSbx nanowires were determined by high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD). It is observed that the geometry of the nanowires is modified by the Sb flux resulting in an almost doubling of the lateral dimension and a corresponding suppression in the axial growth of the InAs1-xSbx nanowires. This observation unravels a method to modify the geometry of InAs nanowire and open up a promising route for the direct integration of InAs1-xSbx nanowires with the well-established Si platform.

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