In situ electron backscattered diffraction of individual GaAs nanowires

We suggest and demonstrate that electron backscattered diffraction, a scanning electron microscope-based technique, can be used for non-destructive structural and morphological characterization of statistically significant number of nanowires in situ on their growth substrate. We obtain morphological, crystal phase, and crystal orientation information of individual GaAs nanowires in situ on the growth substrate GaAs(1 1 1) B. Our results, verified using transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction analyses of the same set of wires, indicate that most wires possess a wurtzite structure with a high density of thin structural defects aligned normal to the wire growth axis, while others grow defect-free with a zincblende structure. The demonstrated approach is general, applicable to other material systems, and is expected to provide important insights into the role of substrate structure on nanowire structure on nanowire crystallinity and growth orientation.