Controlled cleavage of single semiconducting nanowires and study on the suitability of their use as nanocavities for nanolasers

Single semiconducting nanowires have been cleaved to desired length at desired locations inside the scanning electron microscope (SEM) using a nanoprobe system. SEM and transmission electron microscope examinations of the cleaved nanowires revealed that the cleaved ends of the nanowires are in general atomic flat, but not without atomic steps. Possible use of the cleaved nanowire as nanocavity for nanolaser was considered, and several key parameters were estimated. In particular, our result shows that, for a semiconducting CdS nanowire, the effect of the atomic steps at the cleaved ends of the nanowire is negligible if the nanowire cavity is longer than several micrometers.