Advanced core/multishell germanium/silicon nanowire heterostructures: The Au-diffusion bottleneck

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Synthesis of germanium/silicon (Ge/Si) core/shell nanowire heterostructures is typically accompanied by unwanted gold (Au) diffusion on the Ge nanowire sidewalls, resulting in rough surface morphology, undesired whisker growth, and detrimental performance of electronic devices. Here, we advance understanding of this Au diffusion on nanowires, its diameter dependence and its kinetic origin. We devise a growth procedure to form a blocking layer between the Au seed and Ge nanowire sidewalls leading to elimination the Au diffusion for in situ synthesis of high quality Ge/Si core/shell heterostructures.