Surface morphology of Au-free grown nanowires after native oxide removal

Using scanning tunneling microscopy, we evaluate the surface structure and morphology down to the atomic scale for micrometers along Au-free grown InAs nanowires (NWs) free from native oxide. We find that removal of the native oxide (which covers the NWs upon exposure to the ambient air) using atomic hydrogen does not alter the underlying step structure. Imaging with sub-nanometer resolution along the NWs, we find an extremely low tapering (diameter change along the NW) of 1.7 ± 0.5 Åμm(-1). A surface morphology with monolayer high islands, whose shape was influenced by stacking faults, was found to cover the NWs and was attributed to the decomposed native oxide. The appearance of point defects in the form of As-vacancies at the surface is analyzed and we set limits to the amount of carbon impurities in the NWs.