In-situ reflectometry to monitor locally-catalyzed initiation and growth of nanowire assemblies

Abstract We investigate in-situ laser reflectometry for measuring the axial growth rate in chemical vapor deposition of assemblies of well-aligned vertical germanium nanowires grown epitaxially on single crystal substrates. Finite difference frequency domain optical simulations were performed in order to facilitate quantitative analysis and interpretation of the measured reflectivity data. The results show an insensitivity of the reflected intensity oscillation period to nanowire diameter and density within the range of experimental conditions investigated. Compared to previous quantitative in-situ measurements performed on III–V nanowire arrays, which showed two distinct rate regimes, we observe a constant, steady-state nanowire growth rate. Furthermore, we show that the measured reflectivity decay can be used to determine the germanium nanowire nucleation time with good precision. This technique provides an avenue to monitor growth of nanowires in a variety of materials systems and growth conditions.