Growth of Au-catalyzed and self-catalyzed ZnO nanowires using chemical vapor deposition technique

With the ongoing miniaturization of devices such as FETs [1], the synthesis of ZnO NWs (building blocks) has attracted extensive research interest. ZnO NWs have been synthesized via different routes by many research groups [2–4]. In order for these building blocks to be incorporated into functional nano-devices, controlled synthesis of the ZnO NWs to obtain features such as the desired size, shape and alignment should be fulfilled. This is a rather challenging task. A better understanding of the growth mechanism of ZnO NWs may be helpful to resolve these uncertainties. However, the underlying mechanism for the growth of the ZnO NWs for both self-catalyzed and Au-catalyzed ZnO NWs, have not been well elucidated. In addition, there is no fully developed cohesive model that explains the growth mechanism of both self-catalyzed and Au-catalyzed ZnO NWs.