Nanotechnology plays an important roal in semiconductor manufacturing and fabrication. For a range of nanotechnology applications, semiconductor nanowires will need to be grown with high precision and control. Zhou studied the growth of gallium phosphide (GaP) nanowires using chemical vapor deposition within a transmission electron microscope and worked out conditions that could generate regular and predictable wire growth.

“I have been highly interested in science ever since I studied at junor high school, and I like to conduct experiments.” Zhou said in an earlier report.

According to Science magzine, in the growth of nanoscale device structures, the ultimate goal is atomic-level precision. By growing III-V nanowires in a transmission electron microscope, which measured the local kinetics in situ as each atomic plane was added at the catalyst-nanowire growth interface by the vapor-liquid-solid process.

However, during growth of gallium phosphide nanowires at typical V/III ratios, Chou's team found surprising fluctuations in growth rate, even under steady growth conditions. They correlated these fluctuations with the formation of twin defects in the nanowire, and found that these variations can be suppressed by switching to growth conditions with a low V/III ratio.

Moreover, they derive a growth model showing that this unexpected variation in local growth kinetics reflects the very different supply pathways of the V and III species. The model explains under which conditions the growth rate can be controlled precisely at the atomic level.

Silicon nanowires have been widely used nowadays, this research found out that III-V nanowires better than silicon nanowires, which makes 3C products more compact, efficient, and conserve electricity. III-V nanowires are likely to be put into practice years from now.