In-situ electrical and structural characterization of individual GaAs nanowires

A method for probing the electrical and structural characteristics of individual as-grown III-V nanowires was studied. In-situ electrical characterization was performed in a focused ion beam / scanning electron microscopy system by using a fine nano-manipulator and ion beam assisted deposition. Transmission electron microscopy specimens of probed nanowires are prepared afterwards. This method would potentially allow the correlation of electrical and structural characteristics (e.g. crystal faults such as twinning) of the nanowire-substrate system. The challenge is in contacting the nanowires so that the electrical characteristics of the nanowire-substrate system can be extracted correctly