Laser induced modification and ablation of InAs nanowires

InAs nanowires were irradiated locally under an ambient condition using a focused laser beam, which led to laser ablation and thinning of the nanowires. We show that the laser beam can induce a reduction of the local As concentration in an InAs nanowire; the change leads to a significant decrease of local melting temperature of InAs, which results in the thinning and eventually breaking of the nanowire. The results indicate that chemical and mechanical modifications of an InAs nanowire can be accomplished by using a confocal laser beam, which may prove to be a convenient approach in fabricating nanostructural materials and nanodevices.