Theoretical analysis of the length distributions of Ga-catalyzed GaAs nanowires

In this work, we analyze the length distributions of self-catalyzed GaAs nanowires grown on in-situ processed SiOx/Si(111) substrates. We propose the model that accounts for (i) gradual emerging of Ga droplets and nanowires, (ii) fluctuation-induced broadening of the length distributions, and (iii) the effect of nucleation antibunching in individual nanowires on the length distribution shapes. Both theoretical and experimental results show the broadest length distributions on unprocessed substrate, narrowing in samples with processed oxide surface and sub-Poissonian length distribution in samples with an optimized substrate preparation. (paper)