Catalyst-free growth of InN nanorods by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition

We demonstrated the growth of catalyst-free InN nanostructures including nanorods on (0001) Al2O3 substrates using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. As the growth time increased, growth rate along c-direction increased superlinearly with decreasing c-plane area fractions and increasing side wall areas. It was also found that desorption from the sidewalls of InN nanostructures during the InN nanorods formation was one of essential key parameters of the growth mechanism. We propose a growth model to explain the InN nanostructure evolution by considering the side wall desorption and re-deposition of indium at top c-plane surfaces.