Hexagonal silicon-germanium nanowire branches with tunable composition

Hexagonal SiGe-2H has been recently shown to have a direct bandgap, and holds the promise to be compatible with silicon technology. Hexagonal Si and Ge have been grown on an epitaxial lattice matched template consisting of wurtzite GaP and GaAs, respectively. Here, we present the growth of hexagonal Si and SiGe nanowire branches grown from a wurtzite stem by the vapor−liquid−solid growth mode, which is substantiated by in situ transmission electron microscopy. We show that the composition can be tuned through the whole range of stoichiometry from Si to Ge, and the possibility to realize Si and SiGe heterostructures in these branches.