Epitaxial growth of crystal phase quantum dots in III–V semiconductor nanowires

Crystal phase quantum dots (QDs) are formed during the axial growth of III–V semiconductor nanowires (NWs) by stacking different crystal phases of the same material. In III–V semiconductor NWs, both zinc blende (ZB) and wurtzite (WZ) crystal phases can coexist. The band structure difference between both crystal phases can lead to quantum confinement. Thanks to the precise control in III–V semiconductor NW growth conditions and the deep knowledge on the epitaxial growth mechanisms, it is nowadays possible to control, down to the atomic level, the switching between crystal phases in NWs forming the so-called crystal phase NW-based QDs (NWQDs). The shape and size of the NW bridge the gap between QDs and the macroscopic world. This review is focused on crystal phase NWQDs based on III–V NWs obtained by the bottom-up vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) method and their optical and electronic properties. Crystal phase switching can be achieved in the axial direction. In contrast, in the core/shell growth, the difference in surface energies between different polytypes can enable selective shell growth. One reason for the very intense research in this field is motivated by their excellent optical and electronic properties both appealing for applications in nanophotonics and quantum technologies.