Homoepitaxial growth and lasing properties of ZnS nanowire and nanoribbon arrays

The growth of cross arrays of zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanowires and aligned arrays of ZnS nanoribbons through homoepitaxial growth on micrometer-wide single crystal ZnS nanoribbon substrates was investigated. The synthesis method presented a general approach to grow II-VI semiconductor nanostructures with different growth directions in a controlled way. The study on the orientation relations of these nanostructures to the substrate on an atomic scale provided evidence for the understanding of the nucleation and growth mechanisms of ZnS nanowires and nanoribbons. The representative morphologies of ZnS nanostructures grown on ZnS nanoribbons were revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The growth in a short duration confirmed that such orientation reaction was established at the initial growth stage. The growth of ZnS nanostructures suggests the feasibility of the fabrication of nanolasers and other photoelectronic devices in UV and visible regions.