The defect structures of β-Ga2O3 nanowires were characterized using transmission electron microscopy. Branched and jagged β-Ga2O3 nanowires were obtained by the heat treatment of gallium metal with Cu5Si powders. The growth direction of the branched nanowire was perpendicular to the (001) planes, the (001) planes of the branch nanowire, and the (110) planes of the primary nanowire face each other at the grain boundary. The jagged nanowire had a growth direction combining the [001] and [¯101] directions. Cu atoms were highly concentrated at the β-Ga2O3 nanowires, and the effect of impurity on the growth of β-Ga2O3 nanowires was demonstrated. The dynamic evolution of β-Ga2O3 nanowires with reference to specific morphological features was considered in terms of the anisotropic crystalline structures of the β-Ga2O3 crystals. It was found that the structural and morphological properties of β-Ga2O3 nanowires were greatly influenced by the growth conditions, and the specific crystalline defects affected the final morphological feature of the nanowires.

HRTEM Observation of Defect Structures of β-Ga2O3 Nanowires. Q.Yang, T.Yasuda, P.D.Brown, M.Tanaka, H.Tatsuoka: Physica Status Solidi A, 2010, 207[11], 2467–71