VLS Nanowire Growth Simulator

Growth Conditions

Vapor supersaturation Δμ₀ 80 meV

Growth temperature T 550 °C

Catalyst radius spread 3–40 nm

Time speed 1.0×

Live Readouts

Critical radius r꜀

3.1 nm

Growing / stalled

0 / 0

Avg. growth rate

0.0 nm/s

Tallest wire

0.0 nm

How it works

In vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) growth, a molten metal catalyst droplet (classically gold, here shown as the bright sphere) sits atop a substrate and absorbs vapor-phase precursor atoms. Once the droplet is supersaturated, atoms crystallize out at the liquid–solid interface, pushing the droplet upward on a growing nanowire.

The droplet's small size makes it energetically costly to stay supersaturated — the Gibbs–Thomson effect. Following the Givargizov growth law, each droplet of radius r grows at:

r_c = 2σΩ / Δμ₀        (critical radius — Gibbs-Thomson)
v(r) = v_max · (1 − r_c/r)   for r > r_c, else v(r) = 0
v_max(T) = v_ref · exp[ (E_a/k_B)(1/T_ref − 1/T) ]

σ is the droplet surface energy, Ω the precursor atomic volume, and Δμ₀ the vapor supersaturation chemical potential. Droplets thinner than r_c can never grow — they are self-limited by surface tension, no matter how long you wait. This is exactly why VLS synthesis produces a narrow, catalyst-controlled nanowire diameter distribution instead of a continuous film.

Supersaturation — raises Δμ₀, which shrinks r_c, so more of the thin droplets can escape self-limitation and start growing.
Temperature — sets v_max through the Arrhenius diffusion-kinetics term; higher T grows every active wire faster.
Catalyst radius spread — widens or narrows the range of droplet sizes seeded on the substrate, from a uniform batch to a broad distribution.
Reseed — scatters a fresh set of catalyst droplets with random radii inside the current spread.

Real-world relevance: this is the mechanism behind silicon, GaAs and ZnO nanowire synthesis for nanoelectronics, LEDs and solar cells — the catalyst droplet diameter is still the main lever engineers use to set the final nanowire diameter.

Au catalyst droplet Crystallized nanowire

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Vapor–Liquid–Solid (VLS) Nanowire Growth