nanowhiskers are grown in a non - preferential growth direction by regulation of nucleation conditions to inhibit growth in a preferential direction . in a preferred implementation , & lt ; 001 & gt ; iii - v semiconductor nanowhiskers are grown on an iii - v semiconductor substrate surface by effectively inhibiting growth in the preferential & lt ; 111 & gt ; b direction . as one example , & lt ; 001 & gt ; inp nano - wires were grown by metal - organic vapor phase epitaxy directly on inp substrates . characterization by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy revealed wires with nearly square cross sections and a perfect zincblende crystalline structure that is free of stacking faults .