  We report on the gold assisted epitaxial growth of Ge nanostructures under
ultra high vacuum (UHV) conditions (\approx3\times 10-10 mbar) on clean Ge
(100) surfaces. For this study, \approx2.0 nm thick Au samples were grown on
the substrate surface by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Thermal annealing was
carried out inside the UHV chamber at temperature \approx500{\deg}C and
following this, well ordered gold nanostructures placed on pedestal Ge were
formed. A \approx 2 nm Ge film was further deposited on the above surface while
the substrate was kept at a temperature of \approx 500{\deg}C. The height of
the Ge (pedestal) underneath gold increased along with the formation of small
Ge islands. The effect of substrate temperature and role of gold on the
formation of above structures has been discussed in detail. Electron microscopy
(TEM, SEM) studies were carried out to determine the structure of Au - Ge nano
systems.
