  The role of the sublimation of the compound and of the evaporation of the
constituents from the gold nanoparticle during the growth of semiconductor
nanowires is exemplified with CdTe-ZnTe heterostructures. Operating close to
the upper temperature limit strongly reduces the amount of Cd present in the
gold nanoparticle and the density of adatoms on the nanowire sidewalls. As a
result, the growth rate is small and strongly temperature dependent, but a good
control of the growth conditions allows the incorporation of quantum dots in
nanowires with sharp interfaces and adjustable shape, and it minimizes the
radial growth and the subsequent formation of additional CdTe clusters on the
nanowire sidewalls, as confirmed by photoluminescence. Uncapped CdTe segments
dissolve into the gold nanoparticle when interrupting the flux, giving rise to
a bulb-like (pendant-droplet) shape attributed to the Kirkendall effect.
