The achievement of defect-free and highly uniform semiconductor quantum wires is a projected goal with many potential applications. In this article, we report on the homoepitaxy of GaAs on (6 3 1)A-oriented substrates grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) as a function of the As-4 pressure (P-As). By finding the optimal growth conditions that allow the minimization of intrinsic surface free energy on the substrate and the P-As value, which results in the optimal adatoms diffusion, we were able to realize the outstanding formation of a periodic array of parallel straight nano facets. An analysis of the autocorrelation function is presented, which can be used to quantitatively describe the periodic surface corrugation, and to investigate the optimal growth conditions. We review the thermodynamic and kinetic factors that contribute to the faceting process and discuss how, by reducing the kinetic influence in the growth process, we can promote homogeneous faceting on high-index substrates. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.