A dry method for the growth of highly-structured Cu-containing chalcopyrite material on solid substrates, based on the use of metallic precursors, is described. Nanocrystals, sub-micrometer polycrystalline dots, and macroscopic clusters have be grown, either as isolated units or alternatively as embedded structures in a matrix of a binary chalcogenide compound, by adjusting processing parameters. Vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) induced growth has been used for the growth of chalcopyrite nanowires. Examples of material characterization by scanning probe techniques are shown, demonstrating the suitability of the proposed growth method.