In-Plane Si Nanowire Growth Mechanism in Absence of External Si Flux

Stefano Curiotto; Frédéric Leroy; Fabien Cheynis; Pierre Müller

doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b01880

In-Plane Si Nanowire Growth Mechanism in Absence of External Si Flux

Nano Lett. 2015 Jul 8;15(7):4788-92. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b01880. Epub 2015 Jun 4.

Authors

Stefano Curiotto¹, Frédéric Leroy¹, Fabien Cheynis¹, Pierre Müller¹

Affiliation

¹ Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, CINaM UMR 7325, 13288 Marseille, France.

PMID: 26035081
DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b01880

Abstract

We report on a new mechanism of nanowire formation: during Au deposition on Si(110) substrates, Au-Si droplets grow, move spontaneously, and fabricate a Si nanowire behind them in the absence of Si external flux. Nanowires are formed by Si dissolved from the substrate at the advancing front of the droplets and transported backward to the crystallization front. The droplet shape is determined by the Si etching anisotropy. The nanowire formation can be tuned by changing experimental parameters like substrate temperature and Au deposition rate.

Keywords: Au−Si; In-plane nanowires; LEEM; Si(110); moving droplets.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't