Growth study of indium-catalyzed silicon nanowires by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (original) (raw)

Silicon Nanowires Obtained by Low Temperature Plasma-Based Chemical Vapor Deposition

MRS Proceedings, 2012

Silicon Nanowires (Si-NWs) are obtained by vapor-liquid-solid growth using an inductively coupled chemical vapor deposition system which works at temperatures lower than 400 °C. Gold nanodots are used as metal catalyst. The selective growth of Si-NWs on the gold nanodots is obtained by controlling the contribution coming from the uncatalyzed growth on the bare Si substrate. In this way the final NW length can be controlled, and it is not influenced by the thickness of the uncatalyzed layer. The important parameter ruling the NW growth is found to be the plasma power which governs the dissociation of the Si precursor gas. Final NW lengths of 1 m are obtained at temperatures of 380 °C with a thickness of uncatalyzed layer equal to zero. Also the NW density is addressed in this work and it is optimised by increasing the gold equivalent thickness. The NW density is increased from 2.9×10 8 to 1.3×10 10 cm -2 , when the gold equivalent thickness passes from 1.8 nm to 2.2 nm.

Gold catalyzed growth of silicon nanowires by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition

2003

Abstract Silicon nanowires were selectively grown at temperatures below 400 C by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition using silane as the Si source and gold as the catalyst. A detailed growth study is presented using electron microscopy, focused ion beam preparation, and Raman spectroscopy. A radio-frequency plasma significantly increased the growth rate. The Si nanowires show an uncontaminated, crystalline silicon core surrounded by a 2-nm-thick oxide sheath.

Gallium assisted plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of silicon nanowires

Nanotechnology, 2009

Silicon nanowires have been grown with gallium as catalyst by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The morphology and crystalline structure has been studied by electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy as a function of growth temperature and catalyst thickness. We observe that the crystalline quality of the wires increases with the temperature at which they have been synthesized. The crystalline growth direction has been found to vary between 111 and 112 , depending on both the growth temperature and catalyst thickness. Gallium has been found at the end of the nanowires, as expected from the vapor-liquid-solid growth mechanism. These results represent good progress towards finding alternative catalysts to gold for the synthesis of nanowires.

Plasma-Assisted Growth of Silicon Nanowires by Sn Catalyst: Step-by-Step Observation

Nanoscale research letters, 2016

A comprehensive study of the silicon nanowire growth process has been carried out. Silicon nanowires were grown by plasma-assisted-vapor-solid method using tin as a catalyst. We have focused on the evolution of the silicon nanowire density, morphology, and crystallinity. For the first time, the initial growth stage, which determines the nanowire (NW) density and growth direction, has been observed step by step. We provide direct evidence of the merging of Sn catalyst droplets and the formation of Si nanowires during the first 10 s of growth. We found that the density of Sn droplets decreases from ~9000 Sn droplets/μm(2) to 2000 droplets/μm(2) after just 10 s of growth. Moreover, the long and straight nanowire density decreases from 170/μm(2) after 2 min of growth to less than 10/μm(2) after 90 min. This strong reduction in nanowire density is accompanied by an evolution of their morphology from cylindrical to conical, then to bend conical, and finally, to a bend inverted conical sha...