Ultralong single-crystal metallic Ni2Si nanowires with low resistivity

Ultralong, single-crystal Ni2Si nanowires sheathed with amorphous silicon oxide were synthesized on a large scale by a chemical vapor transport (CVT) method, using iodine as the transport reagent and Ni2Si powder as the source material. Structural characterization using powder X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive spectroscopy shows that the nanowires have Ni2Si-SiOx core-shell structure with single-crystal Ni2Si core and amorphous silicon oxide shell. The oxide shell is electrically insulating and can be removed by HF etching. Four-terminal electrical measurements show that the single-crystal nanowire has extremely low resistivity of 21 muOmega.cm and is capable of supporting remarkably high failure current density >108 A/cm2. These unique Ni2Si nanowires are very attractive nanoscale building blocks for interconnects and fully silicided (FUSI) gate applications in nanoelectronics.