Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2026
08:12
Ohmic Contact Fabrication Using a Focused-ion Beam Technique and Electrical Characterization for Layer Semiconductor Nanostructures
Published on: December 5, 2015
Lateral, Ge, nanowire growth on SiO2
Nathaniel J Quitoriano1, Theodore I Kamins
1Information and Quantum Systems Laboratory, Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA.
Nanotechnology
|January 8, 2011
Summary
Researchers guided high-quality germanium nanowire (Ge NW) growth on a silicon dioxide surface, enabling them to bridge between silicon mesas with epitaxial interfaces. This advances semiconductor device fabrication.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Semiconductor Physics
Background:
- Vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) nanowire (NW) growth typically occurs along the [111] crystallographic direction.
- Previous work demonstrated guided silicon (Si) NW growth in the [110] direction on SiO(2) surfaces.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate guided, high-quality germanium (Ge) nanowire growth on a SiO(2) surface.
- To achieve Ge NW growth in the substrate plane, bridging between two Si mesas.
- To investigate the interface quality between Ge NWs and Si mesas.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mechanism.
- Engineered growth conditions to guide Ge NWs on a SiO(2) surface.
- Fabricated Si mesas as endpoints for Ge NW bridging.
- Analyzed the Ge NW-Si mesa interfaces using advanced characterization techniques.
Main Results:
- Successfully demonstrated guided Ge nanowire growth on a SiO(2) surface.
- Achieved Ge NW growth in the substrate plane, connecting two Si mesas.
- Reported high-quality, epitaxial interfaces between the Ge NWs and the Si device-layer mesas.
Conclusions:
- Guided VLS growth is a viable method for fabricating Ge NWs with controlled orientation.
- Epitaxial interfaces between Ge NWs and Si mesas are achievable, crucial for device integration.
- This work provides a pathway for developing novel Ge-based semiconductor devices.
