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Synthetically encoding 10 nm morphology in silicon nanowires
Joseph D Christesen1, Christopher W Pinion, Erik M Grumstrup
1Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3290, United States.
Nano Letters
|November 27, 2013
Summary
Researchers developed a new method to precisely pattern silicon nanowires (Si NWs) into various shapes. This innovation enables advanced applications in plasmonics and nonvolatile memory devices.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Semiconductor Physics
Background:
- Silicon nanowires (Si NWs) are crucial for developing advanced photonic and electronic devices.
- Current fabrication methods often lack the precision to create complex, multi-featured Si NWs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a novel bottom-up approach for synthesizing Si NWs with arbitrary, high-resolution shapes along their growth axis.
- To demonstrate the versatility of this method for creating functional nanostructures.
Main Methods:
- Utilized rapid modulation of phosphorus doping during Si NW growth.
- Employed selective wet-chemical etching to pattern morphological features down to 10 nm.
- Fabricated structures over 50 μm in length.
Main Results:
- Successfully encoded diverse shapes including nanorods, sinusoids, bowties, tapers, nanogaps, and gratings.
- Demonstrated nanogap-encoded NWs as templates for noble metals, creating tunable plasmonic structures.
- Integrated core/shell Si/SiO2 nanorods into electronic devices exhibiting resistive switching for nonvolatile memory.
Conclusions:
- The developed method breaks conventional Si NW symmetry, enabling precise shape control.
- This technique significantly expands the technological potential of Si NWs.
- The approach offers a generic route for encoding new functionalities into semiconductor nanowires.
