Ordered silicon microwire arrays grown from substrates patterned using imprint lithography and electrodeposition

Silicon microwires grown by the vapor-liquid-solid process have attracted a great deal of interest as potential light absorbers for solar energy conversion. However, the research-scale techniques that have been demonstrated to produce ordered arrays of micro and nanowires may not be optimal for use as high-throughput processes needed for large-scale manufacturing. Herein we demonstrate the use of microimprint lithography to fabricate patterned templates for the confinement of an electrodeposited Cu catalyst for the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth of Si microwires. A reusable polydimethylsiloxane stamp was used to pattern holes in silica sol-gels on silicon substrates, and the Cu catalyst was electrodeposited into the holes. Ordered arrays of crystalline p-type Si microwires were grown across the sol-gel-patterned substrates with materials quality and performance comparable to microwires fabricated with high-purity metal catalysts and cleanroom processing.