Electrical Contacts on Silicon Nanowires Produced by Metal-Assisted Etching: a Comparative Approach.

L D’Ortenzi,M Fretto,L Boarino,S J Rezvani,E Cara,S Kara,R Monsù

doi:10.1186/s11671-016-1689-x

Abstract

Silicon nanowires fabricated by metal-assisted chemical etching can present low porosity and a rough surface depending on the doping level of the original silicon wafer. In this case, wiring of silicon nanowires may represent a challenging task. We investigated two different approaches to realize the electrical contacts in order to enable electrical measurement on a rough silicon nanowire device: we compared FIB-assisted platinum deposition for the fabrication of electrical contact with EBL technique.

Highlights

In the last decades, the study and the development of onedimensional structures such as silicon nanowires (SiNWs) has produced a great interest in the scientific community
The techniques used to synthesize nanowires are many, and among all, our study refers to the combination supramolecular self-assembly of polystyrene nanospheres and metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) [11, 12], a technique based on electroless etching of silicon in the presence of a noble metal acting as a catalyst [13]
A crystalline order was revealed with a transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis (Fig. 1), the presence of pores in the nanowire structure cannot be excluded

Summary

Introduction

The study and the development of onedimensional structures such as silicon nanowires (SiNWs) has produced a great interest in the scientific community. The techniques used to synthesize nanowires are many, and among all, our study refers to the combination supramolecular self-assembly of polystyrene nanospheres and metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) [11, 12], a technique based on electroless etching of silicon in the presence of a noble metal acting as a catalyst [13]. With this approach, it is possible to fabricate ordered wires with a well-defined diameter and spatial distribution.

Methods

Results

Conclusion