Growth and Structure of Silicon Fibers

Abstract

Silicon fibers were grown by thermal decomposition of silane at temperatures of 580°–700°C on a silicon substrate which had been contaminated by dust in air or aluminum in solution. They were a few ten microns in length and a few thousand angstroms in diameter for a growth time of 3 min. According to electron‐diffraction analyses, the fiber is composed of an almost single crystalline pith grown in the direction of <110> by VLS mechanism and an amorphous shell deposited around it.