Growth Characteristics of Amorphous Silicon Oxide Nanowires Synthesized via Annealing of Ni/SiO2/Si Substrates

Abstract

mixed gas. A pre-oxidized silicon waferand a nickel film are used as the substrate and catalyst, respectively. We propose two distinctive growth modesfor the silicon oxide nanowires that both act as a unique solid-liquid-solid growth process. We named the twogrowth mechanisms “grounded-growth” and “branched-growth” modes to characterize their unique solid-liquid-solid growth behavior. The two growth modes were classified by the generation site of the nanowires.The grounded-growth mode in which the grown nanowires are generated from the substrate and the branched-growth mode where the nanowires are grown from the side of the previously grown nanowires or at the metalcatalyst drop attached at the tip of the nanowire stem.Key Words : Silicon oxide, Nanowires, Solid-Liquid-Solid, Vapor-Liquid-Solid, Growth behaviorIntroductionIn the past decade, the one-dimensional nanostructure hasreceived much attention not only because of its nanoscalesize but also its novel properties, variable morphologies, andextraordinary applications.