Silicon nanowire growth by electron beam evaporation: Kinetic and energetic contributions to the growth morphology

Abstract

The vertical and epitaxial growth of long (up to a few microns) silicon nanowires on Si(1 1 1) substrates by electron beam evaporation (EBE) (10 −6–10 −7 mbar) is demonstrated at temperatures between 600 and 700 °C following the vapour–liquid–solid (VLS) growth mechanism from gold nanoparticles. The silicon atoms are provided by evaporating silicon at varying evaporation currents ( I E) between 35 and 80 mA, which results in growth rates between 1 and 100 nm/min. The growth peculiarities in the interaction triangle, evaporation current ( I E), growth temperature ( T S) and gold layer thickness ( d Au) will be reported. Kinetic and energetic contributions to the morphology of silicon nanowires will be discussed.