Abstract
Silicon nanowires (Si-NWs) have been extensively studied for their numerous applications in nano-electronics. The most common method for their synthesis is the vapor–liquid–solid growth, using gold as catalyst. After the growth, the metal remains on the Si-NW tip, representing an important issue, because Au creates deep traps in the Si band gap that deteriorate the device performance. The methods proposed so far to remove Au offer low efficiency, strongly oxidize the Si-NW sidewalls, or produce structural damage. A physical and chemical characterization of the as-grown Si-NWs is presented. A thin shell covering the Au tip and acting as a barrier is found. The chemical composition of this layer is investigated through high resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) coupled with chemical analysis; its formation mechanism is discussed in terms of atomic interdiffusion phenomena, driven by the heating/cooling processes taking place inside the eutectic-Si-NW system. Based on the knowledge acquired, a new efficient etching procedure is developed. The characterization after the chemical etching is also performed to monitor the removal process and the Si-NWs morphological characteristics, demonstrating the efficiency of the proposed method and the absence of modifications in the nanostructure.
Highlights
Silicon nanowires (Si-NWs) have drawn increasing attention for decades because of their notable electrical and optical properties [1,2]
It is known that NWs grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using Au as catalyst tend to preferentially grow with three directions with respect to the (100) substrate, i.e., , , and depending on the NWs diameter, that match to 54◦, 45◦, and 18.4◦, respectively [46]
The effectiveness of the most common chemical etching processes used so far are assessed, and their poor efficiency is attributed to the presence of an unwanted and conformal layer observed over Au dots, passivating the catalyst metal dots with respect to the action of the etchant solution
Summary
Silicon nanowires (Si-NWs) have drawn increasing attention for decades because of their notable electrical and optical properties [1,2]. Among the several types of CVD systems, the plasma-based ones are more promising because they spend lower thermal budgets compared to the others, as well as allow accurate control of process parameters, a fundamental aspect in industrial production [4,18,19,20]. For this reason, they are already present in the semiconductor fabs. Other CVD advantages are the atomically flat surface, the very high aspect ratios, and few crystallographic defects
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