TEM Investigation of Horizontal-Grown Silicon Nanowires

Abstract

Horizontal silicon nanowires were grown using thermal annealing of thin layers of aluminum on silicon substrates. The template to grow these wires was the thin aluminum layer. As the samples reached the eutectic temperature during annealing, silicon dissolved rapidly in the aluminum layer and deposited at the grain boundary in a form of silicon nanowires. Cross sectional TEM analysis indicated the crystalline structure of these wires.