Morphology and composition of silica nanowires synthesized on indium and tin catalysts

Abstract

Silicon nanowires were synthesized by electron beam plasmaenhanced chemical vapor deposition. The synthesis was carried out using indium and tin catalyst with an average particle size of 100 and 660 nm, respectively, in the temperature range 100-270 °C for indium and 200-335 °C for tin. The minimum (optimum) temperature was found at which an oriented array of microropes was formed. This temperature was 200 °C for indium and 335 °C for tin. In addition, it was found that the formation of individual microropes on the tin catalyst occurred at a temperature lower than the eutectic temperature (232 °C). For indium, this effect was not observed. The silica nanowires synthesized on both catalysts consist of SiOx with x ranging from 1.9 to 2 for all temperatures.