Plasmon-loss imaging of chains of crystalline-silicon nanospheres and silicon nanowires

Nanostructures in chains of crystalline-silicon nanospheres and silicon nanowires were investigated using energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Observation of the shape of the silicon nanospheres in the chains provided the direct evidence that the chains were formed via the surface oxidation process, which may preferentially work at the necks. The diverse nanostructures in silicon nanowires were revealed, and we found smooth-shaped wires which have periodically modulated silicon cores. Nanostructures in wire-chain transition regions were also investigated for the first time. The wire-chain transition is not a simple junction of a silicon nanowire and a chain of silicon nanospheres, but has a periodically modulated silicon core in the wire region near the transition position.