Controlled formation of individually seeded, electrically addressable silicon nanowire arrays for device integration

The formation of large-scale arrays of individually seeded, electrically addressable Si nanowires with controlled dimension, placement, and orientation is demonstrated. Electron beam evaporated gold nanoparticles were used for nanowire synthesis. By controlling the lithography and metal deposition conditions, nanowire arrays with narrow size distributions have been achieved. Low-energy postgrowth ion beam treatment has been utilized to control the orientation of Si nanowires. This process also leads to the attachment of nanowires on the substrate. Fabrication of planar devices with robust metal contact formation becomes feasible. The method enables efficient and economical integration of nanowires into device architectures for various applications. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.