Temperature profile and pressure effect on the growth of silicon nanowires

The excess temperature at the tip of silicon nanowires during their growth is calculated and found to be generally low. Therefore the special adhesive property of the tip cannot be explained by the excess temperature. The effect of surface tension is analyzed and we found that it cannot cause a significant lowering of melting point at the tip. Based on the charge-assisted mechanism proposed earlier by us, we note that charge accumulation at the tip results in a strong negative pressure. We propose that this is the key force driving the nanowire to have only one-dimensional growth. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.