Low-temperature synthesis of Si nanowires using multizone chemical vapor deposition methods

With a multitemperature zone chemical vapor deposition reactor, silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were synthesized at temperatures below the Au–Si eutectic point, with Au nanoparticles as the growth seeds. Nanoparticle seeds with diameters less than 60nm were used to grow NWs at temperatures below 350°C. A strong dependence on the growth rate with the synthesis temperature and the size of the Au nanoparticle seeds was observed. With 10nm particles, SiNWs were reproducibly synthesized at a temperature of 290°C. We suggest that the governing role for the synthesis lies in the diffusion of Si feeding into the growth seeds.