Si nanowires synthesized with Cu catalyst

The metal copper which is a newly developed interconnecting material for integrated circuit (IC) has been used as the catalyst to catalyze the formation of the Si nanowires in high temperature tube furnace. The growth direction of the straight Si nanowires is <111> and the polyhedron η″-Cu₃Si alloy is on the tip of the Si nanowires. The synthesis temperature of the Si nanowires is 500 °C. Such a low temperature implies that the vapor-solid (VS) should be the growth method. The cheap Cu catalyst is favorable for the mass synthesis of Si nanowires.