Control of verticality and (111) orientation of In-catalyzed silicon nanowires grown in the vapour–liquid–solid mode for nanoscale device applications

Abstract

Vertically aligned silicon nanowires (Si NWs) with (111) orientation were developed using the vapor–liquid–solid growth mode with control of the interface between the In nanodroplets (In NDs) and the Si substrate. We found that the contact angle of the In NDs is critical for the growth of vertically aligned Si NWs. The diameter of the Si NWs was also scaled down to 18 nm.