Abstract
Low-cost fabrication methods enabling the morphological control of silicon nanowires are of great importance in many device application fields. A top-down fabrication method, metal-assisted chemical etching, is proved to be a feasible solution. In this paper, some novel approaches based on metal-assisted chemical etching, alkaline solution etching, and electrochemical anodic etching are presented for fabricating micro- and nano-structures, which reveal the anisotropic characteristics of metal-assisted chemical etching in silicon. A new model is proposed to explain the motility behavior of Ag particles in metal-assisted chemical etching of silicon. It is shown that Ag particle forms a self-electrophoresis unit and migrates into Si substrate along [100] direction independently. Diameter and length control of silicon nanowires are achieved by varying Ag deposition and etching durations of metal-assisted chemical etching, respectively, which provide a facilitation to achieve high-aspect-ratio silicon nanowires at room temperature in a short period. These results show a potential simple method to microstructure silicon for devices application, such as solar cells and sensors.
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Acknowledgements
This work was mostly supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2012CB934200), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Contract Nos. 50990064, 61076009, 61204002).
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Liu, K., Qu, S., Zhang, X. et al. Anisotropic characteristics and morphological control of silicon nanowires fabricated by metal-assisted chemical etching. J Mater Sci 48, 1755–1762 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-012-6936-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-012-6936-7