Abstract：Large-scale amorphous Si nanowires are prepared by heating the Si substrate at 950-1000°C under the ambient of Ar/H2 (2.5×104Pa) using Ni (or Au) catalyst. The nanowires have a length up to several tens micron and a diameter of 10-40 nm. A solid-liquid-solid (SLS) mechanism is found controlling the nanowire growth. The heating process during SLS growth is studied detailedly using SEM and TEM. Effects of several processing variables such as the pressure, temperature and heating time are investigated individually. The effect of three heating steps is also discussed.
2003, Vol. 25 
