title: Integration of thin-film-fracture-based nanowires into microchip fabrication.
abstract: One-step device fabrication through the integration of nanowires (NWs) into silicon microchips is still under intensive scientific study as it has proved difficult to obtain a reliable and controllable fabrication technique. So far, the techniques are either costly or suffer from small throughput. Recently, a cost-effective method based on thin-film fracture that can be used as a template for NW fabrication was suggested. Here, a way to integrate NWs between microcontacts is demonstrated. Different geometries of microstructured photoresist formed by using standard photolithography are analyzed. Surprisingly, a very simple "stripe" geometry is found to yield highly reproducible fracture patterns, which are convenient templates for fault-tolerant NW fabrication. Microchips containing integrated Au, Pd, Ni, and Ti NWs and their suitability for studies of conductivity and oxidation behavior are reported, and their suitability as a hydrogen sensor is investigated. Details of the fabrication process are also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Functional Nanomaterials, Institut for Materials Science, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kaiserstrasse 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Seid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jebril
authors.forename: Mady
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Elbahri
authors.forename: Getachew
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Titazu
authors.forename: Kittitat
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Subannajui
authors.forename: Samia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Essa
authors.forename: Florentina
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Niebelschütz
authors.forename: Claus-Christian
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Röhlig
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cimalla
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ambacher
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Debdulal
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kabiraj
authors.forename: Devesh
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Avasti
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Adelung
mesh_terms: D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D053770:Nanowires / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009532:Nickel / Q000737:chemistry; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010165:Palladium / Q000737:chemistry; D010316:Particle Size; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D010165:Palladium; D006046:Gold; D009532:Nickel; D014025:Titanium