title: Si nanowires by a single-step metal-assisted chemical etching process on lithographically defined areas: formation kinetics.
abstract: In this paper, we investigate the formation kinetics of Si nanowires [SiNWs] on lithographically defined areas using a single-step metal-assisted chemical etching process in an aqueous HF/AgNO3 solution. We show that the etch rate of Si, and consequently, the SiNW length, is much higher on the lithographically defined areas compared with that on the non-patterned areas. A comparative study of the etch rate in the two cases under the same experimental conditions showed that this effect is much more pronounced at the beginning of the etching process. Moreover, it was found that in both cases, the nanowire formation rate is linear with temperature in the range from 20°C to 50°C, with almost the same activation energy, as obtained from an Arrhenius plot (0.37 eV in the case of non-patterned areas, while 0.38 eV in the case of lithographically patterned areas). The higher etch rate on lithographically defined areas is mainly attributed to Si surface modification during the photolithographic process.PACS: 68; 68.65-k.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microelectronics (IMEL), National Center for Scientific Research (NCSR) Demokritos, Terma Patriarhou Gregoriou, Aghia Paraskevi, Athens, 15310, Greece. A.Nassiopoulou@imel.demokritos.gr.
authors.forename: Androula Galiouna
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Nassiopoulou
authors.forename: Violetta
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gianneta
authors.forename: Charalambos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Katsogridakis
references.citation: Nano Lett. 2009 Apr;9(4):1549-54
references.pmid: 19281253
references.citation: Nat Nanotechnol. 2010 Mar;5(3):225-9
references.pmid: 20173755
references.citation: Adv Mater. 2011 Jan 11;23(2):285-308
references.pmid: 20859941
references.citation: Science. 2001 Aug 17;293(5533):1289-92
references.pmid: 11509722
references.citation: Small. 2006 Jan;2(1):85-8
references.pmid: 17193560
references.citation: Small. 2005 Nov;1(11):1062-7
references.pmid: 17193395
references.citation: Nanotechnology. 2010 Apr 9;21(14):145302
references.pmid: 20215655
references.citation: Chemistry. 2006 Oct 16;12(30):7942-7
references.pmid: 16871502
references.citation: ACS Nano. 2010 Dec 28;4(12):7113-22
references.pmid: 21080685
references.citation: Nanotechnology. 2008 Jun 25;19(25):255703
references.pmid: 21828663
references.citation: Science. 2001 Feb 2;291(5505):851-3
references.pmid: 11157160
references.citation: ACS Nano. 2008 Mar;2(3):429-34
references.pmid: 19206566