title: Incorporation and redistribution of impurities into silicon nanowires during metal-particle-assisted growth.
abstract: The incorporation of metal atoms into silicon nanowires during metal-particle-assisted growth is a critical issue for various nanowire-based applications. Here we have been able to access directly the incorporation and redistribution of metal atoms into silicon nanowires produced by two different processes at growth rates ranging from 3 to 40 nm s(-1), by using laser-assisted atom probe tomography and scanning transmission electron microscopy. We find that the concentration of metal impurities in crystalline silicon nanowires increases with the growth rate and can reach a level of two orders of magnitude higher than that in their equilibrium solubility. Moreover, we demonstrate that the impurities are first incorporated into nanowire volume and then segregate at defects such as the twin planes. A dimer-atom-insertion kinetic model is proposed to account for the impurity incorporation into nanowires.
authors.affiliation: LPICM, CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau 91128, France.
authors.forename: Wanghua
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: 1] LPICM, CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau 91128, France [2] School of Electronics Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
authors.forename: Linwei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: LPICM, CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau 91128, France.
authors.forename: Soumyadeep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Misra
authors.affiliation: LPICM, CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau 91128, France.
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: GPM, CNRS, Université et INSA de Rouen, Saint Etienne du Rouvray 76801, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pareige
authors.affiliation: LPN, CNRS, Marcoussis 91406, France.
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Patriarche
authors.affiliation: LPN, CNRS, Marcoussis 91406, France.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bouchoule
authors.affiliation: LPICM, CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau 91128, France.
authors.forename: Pere
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Roca i Cabarrocas