title: Chemically Engraving Semiconductor Nanowires: Using Three-Dimensional Nanoscale Morphology to Encode Functionality from the Bottom Up.
abstract: The patterning of semiconductors with nanometer-scale precision is a cornerstone of modern technology. Top-down methods, ranging from photolithography to focused-ion beam milling, are typically used to fabricate complex nanostructures. In this Perspective, we discuss an alternative bottom-up method to encode similar high-resolution morphology in semiconductor nanowires (NWs). This process, termed ENGRAVE for "Encoded Nanowire GRowth and Appearance through VLS and Etching", combines fast modulation of nanowire composition during vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth with composition-dependent wet-chemical etching. This method produces cylindrically symmetric structures in which the diameter is modulated on a sub-10 nm axial length scale. The process can produce patterns that range from periodic, centrosymmetric to nonperiodic, asymmetric structures, including gratings, fractals, tapers, ratchets, sinusoids, nanogaps, and nanodots. We discuss the prospect for the ENGRAVE process to become a complementary method of lithographic-like patterning that encodes unique morphologies and physical properties in semiconductors for a range of technologies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3290, United States.
authors.forename: Joseph D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Christesen
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3290, United States.
authors.forename: Christopher W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Pinion
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3290, United States.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3290, United States.
authors.forename: Seokhyoung
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3290, United States.
authors.forename: James F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Cahoon