title: Controlling Kink Geometry in Nanowires Fabricated by Alternating Metal-Assisted Chemical Etching.
abstract: Kinked silicon (Si) nanowires (NWs) have many special properties that make them attractive for a number of applications, such as microfluidics devices, microelectronic devices, and biosensors. However, fabricating NWs with controlled three-dimensional (3D) geometry has been challenging. In this work, a novel method called alternating metal-assisted chemical etching is reported for the fabrication of kinked Si NWs with controlled 3D geometry. By the use of multiple etchants with carefully selected composition, one can control the number of kinks, their locations, and their angles by controlling the number of etchant alternations and the time in each etchant. The resulting number of kinks equals the number times the etchant is alternated, the length of each segment separated by kinks has a linear relationship with the etching time, and the kinking angle is related to the surface tension and viscosity of the etchants. This facile method may provide a feasible and economical way to fabricate novel silicon nanowires, nanostructures, and devices for broad applications.
authors.affiliation: School of Electromechanical Engineering and Key Laboratory of Mechanical Equipment Manufacturing & Control Technology, Guangdong University of Technology , Guangzhou, 510006, China.|School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , 711 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , 711 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States.
authors.forename: Liyi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , 711 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States.|School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southeast University , Nanjing, 211189, China.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , 711 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States.
authors.forename: Chia-Chi
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Tuan
authors.affiliation: School of Electromechanical Engineering and Key Laboratory of Mechanical Equipment Manufacturing & Control Technology, Guangdong University of Technology , Guangzhou, 510006, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Electromechanical Engineering and Key Laboratory of Mechanical Equipment Manufacturing & Control Technology, Guangdong University of Technology , Guangzhou, 510006, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , 711 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States.|School of Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong , Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Ching-Ping
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3556-8053
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D008863:Microspheres; D036103:Nanotechnology; D053770:Nanowires / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D055585:Physical Phenomena; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000737:chemistry; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D011137:Polystyrenes; D006046:Gold; D014025:Titanium; D012825:Silicon
keywords: Kinked nanowires; alternating MACE; controlling kink geometry