Synthesis of Au-catalyzed silicon nanowires by hydrogen radical-assisted deposition method

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) catalyzed by gold (Au) nanoparticles were synthesized from silane gas by the hydrogen radical-assisted deposition method. The gold particles used as catalyst were fabricated from an evaporated Au film on a glass substrate by hydrogen radical treatment and the structural properties were estimated. Subsequently, large quantities of SiNWs with various crystal diffraction phases were synthesized on this substrate. The SiNWs were whisker-like and were typically several microns long with diameters of tens of nanometers near the bottom and several nanometers at the top. Hydrogen radical treatments for fabricating catalyst particles and the subsequent deposition method for synthesizing SiNWs are proposed and discussed.