Vapor-liquid-solid growth of silicon nanowires by chemical vapor deposition on implanted templates

We show the realization of a distinctive nanoscale metal template for the vapor-liquid-solid growth of semiconductor nanowires. The template is based on the high-dose implantation of metal ions into silicon substrates and subsequent annealing upon which the atoms agglomerate. In case the wafer is amorphized at the surface upon implantation and the metal atoms reside within the amorphized part of the wafer, a high diffusion coefficient (holds for Au) of the metal atoms in amorphous silicon (compared to crystalline silicon) yields agglomeration of metal atoms at the wafer surface and the formation of supercritical metal nanoparticles. We show the implantation of gold (dose at least 1x10(16) cm(-2)) and discuss the option to use this type of template formation with other metals, such as gallium, indium, aluminum, and palladium, which are partly easy to be oxidized. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.