Synthesis of nano-scale silicon wires by excimer laser ablation at high temperature

We report below synthesis of nano-scale silicon wires by using laser ablation at high temperature. By this approach we have been able to produce silicon nano wires (SiNW's) with a very high yield, a uniform diameter distribution and a high purity. The structure, morphology and chemical composition of the SiNWs have been characterized by using high resolution X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution electron microscopy (HREM), as well as spectroscopy of energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDAX). Our results should be of great interest to researchers working on mesoscopic physical phenomena, such as quantum confinement effects related to materials of reduced dimensions and should lead to the development of new applications for nano-scale devices, together with providing a powerful method for synthesis of similar one-dimensional conducting and semi-conducting wire. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.