Indium nanowires at the silicon surface

Conductive indium nanowires up to 50 nm in width and up to 10 μm in length are fabricated on the surface of silicon by local resputtering from the probe of an atomic-force microscope. The transfer of indium from the probe of the atomic-force microscope onto the silicon surface is initiated by applying a potential between the probe and the surface as they approach each other to spacings, at which the mutual repulsive force is ~10–7 N. The conductivity of the nanowires ranges from 7 × 10–3 to 4 × 10–2 Ω cm, which is several orders of magnitude lower than that in the case of the alternative technique of heat transfer.