Synthesis of 3C-SiC nanowhiskers and emission of visible photoluminescence

Single-crystal 3C-SiC nanowhiskers with [111] axial orientation have been synthesized directly on an Si substrate with a large area and high surface density. The nanowhiskers were grown into the Si substrate like a foundation pile by using an Fe film as a catalyst in a microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition system. Most of the whiskers were cylinder shaped with a circular cross section, while some of the whiskers had cross sections in the shapes of squares, rectangles, triangles, and hexagons. The nanowhiskers possessed visible photoluminescence at room temperature and blueshift effect depending on the whisker diameter. These results offer interesting prospects for the fabrication of an Si-based light emitter through the visible wavelength regions. The synthesis process should allow for the development of nanowhisker devices integrated into Si technology. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.