Suppression of the vapor-liquid-solid growth of silicon nanowires by antimony addition

The effect of Sb addition on the growth rate and structural properties of Si nanowires synthesized by vapor-liquid-solid growth was investigated. The nanowire growth rate was reduced by an order of magnitude following the addition of a low concentration pulse of trimethylantimony (TMSb) to the gas phase during growth. Transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed that the wires had a thick amorphous coating (similar to 8 nm) around the catalyst particle and a distorted catalyst shape. Energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy showed the presence of trace amounts of Sb in the amorphous coating around the catalyst and at the catalyst-wire interface. Antimony was also found to be incorporated in the Si nanowires with a peak in the Sb concentration measured at the initial point where the TMSb pulse was added to the gas stream. The significant reduction in wire growth rate was attributed to Sb segregation at the vapor-liquid and liquid-solid interfaces which results in a change in interfacial energies and a reduction in the rate of Si incorporation at these interfaces.