Fabrication of Vertical Silicon Nanowire Photodetector Arrays using Nanoimprint Lithography

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is an attractive method for its ability to quickly and cheaply pattern nano-scaled dimensions, and is an enabling technology for patterning large area substrates. The benefits of NIL are demonstrated through its application towards large area nanowire image arrays. In this work, we have fabricated and characterized top down silicon nanowire detector arrays by using UV curing NIL and deep Reactive Ion Etching techniques. Fabricated devices show over 106 gain value at low incident light power, which is comparable to high sensitivity of an e-beam written lithography device. This technology is suitable for fabrication of high density, addressable imager arrays.