Selective patterned growth of silicide nanowires without the use of metal catalysts

A simple method for patterned growth and assembly of FeSi nanowires onto a silicon substrate without the use of metal catalyst was investigated. The general nature of the silicide nanowire growth mechanism will allow for the patterning of many other transition metal silicide nanowires. A photoresist was spin-coated onto a Si substrate coated with 100 nm SiO2. The regions in which nanowire growth is required, is exposed and developed using standard photolithography. Tapping mode atomic force microscopy was used to prove the differentiation quantitatively and to show the sharp height contrast between the thick and thin regions. The result showed that the ability to selectively grow nanowires in controlled locations is important for applications such as biological nanosensing, optical electronic detection and light emitting diodes.