Thermodynamics of Silicon Nanowire Growth under Unintended Oxidation of Catalytic Particles

Figure 2

(a) SEM image of Si NWs grown with the participation of catalytic particles of Cu on a {111} silicon substrate in two stages: first, in a stream purified from the presence of oxygen to a concentration of 10⁻⁵% (volume) and then in a stream containing 5 × 10⁻³% (volume) О₂; (b) an electron-diffraction pattern characterizing the amorphous state of the oxide surface layer of a Ti-droplet; (c) stable growth of NWs in the Cu-Si system upon resumption of the growth process after dry etching in a gaseous HCl stream in a molecular stream purified from the presence of oxygen to a concentration of 10⁻⁵% (volume).

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(b)

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