Energy and matter-efficient size-selective growth of thin quantum wires in a plasma.
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Ostrikov, K.; Mehdipour, H.
- Source
- Applied Physics Letters. 1/17/2011, Vol. 98 Issue 3, p033104. 3p. 1 Diagram, 3 Graphs.
- Subject
- *FORCE & energy
*CRYSTAL growth
*NANOWIRES
*PLASMA gases
*NUCLEATION
*METAL catalysts
*TEMPERATURE effect
- Language
- ISSN
- 0003-6951
It is shown that plasmas can minimize the adverse Gibbs-Thompson effect in thin quantum wire growth. The model of Si nanowire nucleation includes the unprecedented combination of the plasma sheath, ion- and radical-induced species creation and heating effects on the surface and within an Au catalyst nanoparticle. Compared to neutral gas thermal processes, much thinner, size-selective wires can nucleate at the same temperature and pressure while much lower energy and matter budget is needed to grow same-size wires. This explains the experimental observations and may lead to energy- and matter-efficient synthesis of a broader range of one-dimensional quantum structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]