Point Defect Configurations of Supersaturated Au Atoms Inside Si Nanowires

Abstract

Aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) is used to reveal individual Au atom configurations inside Si nanowires grown by Au-catalyzed vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) molecular beam epitaxy (MBE).We identify a substitutional and three distinct interstitial configurations, one of which has not been previously identified. We confirm the stability of the observed point defect configurations by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The observed number densities of the various configurations are in accord with their calculated formation energies. The concentration of Au atoms is larger than the solubility limit, but the effect may be caused by the STEM beam.

Carbon-assisted nucleation and vertical growth of high-quality ZnO nanowire arrays

“…The main disadvantage of using metal catalysts is that the catalysts, such as Au may contaminate the NWs. 12 In addition, the high cost of these special substrates limits the mass production of ZnO NWs for potential applications.…”

“…We have not observed any catalysts at the tips of the ZnO NWs, suggesting a self-catalytic growth. The HRTEM image recorded along the zone axis [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] of a NW is shown in Figure 1(d). Obviously, these ZnO NWs were structurally uniform and no crystalline defects, such as dislocations and stacking faults were observed.…”

Fabrication and Characterization of Dodecyl-derivatized Silicon Nanowires for Preventing Aggregation

“…In recent years, many synthesis techniques for the silicon nanowires (SiNWs) have been developed. [15][16][17][18][19][20] Since silicon is a very important semiconductor material, Si NWs have attracted tremendous research interest due to their potential applications in the microelectronic industry. The fabrication of SiNWs can be achieved through the metal catalyzed growth, known as vapor-liquid-solid growth, 15 chemical vapor deposition or physical vapor deposition methods, 16 or electron beam evaporation.…”

ZnO Nanorods: Synthesis by Catalyst-Free CVD and Thermal Growth from Salt Composites and Application to Nanodevices

“…Aligned ZnO nanocrystal arrays on substrates are commonly grown using thin metal film as a catalyst for 1D growth and different methods, such as vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) process (Zhao et al, 2003), metal-52 organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) or sol-gel process (Krumeich et al, 1999). The drawback to this method is that the nanocrystals may be contaminated with the catalyst (Collins et al, 1957 andOh et al 2008). Moreover, catalyst particles as a rule remain on the tips of the grown zinc oxide nanocrystals J.…”