New approach to the growth of SiOx nanowire bunch using Au catalyst and SiNx film on Si substrate

SiOx nanowire bunches were fabricated on a SiNx film with Au catalytic metal in the presence of an Ar flow of 50 sccm at 1150 °C. The resulting samples were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. A SiNx film serves as a barrier to the diffusion of Si atoms from the Si substrate to the catalytic Au metal, where a substrate is a Si source material for SiOx nanowire (NW) growth. Using this process, we could temporally control the initial growth step of SiOx NWs and easily grow the NW bunch.