Localized synthesis of silicon nanowires

Localized resistive heating of microstructures has been used to activate vapor-deposition synthesis of silicon nanowires in a room-temperature chamber. The process is localized, selective, scalable and compatible with on-chip microelectronics and, in addition, removes necessity of post-synthesis assembly of nanowires to accomplish integrated nano-electromechanical systems. Synthesized nanowires with dimensions of 30-80 nm in diameter and up to 10 /spl mu/m in length have been successfully demonstrated and growth rates of up to 1/spl mu/m/min have been observed. This new class of manufacturing method enables direct integration of nanotechnology with larger-scale systems for potential sensing and actuation applications.