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Aluminum-enhanced sharpening of silicon nanocones

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Abstract

Here we report on the fabrication of high-density aligned Si nanotip arrays by chemical vapor deposition followed by dry oxidation and an etching treatment. The dry oxidation investigations indicated that Al-catalyst particles located at the tip of Si nanocones enhance their sharpening. This oxidation behavior is quite different from that of Au-catalyzed Si nanowires and is more favorable to form very sharp Si nanotips. Field emission from an individual Si nanotip showed good field-emission characteristic with a high emission current density of 1×104 A/cm2 because of its sharp tip geography, suggesting their potential application for field emitters. Our work provides an effective approach to fabricate high-density Si nanotip arrays, which overcomes some problems in the conventional fabrication approaches, such as high cost, poor controllability, and complicated process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, P.R. China

    Yewu Wang

  2. Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, Weinberg 2, 06120, Halle, Germany

    Yewu Wang, Jan Bauer, Stephan Senz, Otwin Breitenstein & Ulrich Gösele

Authors
  1. Yewu Wang
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  2. Jan Bauer
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  3. Stephan Senz
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  4. Otwin Breitenstein
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  5. Ulrich Gösele
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yewu Wang.

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In the memory of Prof. Ulrich Gösele (deceased).

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Wang, Y., Bauer, J., Senz, S. et al. Aluminum-enhanced sharpening of silicon nanocones. Appl. Phys. A 99, 705–709 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-010-5751-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-010-5751-8

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