ROLE OF TITANIUM CAPPING LAYER IN AMORPHOUS SILICON NANOWIRE GROWTH BY SOLID-STATE REACTION

Role of titanium capping layer in synthesis of amorphous silicon nanowires by solid-state reaction was studied by Raman spectroscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Silicon nanowires were not grown from 20nm thick nickel film on silicon (100) but grown from 20nm thick nickel film on silicon (100) with 100 nm thick titanium capping layer. The study shows that titanium capping layer plays an important role in formation of Ni–Ti–Si ternary alloy, which acts as a nucleation seed and a promoter for silicon nanowire growth.