Coaxial metal-silicide Ni2Si/C54-TiSi2 nanowires.

One-dimensional metal silicide nanowires are excellent candidates for interconnect and contact materials in future integrated circuits devices. Novel core–shell Ni2Si/C54-TiSi2 nanowires, 2 μm in length, were grown controllably via a solid–liquid–solid growth mechanism. Their interesting ferromagnetic behaviors and excellent electrical properties have been studied in detail. The coercivities (Hcs) of the core–shell Ni2Si/C54-TiSi2 nanowires was determined to be 200 and 50 Oe at 4 and 300 K, respectively, and the resistivity was measured to be as low as 31 μΩ-cm. The shift of the hysteresis loop with the temperature in zero field cooled (ZFC) and field cooled (FC) studies was found. ZFC and FC curves converge near room temperature at 314 K. The favorable ferromagnetic and electrical properties indicate that the unique core–shell nanowires can be used in penetrative ferromagnetic devices at room temperature simultaneously as a future interconnection in integrated circuits.