Templated cluster assembly for production of metallic nanowires in passivated silicon V-grooves

Wires with meso-scale and nano-scale widths have been fabricated using a novel templated cluster assembly technique. Soft-landed Sb clusters are assembled into wires at the apexes of V-grooves (widths 2-7 µm) formed in Si substrates using anisotropic KOH etching. Two methods for forming nano-wires using templated cluster assembly have been demonstrated. Depending on the chosen method of wire formation, the Si V-grooved substrates are either thermally passivated with SiO2, or passivated with SiO2 and then coated with evaporated Ti/Au. On passivated substrates, the metallic wires are formed directly by aggregation of the Sb clusters. On metallised substrates, Ar-plasma etching was used to remove the Ti/Au film around the Sb cluster wires to produce nano-scale width (~100 nm) Ti/Au wires. Following a selective wet chemical etch, Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis confirmed the complete removal of the Sb cluster assembled mask from the substrate, and the presence of Au wires within the passivated V-grooves.