Silicon Nanowires Synthesis by Metal-Assisted Chemical Etching: A Review

Leonardi, Antonio Alessio; Faro, Maria Josè Lo; Irrera, Alessia

doi:10.3390/nano11020383

Cited by 68 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 152 publications

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“…As sketched in Figure 1 c, this approach permits us to realize large-scale high-density Si NWs with a p-n junction inside each NW. All the reported Si NWs are about 2.2 µm long and with a huge Si NW density of about 10 12 NWs/cm 2 [ 22 ], a crucial point for all the applications.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, 1D nanostructures couple the nanomaterials’ advantages with a fabrication compatible with the typical flat architectures of the silicon industry. The approaches used for Si NW realization have a crucial impact on the final performances in all these application fields and determine the final device cost [ 22 ]. This makes the research on a novel and flexible approach that can push the Si NW performance a crucial point for Si NW-based devices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All these issues characterize the demand for novel flexible fabrication methods that can allow a cost-effective realization of high-quality Si NWs with great control on doping and in-plane geometry. In recent years, metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) arose as an innovative anisotropic wet etching method able to promote a cost-effective, large-scalable, and microelectronics-compatible fabrication [ 22 , 25 , 26 ]. In this approach, highly electronegative metals are used to catalyze and drive the Si etching at room temperature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cost-Effective Fabrication of Fractal Silicon Nanowire Arrays

et al. 2021

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Silicon nanowires (Si NWs) emerged in several application fields as a strategic element to surpass the bulk limits with a flat compatible architecture. The approaches used for the Si NW realization have a crucial impact on their final performances and their final cost. This makes the research on a novel and flexible approach for Si NW fabrication a crucial point for Si NW-based devices. In this work, the novelty is the study of the flexibility of thin film metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) for the fabrication of Si NWs with the possibility of realizing different doped Si NWs, and even a longitudinal heterojunction p-n inside the same single wire. This point has never been reported by using thin metal film MACE. In particular, we will show how this approach permits one to obtain a high density of vertically aligned Si NWs with the same doping of the substrate and without any particular constraint on doping type and level. Fractal arrays of Si NWs can be fabricated without any type of mask thanks to the self-assembly of gold at percolative conditions. This Si NW fractal array can be used as a substrate to realize controllable artificial fractals, integrating other interesting elements with a cost-effective microelectronics compatible approach.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cost-Effective Fabrication of Fractal Silicon Nanowire Arrays

et al. 2021

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“…This class of sensors shows great potentiality in biological studies involving DNA base mismatch permitting to resolve even a single base mismatch compared to the complementary target. These Si NW-based light-emitting sensors can be realized with low-cost approaches [96,[142][143][144] coupling improved performances to the interest of a Si-based platform and so resulting very interesting for DNA detection and studies.…”

Section: Fluorescent Sensors With Si Nw As a Quenchermentioning

confidence: 99%

Fluorescent Biosensors Based on Silicon Nanowires

et al. 2021

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Nanostructures are arising as novel biosensing platforms promising to surpass current performance in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, and affordability of standard approaches. However, for several nanosensors, the material and synthesis used make the industrial transfer of such technologies complex. Silicon nanowires (NWs) are compatible with Si-based flat architecture fabrication and arise as a hopeful solution to couple their interesting physical properties and surface-to-volume ratio to an easy commercial transfer. Among all the transduction methods, fluorescent probes and sensors emerge as some of the most used approaches thanks to their easy data interpretation, measure affordability, and real-time in situ analysis. In fluorescent sensors, Si NWs are employed as substrate and coupled with several fluorophores, NWs can be used as quenchers in stem-loop configuration, and have recently been used for direct fluorescent sensing. In this review, an overview on fluorescent sensors based on Si NWs is presented, analyzing the literature of the field and highlighting the advantages and drawbacks for each strategy.

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“…Moreover, very high densities of Si NWs (10 12 NWs/cm 2 ) can be obtained in a few minutes. By varying the thickness of the Au deposited, it is possible to control the average diameter and to obtain Si NWs with quantum confinement and PL at RT [ 63 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultrathin Silicon Nanowires for Optical and Electrical Nitrogen Dioxide Detection

et al. 2021

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The ever-stronger attention paid to enhancing safety in the workplace has led to novel sensor development and improvement. Despite the technological progress, nanostructured sensors are not being commercially transferred due to expensive and non-microelectronic compatible materials and processing approaches. In this paper, the realization of a cost-effective sensor based on ultrathin silicon nanowires (Si NWs) for the detection of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is reported. A modification of the metal-assisted chemical etching method allows light-emitting silicon nanowires to be obtained through a fast, low-cost, and industrially compatible approach. NO2 is a well-known dangerous gas that, even with a small concentration of 3 ppm, represents a serious hazard for human health. We exploit the particular optical and electrical properties of these Si NWs to reveal low NO2 concentrations through their photoluminescence (PL) and resistance variations reaching 2 ppm of NO2. Indeed, these Si NWs offer a fast response and reversibility with both electrical and optical transductions. Despite the macro contacts affecting the electrical transduction, the sensing performances are of high interest for further developments. These promising performances coupled with the scalable Si NW synthesis could unfold opportunities for smaller sized and better performing sensors reaching the market for environmental monitoring.

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Silicon Nanowires Synthesis by Metal-Assisted Chemical Etching: A Review

Cited by 68 publications

References 152 publications

Cost-Effective Fabrication of Fractal Silicon Nanowire Arrays

Cost-Effective Fabrication of Fractal Silicon Nanowire Arrays

Fluorescent Biosensors Based on Silicon Nanowires

Ultrathin Silicon Nanowires for Optical and Electrical Nitrogen Dioxide Detection

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