Growth of Si nanowires on micropillars for the study of their
dopant distribution by atom probe tomography
Published 18 November 2008 / ©
2008 American Vacuum Society.
T. Xu, J. P. Nys, B. Grandidier,a and D. Stiévenard
Institut d’Electronique, de
Microélectronique et de Nanotechnologie (IEMN), CNRS UMR 8520,
Département ISEN, 41 bd Vauban, 59046 Lille Cedex, France
Y. Coffinier and R. Boukherroub
Institut de Recherche
Interisciplinaire (IRI), CNRS USR 3078, c/o IEMN, Cité
Scientifique, BP 60069,
59652 Villeneuve d’Ascq, France
R. Larde, E. Cadel, and P. Pareige
Groupe de Physique des Matériaux,
Université de Rouen, CNRS UMR 6634, Av. de l’Université, BP 12,
76801 Saint Etienne du Rouvray, France
Abstract
This article reports on the growth of Au islands on the Si
111 surface as a function of the Au evaporation rate and the
temperature of the surface in ultrahigh vacuum. By controlling
the density of the Au islands and their size, it is possible to
subsequently grow single vertically oriented Si nanowires on top
of 111-oriented silicon micropillar and analyze their chemical
composition at the atomic scale with the femtosecond laser
assisted tomographic atom probe. Three-dimensional images of the
atom distribution in the nanowire, in particular, the
distribution of boron impurities, are obtained and compared to
the intended impurity concentration.
Introduction (except)
The formation of metallic nanoparticles on a semiconductor
surface has regained much attention because of their critical
role in the subsequent growth of nanostructures, in particular,
semiconductor nanowires (NWs). Indeed, metallic nanoparticles,
such as gold particles on silicon, behave as catalyst droplets
in the presence of a silicon-containing gas. They decompose the
gas so that the silicon atoms precipitate at the interface
between the gold particle and the semiconductor surface, giving
rise to a NW growth. While the size of the nanoparticle is known
to roughly define the NW diameter, recent studies have revealed
that......
