Silicon Carbide One-dimensional Nanostructures

Dedicated to SiC-based 1D nanostructures, this book explains the properties and different growth methods of these nanostructures. It details carburization of silicon nanowires, a growth process for obtaining original Si-SiC core-shell nanowires and SiC nanotubes of high crystalline quality, thanks to the control of the siliconout-diffusion. The potential applications of these particular nano-objects is also discussed, with regards to their eventual integration in biology, energy and electronics.

Laurence LATU-ROMAIN is Associate Professor at the Joseph Fourier University in Grenoble, France. Her research interests include semiconductor materials and nanostructures, from their design and growth to their characterization.

Maelig OLLIVIER is Associate Researcher at Imperial College London, UK in the Department of Materials, with interests in metallurgy

FOREWORD ix

INTRODUCTION xiii

LIST OF ACRONYMS xvii

CHAPTER 1. PROPERTIES OF SIC-BASED ONE-DIMENSIONAL NANOSTRUCTURES 1

1.1. Intrinsic properties of silicon carbide 1

1.1.1. Crystallographic description 1

1.1.2. Physical and chemical properties of SiC 7

1.2. Properties of one-dimensional nanostructures 14

1.2.1. Definition and classification 14

1.2.2. High surface/volume ratio and its consequences 17

1.2.3. Specific properties at the nano metric scale 20

1.3. Conclusion 25

CHAPTER 2. STATE OF THE ART OF THE GROWTH OF SIC-1D NANOSTRUCTURES 27

2.1. State of the art of the growth of SiC nanowires 27

2.1.1. Silicidation of carbon nanotubes 28

2.1.2. Synthesis through the VLS mechanism 29

2.1.3. Development in the gaseous phase – VS mechanism 33

2.1.4. Carburization of Si nanowires 34

2.1.5. Conclusion on the growth of SiC nanowires 36

2.2. State of the art of the growth of SiC nanotubes 37

2.3. State of the art of the growth of SiC-based core–shell nanowires 39

2.3.1. Si–SiC core–shell nanowires 39

2.3.2. Other SiC-based core–shell nanowires 40

2.4. Conclusion 41

CHAPTER 3. AN ORIGINAL GROWTH PROCESS: THE CARBURIZATION OF SI NANOWIRES 43

3.1. Si nanowires 44

3.2. The carburization of bulk silicon 48

3.3. Experimental application 55

3.3.1. Carburization apparatus 55

3.3.2. Methods of characterization 56

3.4. Growth of core–shell Si–SiC nanowires 58

3.4.1. Introduction 58

3.4.2. Experimental study 59

3.5. Growth of silicon carbide nanotubes 73

3.5.1. Founding idea and experimental application 73

3.5.2. A word on the kinetics of carburization 77

3.6. Summary of the study of the carburization of silicon nanowires 79

3.6.1. Illustration of carburization mechanisms for the growth of Si–SiC nanowires or SiC nanotubes 79

3.6.2. The carburization of Si NW summarized: construction of an existence domain diagram 81

3.6.3. Criticism of the nanostructures obtained 84

CHAPTER 4. SIC-BASED ONE-DIMENSIONAL NANOSTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGIES 87

4.1. Top-down approach: SiC plasma etching for the production of SiC nanowires 87

4.2. Mechanics 90

4.3. Energy 91

4.4. Electronics 93

4.4.1. Integration of nanostructures in a nanowire transistor 93

4.5. For biology 99

4.6. Future work 100

CONCLUSION 103

BIBLIOGRAPHY 107

INDEX 127

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