Morphology control and growth dynamics of in-plane solid-liquid-solid silicon nanowires

In-plane silicon nanowires (SiNWs) growth, via a newly proposed in-plane solid-liquid-solid (IPSLS) mode, is mediated by nanoscale indium drops that transform amorphous silicon precursors to well-defined SiNWs during a reactive-gas-free annealing process. Compared to the well-known vapor-liquid-solid process, the movement of the front and rear interfaces are coupled to each other via the liquid catalyst drop, which causes the deformation of the liquid catalyst drop (either squeezed or stretched). We show that this growth dynamics indicates an effective way to control and design the morphology of the in-plane SiNWs. We also develop an in-depth insight of this morphology control mechanism via the IPSLS mode, and further address their direct influence on the strain built up in the crystalline SiNWs during their in-situ growth.