Preparation of Silicon Nanowires by Metal-assisted Chemical Etching with Ethylene Glycol Additive

摘要

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) are widely used in many fields because of their excellent properties. Nowadays, the method to prepare SiNWs by metal-assisted chemical etching has gained extensive attentions. In this work, the organic solvent ethylene glycol is added into the etching solution to fabricate SiNWs with different morphologies. The effect of additive on the silicon nanostructure morphology and etching direction are investigated. The etching rate and surface tension of etchant can be decrease by adding organic solvents. The etching direction is changed when the additive dosage is 15 - 30 mL, resulting in zigzag SiNWs with different morphologies correspondingly. The influence of additive and the cause of the change in etching direction are discussed. The study indicates that adding organic solvent may provide a reliable way for preparing silicon nanowires with specific shape.