Current-driven nanowire formation on surfaces of crystalline conducting substrates
- Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
The formation and precise manipulation of nanoscale features by controlling macroscopic forces is essential to advancing nanotechnology. Toward this end, we report here a theoretical study on formation of nanowires with precisely controlled widths, starting from single-layer conducting islands on crystalline conducting substrates under the controlled action of macroscopic forcing provided by an externally applied electric field that drives island edge electromigration. Numerical simulations based on an experimentally validated model and supported by linear stability theory show that large-size islands undergo a current-induced fingering instability, leading to nanowire formation after finger growth. Depending on the substrate surface crystallographic orientation, necking instabilities after fingering lead to the formation of multiple parallel nanowires per island. In all cases, the axis of the formed nanowires is aligned with the direction of the externally applied electric field. The nanowires have constant widths, on the order of 10 nm, which can be tuned by controlling the externally applied electric field strength. In conclusion, our findings have important implications for developing future lithography-free nanofabrication and nanoelectronic patterning techniques.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division; USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- FG02-07ER46407
- OSTI ID:
- 1471102
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1252582
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 108, Issue 19; ISSN 0003-6951
- Publisher:
- American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Phase-Field Study of Electromigration-Induced Shape Evolution of a Transgranular Finger-Like Slit
|
journal | August 2018 |
Role of conductivity on the electromigration-induced morphological evolution of inclusions in {110}-oriented single crystal metallic thin films
|
journal | October 2019 |
Atomic Transport in Au-Ge Droplets: Brownian and Electromigration Dynamics
|
journal | October 2019 |
Similar Records
Complex Pattern Formation from Current-Driven Dynamics of Single-Layer Homoepitaxial Islands on Crystalline Conducting Substrates
Optimization of electrical treatment strategy for surface roughness reduction in conducting thin films