Templating silicon nanowires seeded with oxygen reactive materials

The nanopatterning of semiconductors and other surfaces in a controlled manor is of a great interest for industrial application. The current technique is a new method of controlling the spatial placement of the growth of nanowires (NWs) seeded with oxygen reactive materials such as aluminum, which is a standard metal in silicon process line. The technique is based about patterning a semiconductor substrate or other like substrate which is capable of forming a semiconductor alloy with an oxygen reactive element during a subsequent annealing step. Moreover, it does not require removal of the patterned compound oxide layer.