Natural occurrence of the diamond hexagonal structure in silicon nanowires grown by a plasma-assisted vapour-liquid-solid method

Silicon nanowires have been grown by a plasma-assisted vapour-liquid-solid method using tin as the catalyst. Transmission electron microscopy in the [1 (2) over bar 10] zone axis shows that the diamond hexagonal (P6(3)/mmc) crystal structure is present in several nanowires. This is the first unambiguous proof of the natural occurrence of this metastable phase to our knowledge.