Fabrication of silicon nanowire arrays with controlled diameter, length, and density

A templated catalytic etching process has been developed to fabricate large-area arrays of silicon nanowires with controlled diameter, length, and density. The figure shows an example of an array constructed by this technique. Etched polystyrene spheres are used as templates to define the lateral dimensions of the array, whereas the length of the nanowires is defined by the duration of the etching process.