Silicon nanowires synthesized by vapor–liquid–solid growth on excimer laser annealed thin gold film

The fabrication of Si nanowires has been demonstrated using excimer laser annealed thin gold film as the catalyst and vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) growth. Au nanoparticles with mean diameters of 12, 13 and 15 nm were formed by excimer laser annealing (ELA) of Au film with thickness of 2.5, 5 and 10 nm, respectively. The results show that the silicon nanowires (SiNWs) with desired diameter can be obtained by controlling the Au film thickness and laser power density.