Melting and crystallization of nanocrystalline silicon microwiresthrough rapid self-heating

Nanocrystalline silicon microwires are self-heated through single, large amplitude, and microsecond voltage pulses. Scanning electron micrographs show very smooth wire surfaces after the voltage pulse compared to as-fabricated nanocrystalline texture. Voltage-pulse induced self-heating leads to sign...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2009-06, Vol.94 (25), p.251910-251910-3
Main Authors: Bakan, G., Cywar, A., Silva, H., Gokirmak, A.
Format: Article
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Summary:Nanocrystalline silicon microwires are self-heated through single, large amplitude, and microsecond voltage pulses. Scanning electron micrographs show very smooth wire surfaces after the voltage pulse compared to as-fabricated nanocrystalline texture. Voltage-pulse induced self-heating leads to significant conductance improvement, suggesting crystallization of the wires. The minimum resistivity during the pulse is extracted from wires of different dimensions as 75.0 ± 4.6   μ Ω cm , matching previously reported values for liquid silicon. Hence, nanocrystalline silicon microwires melt through self-heating during the voltage pulse and resolidify upon termination of the pulse, resulting in very smooth and less-resistive crystalline structures.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.3159877