Structure analysis of self‐assembled ErSi 2 nanowires formed on Si (110) substrates

The ErSi 2 nanowires were formed on Si(110) substrates by a self‐assembled growth process without a high vacuum system. All of the nanowires were highly parallel and along the Si [1‐10] direction. It was shown by structural analysis that the nanowires consisted of two types, which displayed a similar surface morphology. The first type is ErSi 2 nanowires buried into the Si substrate at a depth of 30 mm, and the other is ErSi 2 thin layers covering a wire‐like Si surface. The latter is suggested to be the remaining structure after evaporation of the first type wires during high‐temperature annealing. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 167(3): 58–62, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20790