Large-scale array of highly oriented silicon-rich micro/nanowires induced by gas flow steering

Si-rich nanowires have been synthesized by decomposition of silicon monoxide (SiO) at a temperature of 1080 °C, with argon (Ar) as the carrier gas. The morphology was observed to be highly oriented on a macro-scale by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The formation mechanisms of the ordered morphology were discussed by means of energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Raman scattering and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and we attributed this to the steering of the gas flow.