1 research outputs found
Capillarity-Driven Welding of Semiconductor Nanowires for Crystalline and Electrically Ohmic Junctions
Semiconductor
nanowires (NWs) have been demonstrated as a potential platform for
a wide-range of technologies, yet a method to interconnect functionally
encoded NWs has remained a challenge. Here, we report a simple capillarity-driven
and self-limited welding process that forms mechanically robust and
Ohmic inter-NW connections. The process occurs at the point-of-contact
between two NWs at temperatures 400–600 °C below the bulk
melting point of the semiconductor. It can be explained by capillarity-driven
surface diffusion, inducing a localized geometrical rearrangement
that reduces spatial curvature. The resulting weld comprises two fused
NWs separated by a single, Ohmic grain boundary. We expect the welding
mechanism to be generic for all types of NWs and to enable the development
of complex interconnected networks for neuromorphic computation, battery
and solar cell electrodes, and bioelectronic scaffolds