Large-area Si(001) nanopatterned surfaces obtained by etching dislocation line arrays were used to drive the positioning of metallic islands. A method combining wafer bonding of (001) silicon on insulator layers and preferential chemical etching permitted control of the periodicity of square trench arrays in the 20–50nm lateral periodicity range with an accuracy of less than 1nm and a depth of 4–5nm. The interfacial area containing the dislocation line plane could be removed and a single crystal maintaining the morphological patterning could be obtained. It was shown . that oxidized or deoxidized silicon nanopatterned surfaces could drive the positioning of Ni, Au and Ag islands for a 20nm lateral periodicity and that a lateral long range order, directly transferred from the dislocation network, could be obtained in the Ni and Au cases.

Metal Positioning on Silicon Surfaces using the Etching of Buried Dislocation Arrays. A.Bavard, F.Fournel, J.Eymery: Nanotechnology, 2011, 22[21], 215301