A self-heated silicon nanowire array: selective surface modification with catalytic nanoparticles by nanoscale Joule heating and its gas sensing applications.

We demonstrated novel methods for selective surface modification of silicon nanowire (SiNW) devices with catalytic metal nanoparticles by nanoscale Joule heating and local chemical reaction. The Joule heating of a SiNW generated a localized heat along the SiNW and produced endothermic reactions such as hydrothermal synthesis of nanoparticles or thermal decomposition of polymer thin films. In the first method, palladium (Pd) nanoparticles could be selectively synthesized and directly coated on a SiNW by the reduction of the Pd precursor via Joule heating of the SiNW. In the second method, a sequential process composed of thermal decomposition of a polymer, evaporation of a Pd thin film, and a lift-off process was utilized. The selective decoration of Pd nanoparticles on SiNW was successfully accomplished by using both methods. Finally, we demonstrated the applications of SiNWs decorated with Pd nanoparticles as hydrogen detectors. We also investigated the effect of self-heating of the SiNW sensor on its sensing performance.