Growth of arrays of silicon nanowires with centrosymmetric distribution over silicon substrate

Silicon-based nanotechnology is highly promising since it is compatible with conventional silicon integrated technique. To date silicon nanowires have been synthesized by varying experimental conditions and a wide range of electronic nanodevices have been demonstrated. A key challenge facing the device realization is the elaboration of a self-assembly nanotechnology enabling the formation of nanoobjects with preset shape and size, crystalline structure, chemical composition, and consequently, physical and chemical properties. To integrate nanodevices into conventional silicon chips, a spatial location and density distribution of nanowires on a chip should be controlled as well. To locate nanowires on desired places with a specific distribution, one should commonly use nanolithography. In this paper we describe a new possibility and its practical realization on silicon for metal-enhanced growth of nanowires with a self-arrangement over the substrate. The proposed physical and mathematical models of the effect is a thermo-stimulated analogue of Liesegang pattern theory. Results of the modeling fit satisfactorily a geometry and nanowire size distribution inside the structure.