Synthesis of aligned arrays of “Microropes” of silica nanowires by gas-jet electron beam plasma chemical vapor deposition method

For the first time, aligned arrays of bundles (“microropes”) of silica nanowires were synthesized from a monosilane-hydrogen mixture by gas-jet electron beam plasma chemical vapor deposition method. The synthesis was performed on single-crystal silicon substrates coated by micron-sized particles of stannic catalyst. A bundle (“microrope”) of silica nanowires each of which is about 15 nm in diameter grows from a catalyst particle. It seems that the synthesis proceeds by the vapor-liquid-solid mechanism, and several nanowires grow synchronously from the surface of one catalyst particle. The “microrope” growth rate was about 25 nm/s at a synthesis temperature of 400$^\circ$C. A possible growth model was proposed to explain these results.