Spatial arranged ZnO nanowires: developing technologies for future applications

Semiconductor nanowire devices have several properties which match future requirements of scaling down the size of electronics. In typical microelectronics production, a number of microstructures are aligned precisely on top of each other during the fabrication process. In the case of nanowires, this mandatory condition is still hard to achieve. A technological breakthrough is needed to accurately place nanowires at any specific position and then form devices in mass production. In this article, we will give an overview about nanotemplating methods used for positioning nanowires [1]. A new upscalable process combining conventional micromachining with phase shift lithography will be demonstrated as a suitable tool for nanowire device technology [2]. Vertical Si and ZnO nanowires are demonstrated on very large (several cm) areas. We demonstrate how the nanowire positions can be controlled, and the resulting nanowires are used for device fabrication. In addition, simple ways for ZnO based nanowire sensors will be demonstrated and discussed [3].