An AlN crystal preparation method includes using at least one element excluding Si that fulfills the condition that a compound is not formed with either Al or N or the condition that a compound is formed with either Al or N but the standard free energy of formation of said compound is greater than the standard free energy of formation of AlN. In the preparation method, a composition including at least Al and the element is melted. Al vapor and nitrogen gas are reacted at a prescribed reaction temperature. AlN crystals are formed.

Provided is a method for manufacturing a power storage device in which a crystalline silicon layer including a whisker-like crystalline silicon region is formed as an active material layer over a current collector by a low-pressure CVD method in which heating is performed using a deposition gas containing silicon. The power storage device includes the current collector, a mixed layer formed over the current collector, and the crystalline silicon layer functioning as the active material layer formed over the mixed layer. The crystalline silicon layer includes a crystalline silicon region and a whisker-like crystalline silicon region including a plurality of protrusions which project over the crystalline silicon region. With the protrusions, the surface area of the crystalline silicon layer functioning as the active material layer can be increased.

The electronic device comprises a substrate (1), at least one semiconductor nanowire (2) and a buffer layer (3) interposed between the substrate (1) and said nanowire (2). The buffer layer (3) is at least partly formed by a transition metal nitride layer (9) from which extends the nanowire (2), said transition metal nitride being chosen from: vanadium nitride, chromium nitride, zirconium nitride, niobium nitride, molybdenum nitride, hafnium nitride or tantalum nitride.

A method for producing nanowires from piezoelectric aluminum nitride is provided. Nanowires formed from cubic AIN having a diameter of 10-20 A and a length of 1000-1500 A are obtained from a batch of AI+2-10% by volume AIH3 at a temperature of 1500-2300 K in a gaseous environment of N2+(3-5% by volume NH3) at a pressure of 200-2000 MPa.

A one-dimensional titanium nanostructure and a method for fabricating the same are provided. A titanium metal reacts with titanium tetrachloride to form the one-dimensional titanium nanostructure on a heat-resistant substrate in a CVD method and under a reaction condition of a reaction temperature of 300-900 C., a deposition temperature of 200-850 C., a flow rate of the carrier gas of 0.1-50 sccm and a reaction time of 5-60 hours. The titanium nanostructure includes titanium nanowires, titanium nanobelts, flower-shaped titanium nanowires, titanium nanorods, titanium nanotubes, and titanium-titanium dioxide core-shell structures. The titanium nanostructure can be densely and uniformly grown on the heat-resistant substrate. The present invention neither uses a template nor uses the complicated photolithographic process, solution preparation process, and mixing-coating process. Therefore, the process scale-up, cost down, and the simplified production process are achieved.

A method for producing a material based on silicon nanowires is provided. The method includes the steps of: i) bringing into contact, in an inert atmosphere, a sacrificial support based on a halogenide, a carbonate, a sulfate or a nitrate of an alkali metal, an alkaline earth metal or a transition metal having metal nanoparticles, with the pyrolysis vapours of a silicon source having a silane compound, by which silicon nanowires are deposited on the sacrificial support; and optionally ii) eliminating the sacrificial support and recovering the silicon nanowires produced in step ii).

The method for growing an elongate element (5), notably a wire of nanowire or microwire type, includes forming a nucleation surface (3) having at least one germination site adopting the form of a germination hollow (7) and delimited at least partly by a mask (2), the at least one germination hollow (7) being situated at a distance from the mask (2), performing nucleation of a seed (4) intended to participate in the growth of the elongate element (5) on the at least one germination hollow (7), and growing the elongate element (5) from the seed (4).

A method of providing an out-of-plane semiconductor structure and a structure fabricated thereby is disclosed. The method comprises acts of: providing a substrate defining a major surface; providing a template layer having a predetermined template thickness on the major surface of the substrate; forming a recess in the template layer having a recess pattern and a recess depth smaller than the template thickness; and epitaxially growing a semiconductor structure from the recess. A planar shape of the recess pattern formed in the template layer substantially dictates an extending direction of the semiconductor structure.

The present invention provides a method and a system for forming wires (1) that enables a large scale process combined with a high structural complexity and material quality comparable to wires formed using substrate-based synthesis. The wires (1) are grown from catalytic seed particles (2) suspended in a gas within a reactor. Due to a modular approach wires (1) of different configuration can be formed in a continuous process. In-situ analysis to monitor and/or to sort particles and/or wires formed enables efficient process control.

A gas phase nanowire growth apparatus including a reaction chamber (200), a first input and a second input (202 B, 202 A). The first input is located concentrically within the second input and the first and second input are configured such that a second fluid delivered from the second input provides a sheath between a first fluid delivered from the first input and a wall of the reaction chamber. An aerosol of catalyst particles may be used to grow the nanowires.