Silicon nanoporous pillar array and its surface copper deposition

Silicon nanoporous pillar array (Si-NPA) has been prepared by a hydrothermal etching technique. Using Si-NPA as substrate, a Cu/Si-NPA nanocomposite thin film has been obtained with immersion plating method. Morphological and structural analysis indicates that Si-NPA is a typical structural composite system characterized by a triple hierarchical structure, i. e. the array of micron-sized silicon pillars, the nanopores densely distributed on the surface of the pillars, and the silicon nanocrystallites that constitute the pore walls. Cu/Si-NPA inherits the morphological characteristics of Si-NPA. The compactability of the deposited copper nanoparticles varies alternatively with the local geometrical features of Si-NPA and forms a quasi-periodical pattern. Such an experimental phenomenon is attributed to the velocity dependence of the copper deposition upon the local geometrical features of Si-NPA. These results indicate that Si-NPA might be used as an ideal template for preparing specially patterned, structured or functionalized metal/silicon nanocomposite systems.