Heteroepitaxial silicon film growth at 600°C from an Al–Si eutectic melt

A method for growing heteroepitaxial Si films on sapphire was developed using a 6 nm thin Al layer at substrate temperature of 600 °C. Subsequently, the growth of Si nanowires was demonstrated on these films at 490 °C without breaking vacuum. We characterized the properties of the Si films by Raman scattering, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy and show that the crystal quality and dopant control are promising for photovoltaic applications.