Template-Directed CVD of Dielectric Nanotubes

Fabrication of dielectric nanotubes from silicon dioxide and silicon nitride by a template-based electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma-enhanced (PE) CVD is described. The nanotubes synthesized from SiH 4 -O 2 and SiH 4 -N 2 binary source reagent systems are smooth, transparent and at least 10 μm long. A mathematical description of the template-directed nanometer-scale CVD is developed to elucidate the appropriate process parameters that enable growth of high-aspect-ratio nanotubes with uniform wall thickness. The analysis of the model, by establishing general trends between process operating conditions and geometrical characteristics of the nanotubes, clarifies the mechanism of nanoscale CVD. The dielectric nanotubes obtained provide many opportunities for fabricating composite nanostructures and nanodevices.