Dresden 2006 – scientific programme

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SYSS: Structure Formation and Self-Organization in non-equilibrium Systems

SYSS 1: Structure Formation and Self-Organization in non-equilibrium Systems I

SYSS 1.8: Talk

Thursday, March 30, 2006, 11:30–11:45, BAR Sch\"o

Self-Organized Electrochemical Assembly of Mesoscale Silver Wires and Dendrites — •Sheng Zhong^1,2, Thomas Koch^1,2, Harald Roesner², Horst Hahn², Eberhard Nold³, Dong Wang⁴, Mu Wang⁵, Stefan Walheim², and Thomas Schimmel^1,2 — ¹Institute of Applied Physics, University of Karlsruhe, D-76128 Karlsruhe, Germany — ²Institute of Nanotechnology (INT), Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, D-76021 Karlsruhe, Germany — ³Institute for Materials Research I (IMF I), Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, D-76021 Karlsruhe, Germany — ⁴Institute for Materials Research II (IMF II), Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, D-76021 Karlsruhe, Germany — ⁵National Laboratory of Solid-State Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 21009, China

Mesoscopic metal structures attract considerable attention due to their potential application in next-generation electronic devices, such as interconnects and active components. The synthesis of these mesoscale building blocks is a crucial step towards the implementation of nanodevices. We demonstrate a novel and simple electrochemical deposition approach for the self-assembly of free-standing single-crystalline mesoscopic silver wires and regular dendritic structures from an aqueous solution without templates, additives and surfactants. The single-crystalline silver wires and structures grow spontaneously under a direct current electric field. Wire diameters down to 100 nm and wire lengths up to 150 micro meter and more are found. This simple electrodeposition system using a growth process that can be observed in situ also opens a convenient way to study the electrochemical growth mechanism in order to tailor mesostructures on this length scale.