A thin silicon thermoelectric nanowire characterization platform (TNCP) equipped with nanoporous electrodes for electrical contact formation

Abstract

We report on the fabrication of a silicon platform for the thermoelectric and structural characterization of single nanowires, equipped with nanoporous electrodes. Controlled wafer thinning to a thickness of 160 μm results in platform chips, which can be inserted into Transmission Electron Microscopes (TEM) for the nanowire's structural composition analysis. Our fabrication approach comprises the Bosch process (ICP), and «dicing before grinding» techniques to achieve this small thickness. To study the idea of developing a "plug-and-measure" platform, we have developed a novel approach for selfadhesion between a contact electrode and a nanowire by nanoporous electrodes. Due to the increased surface-to-volume ratio and increased van-der-Walls forces nanowires stick firmly to the electrodes for a good thermal and electrical connection. This innovative technique does also avoids, in best case, separate steps for contact formation.