US Patent 8207521 - Catalyst-free single crystal silicon nanowires

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8207521.html

Metal catalysts are conventionally used to fabricate semiconductor nanowires but the catalyst material introduces impurities in the nanowires. This patent from Samsung teaches how to fabricate silicon nanowires without catalysts and includes some broad claims for the catalyst-free nanowires. Claim 1 reads:

1. A catalyst-free single crystal silicon nanowire consisting of:

silicon; and

at least one dopant,

wherein the catalyst-free single crystal silicon nanowire has a diameter of about 2 nanometers to about 200 nanometers and a length of about 10 nanometers to about 1,000 micrometers.