Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) are 1D structures with diameter ranging from few tens to hundreds of nanometers and length varying from few tens of nanometers to millimiters. SiNWs are fabricated in the labs of the IMM-CNR, Rome Unit, by using bottom-up technologies such as plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) at low growth temperature ((≤350°C), allowing the use of plastic and glassy substrates. Their electrical properties can be tuned by controlling the p/n doping during the growth. In addition we have developed fabrication procedures allowing to decorate the SiNWs with Au or Ag nanoparticles/thin films. These composite structures are resulted very useful in biological applications for the development of micro electrode array (MEA) for the recording of extracellular signals coming from neurons/glial cells and platforms for Raman Imaging, able to amplify the IR signals coming from biomolecules (DNA, proteins etc.).
The proposed structures are fabricated by using a bottom-up approach and low growth temperatures by assuring low cost of production and an effective scalability of the platform with respect similar structures obtained by means of top-down procedures, involving expensive equipment with low throughputs. These features allow a significant flexibility in the design and development of innovative devices, which integrate a reliable nanostructured interface for biosensing, diognostics and theranostics applications.