The growth and electrical properties of tantalum nanowires self-organized under the porous alumina film

Abstract

The development of material components at nanoscale whose structures exhibit novel physical and chemical properties has been the current trend in science and technology. Anodizing under certain conditions of sputter-deposited Ta-AI, Nb-AI, and Ti-AI metal bilayers results in formation of self-organized arrays of nano-sized anodic oxides of unique morphologies and complex chemical compositions. However, the detailed knowledge of these nanostructures is not currently complemented by a fundamental understanding of the growth and properties of self- organized network of valve-metal nanowires, which concurrently forms under the porous alumina film. In this paper, characteristic patterns of metal-oxide nanostructures derived from anodically oxidized Ta-AI bilayers have been prepared and characterized to obtain new insight into the growth and electric transport mechanism in the self-organized valve-metal nanowires.