PECVD of Hematite Nanoblades and Nanocolumns: Synthesis, Characterization, and Growth Model

Fe2O3 nanostructures are fabricated on Si(100) and SiO2 by plasma enhanced (PE)CVD from a Fe(III) beta-diketonate precursor. Depositions are carried out in Ar-O2 plasmas, devoting particular attention to the influence of growth temperature (from 60 to 400°C) on material chemico-physical properties. Remarkably, high purity, single-phase alpha-Fe2O3 nanostructures are obtained at temperatures as low as 60°C. Furthermore, the deposit nano-organization can be tuned from <110>-oriented 2D nanoblade arrays to denser nanocolumns upon increasing the deposition temperature. Apossible growth model is proposed to account for the observed structural/morphological features and light absorption properties of the target materials.