Focused ion beam-assisted manipulation of single and double beta-SiC nanowires and their thermal conductivity measurements by the four-point-probe 3-omega method

Abstract

Control of one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures is demonstrated in this paper by selectively placing and aligning silicon carbide (beta-SiC) nanowires (NWs). We developed a reliable and highly reproducible way of placing a single or double SiC NW on pre-patterned electrodes by using a focused ion beam and a nanomanipulator. 3-omega signals obtained by the four-point-probe method were used in measuring the thermal conductivity of the NWs. The thermal conductivities of the placed single and double beta-SiC NWs were obtained at 82 +/- 6 WmK(-1) and 73 +/- 5 WmK(-1), respectively. The proposed technique offers new possibilities for manipulating and evaluating 1D nanoscale materials.