Figure 7
Growth of silver nanostructures by the solid-state ionics method.
(a) A clean glass slide placed in a deposition chamber at room temperature under vacuum (10−4 Pa). (b) Two parallel silver films separated by a distance of 6 cm deposited by vacuum thermal evaporation on the two ends of the glass slide for use as electrodes. (c) RbAg4I5 film (400-nm-thick) deposited over the Ag electrodes and glass slide by vacuum thermal evaporation. (d) An external direct current applied to the slide. (e) Silver nanostructures grow at the edge of the cathode and burst out of the RbAg4I5 film. (f) The silver nanostructures grow continuously under the applied current. The growth front, where Ag+ is reduced to Ag atom, serves as the new edge of the cathode. The silver nanostructure grows toward the anode and the silver anode is consumed.
