The crystalline properties of poly-Si films on quartz grown using Al-induced crystallization (AIC) were investigated. The orientation fraction and grain size were controlled by modulating the annealing temperature and sample thickness. The results confirmed the enhancement of (111)-orientation fractions and grain size by lowering the annealing temperature and reducing the thickness. The effects of both parameters, annealing temperature and thickness, on the growth process were investigated, as was the role of the Al layer. We successfully formed (111)-oriented grains up to 384 μm in size at a rate of 99% in a 50 nm-thick sample annealed at 400 °C. Furthermore, the real applications of AIC poly-Si as a growth template were demonstrated through silicon thin-film and nanowire formation.

P-Si/i-Ge core–shell and p-Si/i-Ge/p-Si core–double shell nanowires are fabricated using CVD with vapor–liquid–solid growth methods. Selective doping and sharp interfaces between the Si core and the Ge shell are achieved, which can provide a feasible design for realizing high electron (hole) mobility transistors.

Advanced gold (Au) and silver (Ag) nanostructures were produced by laser techniques on printer paper substrate. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) analyses of the fungicide mancozeb (Dithane DG) and insecticide thiamethoxam (Aktara 25 BG) in quantities smaller than usually applied in agricultural medicine were performed for the first time assisted by the structures fabricated. The investigations and results show an easy alternative and cheap way to detect small amounts or residue of harmful environmental pollutants, which has a direct bearing on food quality and thus on human health.