Ceramic nanowires and a process for producing them by ion beam irradiation

A method of producing ceramic nanowires each of which has the same length and diameters ranging from several to several tens of nanometers, which method comprises:

• forming a thin film of a silicon-containing polymer usable as a ceramic precursor;
• irradiating the thin film with ion beams to form cylindrical crosslinked portions each of which has a length substantially equal to a thickness of the thin film of the ceramic precursor;
• extracting un-crosslinked portions with a solvent to form cylindrical bodies of the silicone-containing polymer;
• irradiating the cylindrical bodies of the silicone-containing polymer with an ionizing radiation to re-crosslink the cylindrical bodies of the silicone-containing polymer;
• and
• firing the re-crosslinked cylindrical bodies of the silicone-containing polymer in an inert gas or ammonia to form ceramic nanowires.