Forward bending of silicon nanowires induced by strain distribution in asymmetric growth

•The sideways electron beam evaporation was employed to deliberately bend Si nanowires.•The forward bending of Si nanowires was realized with the metallic materials such as Cr and Ti.•The forward bending is well interpreted by using the domain matching epitaxy mode.•The bending angle of Si nanowires is well controlled by the deposition angle and thickness.