Silicon nanowires were fabricated by a metal assisted chemical (MAC) etching process and routes toward ohmic contacting of substrates for Li-ion battery anode application were developed. Si nanowire layers are comprised of wires that are single crystal with rough outer surfaces. The nanowires are epitaxial with the underlying Si(100) substrate, maintain equivalent doping density and crystal orientation, and are coated with a stoichiometric SiO2. Electrical backside contacting using an In-Ga eutectic allows low-resistance ohmic contacts to low-doped nanowire electrodes for electrochemical testing.