AbstractA new template technique has been developed to help patterned growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on Si surface without predeposition of metal catalysts. Focused ion beam (FIB) milling was used to create trenches on Si wafer surface as the template and carbon nanotubes only nucleated and grew inside the trenches during a controlled pyrolysis of iron phthalocyanine at 1000oC. The selective growth in the trenches is due to its special surface morphology, crystalline structure and capillarity effect.