2009/04/02 by Giorgos Fagas, James C. Greer
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advancements in Semiconductor Devices and Circuit Design #Nanowire Synthesis and Applications #Semiconductor materials and devices #cond-mat.mes-hall #cond-mat.mtrl-sci
paper · pdf · doi:10.1021/nl8038426
published as Nano Lett. 9, 1856 (2009)
openalex publication_date 2009/04/02 · arxiv created 2010/02/02 · arxiv updated 2010/02/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The influence of local oxidation in silicon nanowires on hole transport, and hence the effect of varying the oxidation state of silicon atoms at the wire surface, is studied using density functional theory in conjunction with a Green's function scattering method. For silicon nanowires with growth direction along [110] and diameters of a few nanometers, it is found that the introduction of oxygen bridging and back bonds does not significantly degrade hole transport for voltages up to several hundred millivolts relative to the valence band edge. As a result, the mean free paths are comparable to or longer than the wire lengths envisioned for transistor and other nanoelectronics applications. Transport along [100]-oriented nanowires is less favorable, thus providing an advantage in terms of hole mobilities for [110] nanowire orientations, as preferentially produced in some growth methods.