Phonon band structure of si nanowires: a stability analysis

Nano Lett. 2009 Jan;9(1):107-11. doi: 10.1021/nl802613p.

Abstract

We present full ab initio calculations of the phonon band structure of thin Si nanowires oriented along the [110] direction. Using these phonon dispersion relations, we investigate the structural stability of these wires. We found that all studied wires were stable also when doped with either B or P, if the unit cell was taken sufficiently large along the wire axis. The evolution of the phonon dispersion relations and of the sound velocities with respect to the wire diameters is discussed. Softening is observed for acoustic modes and hardening for optical phonon modes with increasing wire diameters.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Computer Simulation
  • Crystallization / methods*
  • Electric Conductivity
  • Electrons
  • Macromolecular Substances / chemistry
  • Models, Chemical*
  • Models, Molecular*
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Nanotechnology / methods*
  • Nanotubes / chemistry*
  • Nanotubes / ultrastructure*
  • Particle Size
  • Silicon / chemistry*
  • Surface Properties

Substances

  • Macromolecular Substances
  • Silicon