Giant room-temperature piezoresistance in a metal-silicon hybrid structure

Metal-semiconductor hybrids are artificially created structures presenting novel properties not exhibited by either of the component materials alone. Here we present a giant piezoresistance effect in a hybrid formed from silicon and aluminum. The maximum piezoresistive gage factor of 843, measured at room temperature, compares with a gage factor of -93 measured in the bulk homogeneous silicon. This piezoresistance boost is not due to the silicon-aluminum interface, but results from a stress induced anisotropy in the silicon conductivity that acts to switch current away from the highly conductive aluminum for uniaxial tensile strains. Its magnitude is shown, via the calculation of hybrid resistivity weighting functions, to depend only on the geometrical arrangement of the component parts of the hybrid.