Electrically controlled giant piezoresistance in silicon nanowires

Herein we demonstrate giant piezoresistance in silicon nanowires (NWs) by the modulation of an electric field-induced with an external electrical bias. Positive bias for a p-type device (negative for an n-type) partially depleted the NWs forming a pinch-off region, which resembled a funnel through which the electrical current squeezed. This region determined the total current flowing through the NWs. In this report, we combined the electrical biasing with the application of mechanical stress, which impacts the charge carriers' concentration, to achieve an electrically controlled giant piezoresistance in nanowires. This phenomenon was used to create a stress-gated field-effect transistor, exhibiting a maximum gauge factor of 5000, 2 orders of magnitude increase over bulk value. Giant piezoresistance can be tailored to create highly sensitive mechanical sensors operating in a discrete mode such as nanoelectromechanical switches.