Sources and implications of resonant mode splitting in silicon nanowire devices

This work investigates the effects of asymmetric cross-sectional geometry on the resonant response of silicon nanowires. The work demonstrates that dimensional variances of less than 2% qualitatively alter a nanosystem's near-resonant response, yielding a non-Lorentzian frequency response structure, which is a direct consequence of resonant mode splitting. Experimental results show that this effect is independent of device boundary conditions, and can be easily modeled using continuous beam theory. Proper understanding of this phenomenon is believed to be essential in the characterization of the dynamic response of resonant nanowire systems, and thus the predictive design of such devices.