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Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Silicon Nanowires and Optical Stimulation for Investigations of Intra- and Intercellular Electrical Coupling
Published on: January 28, 2021
Shear-driven phase transformation in silicon nanowires
L Vincent1, D Djomani1, M Fakfakh1
1Centre de Nanosciences et Nanotechnologies, CNRS, Univ. Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, C2N - Orsay, 91405 Orsay cedex, France.
Abstract:
We report on an unprecedented formation of allotrope heterostructured Si nanowires by plastic deformation based on applied radial compressive stresses inside a surrounding matrix. Si nanowires with a standard diamond structure (3C) undergo a phase transformation toward the hexagonal 2H-allotrope. The transformation is thermally activated above 500 °C and is clearly driven by a shear-stress relief occurring in parallel shear bands lying on {115} planes. We have studied the influence of temperature and axial orientation of nanowires. The observations are consistent with a martensitic phase transformation, but the finding leads to clear evidence of a different mechanism of deformation-induced phase transformation in Si nanowires with respect to their bulk counterpart. Our process provides a route to study shear-driven phase transformation at the nanoscale in Si.
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