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Updated: Jun 17, 2026
09:45
Monolayer Contact Doping of Silicon Surfaces and Nanowires Using Organophosphorus Compounds
Published on: December 2, 2013
Bending-induced modulation doping: a promising tendency in silicon nanowires
Yue-Han Li1, Yue Zhang1, Su-Yang Zhang1
1Department of Physics and Hebei Advanced Thin Film Laboratory, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, 050024, China. zxie@hebtu.edu.cn.
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics : PCCP
|June 16, 2026
Summary
Controlled bending of silicon nanowires (SiNWs) offers a novel method for modulation doping. This technique spatially separates dopants and carriers, potentially enhancing nanoelectronic devices without complex structures.
Area of Science:
- Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
- Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
Background:
- Achieving high carrier concentration and mobility in silicon nanowires (SiNWs) is crucial for nanoelectronics.
- Dopant distribution scattering and the need for complex core-shell heterostructures for modulation doping are significant challenges.
- Modulation doping spatially separates charge carriers from their parent dopants to enhance performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential of controlled bending as a method for achieving modulation doping in single-crystalline silicon nanowires.
- To explore an alternative to complex heterostructures for realizing modulation doping in SiNWs.
Main Methods:
- Atomistic quantum-mechanical simulations utilizing the generalized Bloch theorem.
- Self-consistent charge density-functional tight-binding (SCC-DFTB) calculations were employed.
- Analysis of dopant and carrier distribution within bent SiNWs.
Main Results:
- Controlled bending induces effective modulation doping in SiNWs by spatially separating dopants and carriers.
- Smaller dopants preferentially segregate to the compressive side of the bent nanowire.
- Carriers are driven to the tensile side due to an effective type-I band alignment, demonstrating spatial separation.
Conclusions:
- Bending presents a promising, cost-effective approach for modulation doping in SiNWs, circumventing the need for intricate heterostructures.
- The observed spatial separation of carriers from dopants provides indirect evidence for bending-induced modulation doping.
- This approach could pave the way for advanced nanowire-based electronics and optoelectronics.
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