Si Nanoribbons Research Articles

Electronic properties of Penta-P2X (X= C and Si) nanoribbons: Density functional theory

In this work, using the density functional theory, the electronic properties of pentagonal P2C and P2Si nanoribbons have been investigated. These properties include the optimal structural parameters, cohesive energy, electronic band structures, total density of states, and the partial density of states. The results indicated that pentagonal nanoribbons have diverse electronic and magnetic properties depending on their width and edge configuration. The calculations showed that the electronic properties of these pentagonal nanoribbons vary from semiconducting to half-metallic concerning edge structure, suggesting their potential for application in spintronic. Following the hydrogenation of the nanoribbons' edges, a metallic-to-semiconducting transition was observed. These findings provide the potential of Penta-P2C and Penta-P2Si nanoribbons in fabricating next-generation electronic and magnetic devices.

Heat Flow Guiding and Modulation by Kinks in a Silicon Nanoribbon.

Tailoring heat flow in solids has profound implications for the innovation of functional thermal devices. However, the current methods face technological challenges related to system complexity, material stability, and operating temperature. In this study, we demonstrated efficient heat flow modulation in a single material without a phase transition, using a simple and entirely material-independent strategy, kinked nanostructure patterning, at near-ambient temperature. By carefully controlling the kink arm length and kink angle of the Si nanoribbons, we achieved a thermal conductivity modulation of up to ∼20%. Our theoretical modeling showed that this modulation results from the competing roles of phonon backscattering and open view channels on heat transport. We also build a regime map based on the existence of an open view channel and provide concrete design guidelines for thermal conductivity modulation considering the kink angle and arm length. This study opens up new opportunities for efficient heat flow manipulation through nanostructure patterning.

High-performance p-channel transistors on flexible substrate using direct roll transfer stamping

Flexible electronics with high-performance devices are crucial for transformative advances in several emerging and traditional applications. To address this need, herein we present p-type silicon (Si) nanoribbons (NR)-based high-performance field-effect transistors (FETs) developed using an innovative direct roll transfer stamping (DRTS) process. First, ultrathin Si NRs (∼70 nm) are obtained from silicon on insulator wafers using the conventional top-down method, and then the DRTS method is employed to directly place the NRs onto flexible substrates at RT. The NRFETs are then developed following the RT fabrication process which includes deposition of high-quality SiN x dielectric. The fabricated p-channel transistors demonstrate high linear mobility ∼100 ± 10 cm2 V−1 s−1, current on/off ratio >104, and low gate leakage (<1 nA). Further, the transistors showed robust device performance under mechanical bending and at a wide temperature range (15 °C–90 °C), showing excellent potential for futuristic high-performance flexible electronic devices/circuits.

Observation of One-Dimensional Dirac Fermions in Silicon Nanoribbons.

Dirac materials, which feature Dirac cones in the reciprocal space, have been one of the hottest topics in condensed matter physics in the past decade. To date, 2D and 3D Dirac Fermions have been extensively studied, while their 1D counterparts are rare. Recently, Si nanoribbons (SiNRs), which are composed of alternating pentagonal Si rings, have attracted intensive attention. However, the electronic structure and topological properties of SiNRs are still elusive. Here, by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy measurements, first-principles calculations, and tight-binding model analysis, we demonstrate the existence of 1D Dirac Fermions in SiNRs. Our theoretical analysis shows that the Dirac cones derive from the armchairlike Si chain in the center of the nanoribbon and can be described by the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model. These results establish SiNRs as a platform for studying the novel physical properties in 1D Dirac materials.

Surface and interface analysis of a low-dimensional Au–Si surface alloy on Au(110) by means of XPS and XPD

The chemical and structural characteristics of a low-dimensional Au–Si surface alloy are presented in this work. Alloy formation was obtained by deposition of a sub-monolayer Si on Au(110). This preliminary phase to Si nano-ribbons is being investigated, as the transition from clean Au(110) to a silicon nano-ribbon coated surface is not yet understood. A multiple technique study has been carried out for detailed atomic structure determination and chemical investigation. Particular attention is paid to the clarification of the structural arrangement at the surface and at the interface. Using low-energy electron diffraction, the periodicity of the structure on long-range order could be examined. By means of high-precision photoemission measurements using synchrotron radiation, the electronic and atomic structure of the alloy can be presented. The investigation by photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) using soft x-rays for a high surface sensitivity showed different chemical environments in the high-resolution spectra. The x-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD) measurements, which are sensitive to the local atomic order, gave an approach to the structural configuration of the alloy. A new structural arrangement was found simulating both Au and Si XPD patterns. The results are compared to former proposed structure models. A deconvolution of the Si 2p XPD pattern revealed the origin of two chemically shifted XPS components.

Optimizing interferences of DUV lithography on SOI substrates for the rapid fabrication of sub-wavelength features

Scalable fabrication of Si nanowires with a critical dimension of about 100 nm is essential to a variety of applications. Current techniques used to reach these dimensions often involve e-beam lithography or deep-UV (DUV) lithography combined with resolution enhancement techniques. In this study, we report the fabrication of <150 nm Si nanowires from SOI substrates using DUV lithography (λ = 248 nm) by adjusting the exposure dose. Irregular resist profiles generated by in-plane interference under masking patterns of width 800 nm were optimized to split the resulting features into twin Si nanowires. However, masking patterns of micrometre size or more on the same photomask does not generate split features. The resulting resist profiles are verified by optical lithography computer simulation based on Huygens−Fresnel diffraction theory. Photolithography simulation results validate that the key factors in the fabrication of subwavelength nanostructures are the air gap value and the photoresist thickness. This enables the parallel top-down fabrication of Si nanowires and nanoribbons in a single DUV lithography step as a rapid and inexpensive alternative to conventional e-beam techniques.

Structure of one-dimensional monolayer Si nanoribbons on Ag(111)

One-dimensional silicon nanoribbons (SiNRs) have the potential for application to future electronic devices because of their compatibility with current silicon-based electronic devices and their theoretical outstanding electronic properties, such as the size-dependent band gap. Here we grew SiNRs by the deposition of Si on a Ag(111) surface. We investigated SiNRs on the Ag(111) surface using a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The atomic resolution STM and AFM images revealed that SiNRs have the same width and align along the equivalent orientations of Ag(111). The main body of SiNRs was found to be symmetric about the long axes of the ribbons, but the terminals of SiNRs break the symmetry. The DFT calculation results revealed a buckled single-layer structure of SiNRs, which is composed of Si hexagonal and tetragonal rings.

Kink as a new degree of freedom to tune the thermal conductivity of Si nanoribbons

An attractive feature of nanomaterials is the possibility of tuning their properties through controlling their size and surface morphology, and understanding the effects of various parameters on thermal transport properties of nanostructures has been an active research topic in the past two decades. Through systematic studies of kinked silicon nanoribbons, we show how the kink morphology, a newly recognized degree of freedom for tuning thermal transport in nanostructures, modulates the thermal conductivity of these nanoribbons. For kinked Si nanoribbons that are 34 nm thick and 141 nm wide, the measured thermal conductivity first decreases as the period length reduces from 2 μm to 0.5 μm, reaching a 21% thermal conductivity reduction as compared to that of a straight counterpart at 300 K. However, as the period length drops to a level at which a straight heat transfer channel opens between the heat source and the sink, the thermal conductivity exhibits a steep increasing trend. Moreover, the comparison of thermal conductivity reduction for kinked ribbons along different crystalline directions indicates that phonon focusing could be exploited to further suppress thermal transport in kinked silicon nanoribbons. These results provide important guidelines on modulating heat transfer in nanostructures using kinks, which could be adopted to tune the thermal properties of nanostructures for different applications, such as thermoelectrics, microelectronic device thermal management, and functional thermal regulators.

Carrier Transport and Thermoelectric Properties of Differently Shaped Germanene (Ge) and Silicene (Si) Nanoribbon Interconnects

Here, we report a study of carrier transport and thermoelectric properties of silicene/germanene nanoribbon (SiNR/GeNR) interconnects of varying shapes (namely, “V,” “L,” “U,” and “S” shaped) with empirical tight binding—nonequilibrium Green’s function approach. Our simulation shows that a significant reduction in both electron and phonon transmission in such differently shaped NRs compared to perfect ones. In terms of thermoelectric properties, Seebeck coefficient ( $\mathbb {S}$ ) variation in the range of −72.3 to $3.52~\mu \text{V}$ /K at 300 K for SiNR and −176 to $-\textsf {95.5}\,\,\mu \text{V}$ /K at 300 K for GeNR is observed in different pattern conditions. For Peltier coefficient ( $\pi $ ), these ranges are −0.23 to 0.001 V for SiNR and −0.053 to −0.011 V for GeNR at 300 K. Simulation also shows significant change in thermoelectric figure of merit ( $\textit {ZT}$ ) for a different pattern and temperature with peak $\textit {ZT}~0.09$ at 800 K for “U”-shaped SiNR and 0.80 at 400 K for “L”-shaped GeNR.

Unoccupied electronic band structure of pentagonal Si nanoribbons on Ag(110).

Silicon nanoribbons - one dimensional silicon structures with a pentagonal atomic structure and mixed sp2- and sp3-hybridisation - grow on Ag(110) upon deposition of silicon. These nanostructures are viewed as promising candidates for modern day electronics as they are comprised of the same element as today's semiconductor devices. Even though they have been studied extensively over the last decade, only little is known about their unoccupied band structure which is important for possible future optoelectronics, semiconductor, and spintronics applications. In order to elucidate the unoccupied band structure of the nanoribbons, k-resolved inverse photoemission spectroscopy (KRIPES) studies were performed on both nanoribbon structures reported in the literature as well as on the bare Ag(110) substrate within the energy range of E-EF = 0-6.5 eV. The obtained experimental results are compared to density functional theory (DFT) calculated band structures to assign individual spectral features to specific bands. Since even small changes in the structural model of the nanoribbons lead to a change in the calculated band structure, this comparison allows us to assess the validity of the proposed structural models.

Nanoscale investigation of Si nanoribbon growth on Ag(110)

The authors present a nanoscale investigation by means of scanning tunneling microscopy of Si nanostructure growth on the anisotropic silver (110) surface, in the submonolayer range. Four types of Si nanostructures are studied statistically as a function of the substrate temperature in the range 300–500 K: isolated single and double nanoribbons, which differ only by a factor of 2 in their width, and their respective bidimensional counterparts in the self-assembly regime. Their observations highlight different growth regimes controlled by kinetics. Below 320 K, the Si adatoms diffuse along the easy [11¯0] direction, forming essentially isolated single nanoribbons randomly distributed on the silver terraces. At higher temperatures, transverse diffusion along the [001] direction is activated and a competition between the growth of self-assembled single nanoribbons and isolated double nanoribbons is observed. Above 440 K, a transition from one- to two-dimensional double nanoribbon growth is evidenced. At 490 K, the Si deposition results in the formation of massively self-assembled double nanoribbons. Based on Arrhenius analyses, activation barriers are found to be (125 ± 15) and (210 ± 20) meV for the formation of isolated Si nanoribbons and self-assembled Si double nanoribbons, respectively. Their results allow for a better understanding of the kinetic limiting processes which determine the submonolayer morphology and illustrate the role played by the missing row reconstruction of the Ag(110) surface in the formation of extended Si nanoribbon arrays.

The Pentagonal Nature of Self-Assembled Silicon Chains and Magic Clusters on Ag(110)

The atomic structures of self-assembled silicon nanoribbons and magic clusters on Ag(110) substrate have been studied by high-resolution noncontact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM) and tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS). Pentagon-ring structures in Si nanoribbons and clusters have been directly visualized. Moreover, the vibrational fingerprints of individual Si nanoribbon and cluster retrieved by subnanometer resolution TERS confirm the pentagonal nature of both Si nanoribbons and clusters. This work demonstrates that Si pentagon can be an important element in building silicon nanostructures, which may find important applications for future nanoelectronic devices based on silicon.

Electrokinetic-assisted gating in a microfluidic integrated Si nanoribbon ion sensor for enhanced sensitivity

Using the electrokinetic principle, we demonstrate a novel approach to modulate the response of an ion sensitive silicon-nanoribbon field-effect-transistor, effectively manipulating the device sensitivity to a change in surface potential. By using the streaming potential effect we show that the changes in the surface potential induced by e.g. a pH change can be accurately manipulated in a microfluidic-integrated chip leading to an enhanced response. By varying the flow velocity and the biasing condition along the microfluidic channel, we further demonstrate that the pH response from such a device can also be suppressed or even reversed as a function of the flow velocity and the biasing configuration. Experiments performed with different pH buffer shows that the sensor response can be enhanced/suppressed by several times in magnitude simply by using the streaming potential effects. A mathematical description is also presented for qualitative assessment of the electrokinetic influence on the gate terminal under different biasing condition. The approach presented here shows the prospect to exploit the electrokinetic modulation for developing highly sensitive nanoscale biosensors.

Experimental investigation on the mechanical buckling of one-dimensional Si nanoribbons with a thickness contrast

The mechanical buckling of one-dimensional Si nanoribbons with a thickness contrast was investigated. For Si stripes with a small thickness difference, each section was found to undergo its own buckling with characteristic wavelengths and wave amplitudes, depending on their thicknesses. On the other hand, unusual buckling occurred for Si ribbons with large thickness differences. For this case, the thinned sections were uniformly buckled, and absorbed a large portion of externally applied strain. On the contrary, the thicker parts of the ribbon were buckled nonuniformly, i.e. buckling occurred in central regions only, with an almost flat configuration at both ends of the thicker parts. Buckling mechanics can qualitatively explain the observed buckling of the Si ribbons with a small thickness contrast, while the finite length effect should be considered for the case of the Si ribbons with a large thickness contrast. Considering the fact that real functional devices are not uniform in thickness, the present work helps to understand the complex buckling behavior of mechanical systems with a wide range of thickness contrasts.

Electrochemical Performance of Si Nanoribbons as Anode Material for Li-ion Battery Synthesized by Arc-discharge Plasma

Electrochemical Performance of Si Nanoribbons as Anode Material for Li-ion Battery Synthesized by Arc-discharge Plasma

Electronic structure, lattice dynamics and thermoelectric properties of silicon nanosphere-nanoribbon layered structure from first-principles calculation

How to further optimize the thermoelectric figure of merit of silicon (Si) nanostructure? Constructing the layered structure composed of two different Si nano morphologies should be viewed an effective approach. The figure of merit of the layered structure could be further optimized by tuning the different contribution from the composed nano morphologies on the electron and phonon transport. In order to reveal the thermoelectric transport mechanism, the electronic structure, the lattice dynamics and the thermoelectric properties of Si nanosphere, Si nanoribbon and the layered structure composed of the two nano morphologies were investigated through first-principles calculation, lattice dynamics simulation and Boltzmann transport theory. The results suggest that the figure of merit of the layered structure is improved significantly in whole although its specific thermoelectric parameters are unsatisfactory as compared to the single nano morphologies. Therefore we provide a complete understanding on the thermoelectric transport of the layered structure and an effective route to further optimize the figure of merit of Si nanostructure.

Si Nanoribbons on Ag(110) Studied by Grazing-Incidence X-Ray Diffraction, Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, and Density-Functional Theory: Evidence of a Pentamer Chain Structure.

We report a combined grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXD), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and density-functional theory (DFT) study which clearly elucidates the atomic structure of the Si nanoribbons grown on the missing-row reconstructed Ag(110) surface. Our study allows us to discriminate between the theoretical models published in the literature, including the most stable atomic configurations and those based on a missing-row reconstructed Ag(110) surface. GIXD measurements unambiguously validate the pentamer model grown on the reconstructed surface, obtained from DFT. This pentamer atomistic model accurately matches the high-resolution STM images of the Si nanoribbons adsorbed on Ag(110). Our study closes the long-debated atomic structure of the Si nanoribbons grown on Ag(110) and definitively excludes a honeycomb structure similar to that of freestanding silicene.

Silicene Nanoribbons on Pb-Reconstructed Si(111) Surface

We report on the initial stage of growing of silicon nanostructures on Pb-induced 3 × 3 and 3 × 7 reconstructed Si(111) surfaces. The deposition of 0.75 monolayer of Si at a temperature of around 200 K results in Si nanoribbons a few-nanometers in length running in three equivalent high symmetry directions of Si(111) surface, as revealed by low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy measurements. The nanoribbons are predominantly 1.6 nm wide and show local 3 × 3 reconstruction. These findings are interpreted within the framework of silicene nanoribbons grown on a bare Si(111) surface.

Unveiling the pentagonal nature of perfectly aligned single-and double-strand Si nano-ribbons on Ag(110)

Carbon and silicon pentagonal low-dimensional structures attract a great interest as they may lead to new exotic phenomena such as topologically protected phases or increased spin–orbit effects. However, no pure pentagonal phase has yet been realized for any of them. Here we unveil through extensive density functional theory calculations and scanning tunnelling microscope simulations, confronted to key experimental facts, the hidden pentagonal nature of single- and double-strand chiral Si nano-ribbons perfectly aligned on Ag(110) surfaces whose structure has remained elusive for over a decade. Our study reveals an unprecedented one-dimensional Si atomic arrangement solely comprising almost perfect alternating pentagons residing in the missing row troughs of the reconstructed surface. We additionally characterize the precursor structure of the nano-ribbons, which consists of a Si cluster (nano-dot) occupying a silver di-vacancy in a quasi-hexagonal configuration. The system thus materializes a paradigmatic shift from a silicene-like packing to a pentagonal one.

Formation of silicene on silver: Strong interaction between Ag and Si

The real‐time formation of Si single layers on Ag(110) and Ag(111) has been investigated at different temperatures, by a combination of scanning tunnelling microscopy, grazing incidence X‐ray diffraction, optical differential reflectance spectroscopy and density functional theory. It is shown that the reactivity of the Ag substrate with the Si atoms is important. The formation of Si nanoribbons on Ag(110) is accompanied by a missing‐row reconstruction of the Ag surface, and the removed Ag atoms form additional islands. The mechanism of Si island formation on Ag(111) involves the insertion of single Si atoms within the Ag top layer and the exchange with Ag atoms. The released Ag atoms diffuse to steps edges and form new Ag fingers. This strong interaction between Si and Ag atoms with possible alloying, questions the actual structures of the different Si phases observed on Ag(110) and Ag(111), and usually attributed to silicene single layers.