Electrical Transport in Polymer-Covered Silicon Nanowires

Author

Fobelets, K. ; Ding, P.W. ; Kiasari, N. Mohseni ; Durrani, Z.A.K.

Author_Institution

Electr. & Electron. Eng. Dept., Imperial Coll. London, London, UK

Volume

11

Issue

4

fYear

2012

fDate

7/1/2012 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

661

Lastpage

665

Abstract

The influence of polymer layers wrapped around n-type Si nanowires (NW) on their electrical characteristics is investigated. The NWs are fabricated via metal induced excessive oxidation and dissolution of Si, and have a diameter of ~350 nm. Single wires are covered by various polymer layers. The polymers used are both insulating [poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), polyethylene (PE), polystyrene, and polyethylene oxide (PEO)] and semiconducting poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly (styrenesulfonate). Four-point probe measurements are used to measure the conductivity changes of single NWs. The NW resistivity increases with PE and PMMA coverage, but decreases with PEO coverage. The changes are attributed to carrier exchange between the polymer and NW. The measurements also confirm active electron trapping with PE coverage that is not observed with the other polymers.

Keywords

conducting polymers; dissolving; electrical conductivity; electrical resistivity; electron traps; elemental semiconductors; exchange interactions (electron); nanofabrication; nanowires; organic semiconductors; organic-inorganic hybrid materials; oxidation; semiconductor growth; silicon; surface treatment; Si; Si dissolution; active electron trapping; carrier exchange; conductivity changes; electrical characteristics; electrical transport; four-point probe measurements; insulating poly(methyl methacrylate); insulating polyethylene oxide; insulating polystyrene; metal induced excessive Si oxidation; n-type Si nanowires; nanowire resistivity; poly(methyl methacrylate) coverage; polyethylene oxide coverage; polymer layers; polymer-covered silicon nanowires; semiconducting poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly (styrenesulfonate); single wires; Conductivity measurement; Electric variables; Nanowires; Oxidation; Plastic insulation; Polymers; Probes; Semiconductivity; Silicon; Wires; Composite; nanowires (NWs); polymer; surface treatment;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Nanotechnology, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1536-125X

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TNANO.2010.2049746

Filename

5460959