Room temperature two-terminal characteristics in silicon nanowires

Quantum effects in silicon nanowires due to one-dimensional carrier confinement were observed at room temperature. Electrical transport properties were measured on narrow thin-silicon-on-insulator wires that were defined by e-beam lithography and further narrowed and thinned down by oxidation to a final thickness of around 3 nm, and a width of 29 nm. The room temperature current–voltage characteristics of the resulting silicon nanowires are shown to exhibit a zero current state may be due to the occurrence of Coulomb blockade.