Nano silicide formation in nano Si wires

The review reports that the conductance of nanowire of Si is very sensitive to small changes in its surrounding potential and can be affected by the attachment of a small number of charged biological molecules. Using different receptors on the oxidized nano Si wire surface, the detection of the conductance change can be specific to the molecules absorbed on the wire surface. The combination of sensitivity and selectivity makes nanowire-based electronic device to be unique in having a great potential in bio-sensing. It is further reported that in order to have ultra-sensitivity for the detection of a single charged molecule or a virus, the length of the nanowire of Si has to be in the nm range or it requires a nanogapofSi.