The effects of temperature and humidity exposure on reliability of silicon nanowires

Material reliability is among the crucial factors that impact material performances before device applications. In order to predict material reliability, accelerated aging study-a study to predict material shelf life when subjected to temperature and humidity, was performed on silicon nanowires. We investigated the effects of process conditions on the diameter and the quality of SiNWs using Atomic Force Microscopy followed by statistical analysis. The experimental results revealed diameter of SiNWs has a linear relationship with changing temperature and humidity. These results are of significant importance and will be a critical design consideration for the use of SiNWs in biomedical implants.