Novel Nano Novel Nano-Engineered Semiconductors for ... - Caltech

2.3. Strained silicon nano-pillars(Axel Scherer’s group)When small silicon pillars areoxidized, the silicon lattice expandsby approximately 40%, whichleaves the adjacent un-oxidizedsilicon under tremendous tensilestrain. In nanowires, this strain canincrease to the point where thesilicon oxidation process is selflimited,leaving stable 2 ~ 10 nmwide tensile-strained silicon coreswithin a silicon dioxide shells.The nano-pillar diameter is controlledby the oxidization temperature. t