Silicon nanowires: Electron holography studies of doped p-n junctions and biased Schottky barriers

Kai He*, Jeong Hyun Cho, Yeonwoong Jung, S. Tom Picraux, John Cumings

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report an in situ examination of individual Si p-n junction nanowires (NWs) using off-axis electron holography (EH) during transmission electron microscopy. The SiNWs were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition with an axial dopant profile from n- to p-type, and then placed inside the transmission electron microscope as a cantilever geometry in contact with a movable Pt probe for in situ biasing measurements during simultaneous EH observations. The phase shift from EH indicates the potential shift between the p- and n-segments to be 1.03 ± 0.17 V due to the built-in voltage. The I-V characteristics of a single SiNW indicate the formation of a Schottky barrier between the NW tip and the movable Pt contact. EH observations show a strong concentration of electric field at this contact, preventing a change in the Si energy bands in the p-n junction region due to the applied bias.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number115703
JournalNanotechnology
Volume24
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 22 2013

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Bioengineering
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering
  • General Materials Science

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