Silicon nanowire electromechanical switches for logic device application

Abstract

We report the fabrication and characterization of nanowire electromechanical switches consisting of chemical-vapour-deposition-grown silicon nanowires suspended over metal electrodes. The devices operate as transistors with the suspended part of the nanowire bent to touch metal electrodes via electromechanical force by applying voltage. The reversible switching, large on/off current ratio, small subthreshold slope and low switching energy compared to current CMOSFET make the switches very attractive for logic device application. In addition, we have developed a physical model to investigate the switching characteristics and extract the material properties.