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First‐principle investigation of strain effects on the electronic properties of germanium nanowires
Author(s) -
Kong Yifan,
Shiri Daryoush,
Buin Andrei
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
physica status solidi (rrl) – rapid research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.786
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1862-6270
pISSN - 1862-6254
DOI - 10.1002/pssr.200903273
Subject(s) - nanowire , germanium , materials science , strain (injury) , density functional theory , tensile strain , band gap , ultimate tensile strength , condensed matter physics , electron , effective mass (spring–mass system) , electronic band structure , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , composite material , chemistry , computational chemistry , physics , silicon , medicine , quantum mechanics
Using the GGA functional in density functional theory, the effects of axial strain on the band structure and effective mass of narrow [110] and [100] germanium nanowires are investigated. It is observed that both compressive and tensile strain cause indirect‐to‐direct bandgap transitions. One percent of tensile strain can cause a 40 meV change in the bandgap of [110] nanowires. Effective masses of electrons and holes are subject to a change of 3–4 times in the strain‐induced transition point. This change translates into a density of state modulation which opens new possibilities for the construction of Ge nanowire‐based sensors. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)