Nano strain-amplifier: Making ultra-sensitive piezoresistance in nanowires possible without the need of quantum and surface charge effects

作者：Hoang Phuong Phan; Toan Dinh; Kozeki Takahiro; Tuan Khoa Nguyen; Qamar Afzaal; Namazu Takahiro; Nam Trung Nguyen; Dzung Viet Dao

来源：Applied Physics Letters, 2016, 109(12): 123502.

DOI：10.1063/1.4963258

This paper presents an innovative nano strain-amplifier employed to significantly enhance the sensitivity of piezoresistive strain sensors. Inspired from the dogbone structure, the nano strain-amplifier consists of a nano thin frame released from the substrate, where nanowires were formed at the centre of the frame. Analytical and numerical results indicated that a nano strain-amplifier significantly increases the strain induced into a free standing nanowire, resulting in a large change in their electrical conductance. The proposed structure was demonstrated in p-type cubic silicon carbide nanowires fabricated using a top down process. The experimental data showed that the nano strain-amplifier can enhance the sensitivity of SiC strain sensors at least 5.4 times larger than that of the conventional structures. This result indicates the potential of the proposed strain-amplifier for ultra-sensitive mechanical sensing applications. Published by AIP Publishing.

• 出版日期2016-9-19