Air-bridge-structured silicon nanowire and anomalous conductivity

An air-bridge-structured silicon nanowire was made by micromachining a sili con-on-insulator (SOI) substrate and electrically characterized. The nanowi re was isolated from the substrate by an air gap and typically 20-100 nm in diameter and 300-600 nm in length. Current-voltage characteristics of thes e wires were anomalous electric conductivity such as negative resistance an d hysteresis at room temperature. Charge accumulation into surface states i s considered a dominant characteristic. (C) 1999 American Institute of Phys ics. [S0003-6951(99)03751-1].