AVS 53rd International Symposium
    Nanometer-scale Science and Technology Thursday Sessions
       Session NS-ThP

Paper NS-ThP5
Electronic Conduction of the Titanium Silicide Nanowires Grown on Si(111) Surface

Thursday, November 16, 2006, 5:30 pm, Room 3rd Floor Lobby

Session: Nanoscale Science and Technology Poster Session
Presenter: R. Stiufiuc, Institut d'Electronique, de Microelectronique et de Nanotechnologie, France
Authors: R. Stiufiuc, Institut d'Electronique, de Microelectronique et de Nanotechnologie, France
T. Soubiron, Institut d'Electronique, de Microelectronique et de Nanotechnologie, France
B. Grandidier, Institut d'Electronique, de Microelectronique et de Nanotechnologie, France
D. Deresmes, Institut d'Electronique, de Microelectronique et de Nanotechnologie, France
L. Patout, Institut d'Electronique, de Microelectronique et de Nanotechnologie, France
D. Stievenard, Institut d'Electronique, de Microelectronique et de Nanotechnologie, France
Correspondent: Click to Email
Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) are two experimental techniques very suitable for the study of fundamental mechanism of electronic transport in low dimensional systems such as nanowires. Due to their unusual physical properties the nanowires represent a promising candidate for future nano devices. In order to achieve this goal, the understanding of their unusual quantum properties is necessary. Using STM/STS techniques we have investigated the electronic transport of the self-assembled titanium silicide nanowires in ultrahigh vacuum conditions in the 77 - 4 K temperature range. By varying the temperature we observed a transition from a semiconductor behavior at 4 K, characterized by the presence of a well defined energy band gap, to a metallic one at 77 K where the band gap vanishes. We explain this change by the different role of the silicon surface states in the charge transfer mechanism of the system formed by TiSi@sub 2@ nanowires and the silicon substrate. The semiconductor behavior observed at low temperatures is a consequence of the Schottky barrier formation at the interface between the nanowires and the silicon substrate, when the silicon surface states are frozen.