Stress redistribution in individual ultrathin strained silicon nanowires: a high-resolution polarized Raman study

Strain nano-engineering provides valuable opportunities to create high-performance nanodevices by a precise tailoring of semiconductor band structure. Achieving these enhanced capabilities has sparked a surge of interest in controlling strain on the nanoscale. In this work, the stress behavior in ultrathin strained silicon nanowires directly on oxide is elucidated using background-free, high-resolution polarized Raman spectroscopy. We established a theoretical framework to quantify the stress from Raman shifts taking into account the anisotropy associated with the nanowire quasi-one-dimensional morphology. The investigated nanowires have lateral dimensions of 30, 50 and 80 nm and a length of 1 mu m top-down fabricated by patterning and etching 15 nm thick biaxially tensile strained silicon nanomembranes generated using heteroepitaxy and ultrathin layer transfer. The concern over the contribution of Raman scattering at the nanowire oriented sidewalls is circumvented by precisely selecting the incident polarization relative to the sidewalls of the nanowire, thus enabling an accurate and rigorous analysis of stress profiles in individual nanowires. Unlike suspended nanowires, which become uniaxially strained as a result of free surface-induced relaxation, we demonstrated that stress profiles in single nanowires are rather complex and non-uniform along different directions due to the oxide-nanowire interface. As a general trend, higher stresses are observed at the center of the nanowire and found to decrease linearly as a function of the nanowire width. Using multi-wavelength high-resolution Raman spectroscopy, we also extracted the stress profiles at different depths in the nanowire. The residual stress in the top similar to 10 nm of the nanowire was found to be nearly uniaxial and increase from the edge toward the center, which remains highly strained. In contrast, the average stress profiles measured over the whole nanowire thickness exhibit different behavior characterized by a plateau in the region similar to 200 nm away from the edges. Our observations indicate that the lattice near the newly formed free surface moves inwards and drags the underlying substrate leading to a complex redistribution of stress. This nanoscale patterning-induced relaxation has direct implications for electrical and mechanical properties of strained silicon nanowires and provides myriad opportunities to create entirely new strained-engineered nanoscale devices

Studying the local character of Raman features of single-walled carbon nanotubes along a bundle using TERS

Here, we show that the Raman intensity of the G-mode in tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) is strongly dependent on the height of the bundle. Moreover, using TERS we are able to position different single-walled carbon nanotubes along a bundle, by correlating the observed radial breathing mode (RBM) with the AFM topography at the measuring point. The frequency of the G- mode behaves differently in TERS as compared to far-field Raman. Using the RBM frequency, the diameters of the tubes were calculated and a very good agreement with the G--mode frequency was observed

Raman Spectroscopy of Nanostructures and Nanosized Materials

The interest of micro and tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy to analyze nanosized and nanostructured materials, chiefly semiconductors, oxides and pristine or functionalized carbon nanotubes, is reviewed at the light of the contributions to this special issue. Particular attention is paid to the fact that chemical reactions, size or shape distribution, defects, strain and couplings may add to nano-dimensionality in defining the Raman signature

Raman spectroscopy: techniques and applications in the life sciences

Raman spectroscopy is an increasingly popular technique in many areas including biology and medicine. It is based on Raman scattering, a phenomenon in which incident photons lose or gain energy via interactions with vibrating molecules in a sample. These energy shifts can be used to obtain information regarding molecular composition of the sample with very high accuracy. Applications of Raman spectroscopy in the life sciences have included quantification of biomolecules, hyperspectral molecular imaging of cells and tissue, medical diagnosis, and others. This review briefly presents the physical origin of Raman scattering explaining the key classical and quantum mechanical concepts. Variations of the Raman effect will also be considered, including resonance, coherent, and enhanced Raman scattering. We discuss the molecular origins of prominent bands often found in the Raman spectra of biological samples. Finally, we examine several variations of Raman spectroscopy techniques in practice, looking at their applications, strengths, and challenges. This review is intended to be a starting resource for scientists new to Raman spectroscopy, providing theoretical background and practical examples as the foundation for further study and exploration