Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
In this paper, we have reported the fabrication and characterization of nanowire electromechanical switches consisting of chemical-vapor-deposition grown silicon nanowires suspended over metal electrodes. The devices operate as transistors with the suspended part of the nanowire bent to touch metal electrode via electromechanical force by applying voltage. The reversible switching, large on/off current ratio, small subthreshold slope and low switching energy compared to current CMOSFET make the switches very attractive for logic device application. In addition, we have developed a physical model to investigate the switching characteristics and extract the material properties.