title: Chemiresistive response of silicon nanowires to trace vapor of nitro explosives.
abstract: Silicon nanowires are observed to behave as chemically modulated resistors and exhibit sensitive and fast electrical responses to vapors of common nitro explosives and their degradation by-products. The nanowires were prepared with a top-down nano-fabrication process on a silicon-on-insulator wafer. The surface of the silicon nanowires was modified by plasma treatments. Both hydrogen and oxygen plasma treatments can significantly improve the responses, and oxygen plasma changes the majority carrier from p- to n-type on the surface of silicon nanowire thin films. The sensitivity is found to increase when the cross-section of the nanowires decreases.
authors.affiliation: Applied Physics Laboratory & Electrical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98105, USA.
authors.forename: Danling
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Haishan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Antao
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Sei-Hum
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Alex K-Y
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Jen
authors.forename: Attila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Szep