Title: Nanoinstabilities as revealed by shrinkage of nanocavities in silicon during irradiation

Authors: Xianfang Zhu, Zhanguo Wang

Addresses: Laboratory of Low Dimensional Nanostructures, School of Physics and Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005, China; Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials Science, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 912, Beijing 100083, China; Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. ' Laboratory of Low Dimensional Nanostructures, School of Physics and Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005, China; Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials Science, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 912, Beijing 100083, China; Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA

Abstract: While the thermodynamic nonequilibrium properties of nanoparticles are being extensively studied, the thermodynamic nonequilibrium properties of their counterpart: nanocavities, however, are less noticed. Here, we systematically review and comprehensively model the recently published results on the newly-found thermodynamic nonequilibrium properties of nanocavities in covalently bound materials during energetic beam irradiation. We also review and model the thermodynamic nonequilibrium properties of nanoparticles. The review and modelling not only demonstrates the novel nonequilibrium properties of such an open-volume nanostructure during external excitation but also gives a deep insight into the nonequilibrium thermodynamics of amorphous structures and the difference in the behaviours of defects in crystalline and in amorphous silicon. Especially, the review and modelling leads to two new concepts: anti-symmetry relation between a nanoparticle and a nanocavity; energetic beam induced-soft mode and lattice instability in condensed matter; which reveals that structure of a condensed matter would be unstable not only at nanosize scale but also at a nanotime scale in general. It is also reveals that such nanoinstabilities would be more pronounced in an amorphous structure than in a crystalline structure.

Keywords: silicon nanocavities; nanoparticles; nanoinstabilities; open volume defect; thermodynamic nonequilibrium; nanosize; nanotime; energetic beam irradiation; amorphous structures; nanocurvature; surface energy; nanotechnology; crystalline structures.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNT.2006.011175

International Journal of Nanotechnology, 2006 Vol.3 No.4, pp.492 - 516

Published online: 20 Oct 2006 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article