An analytical-atomistic model for elastic behavior of silicon nanowires

Silicon nanowires entail significant potential as sensors in nanoelectromechanical systems. Despite its crucial impact in such applications, inconsistent trends in mechanical behavior reported in computational and experimental studies remain unexplained. Hence, scale effect in even the most fundamental elastic properties requires clarification. This work introduces a multiscale model to bridge the existing gap between atomistic simulations and experimental observations encountered around a critical dimension of 10 nm. The combined approach of this work is based on molecular dynamics and modified core-shell model and captures the scale effect over a substantial size range. The evolution of the modulus of elasticity is thus studied and linked to nanowire critical dimension through the parameterization of surface inhomogeneity. The developed method is also validated through an analysis of native oxide revealing an average modulus of elasticity of 75 GPa. The method’s applicability can be extended to similar one-dimensional structures with unique surface states.