Young's Modulus of Wurtzite and Zinc Blende InP Nanowires

摘要

The Youngs modulus of thin conical InP nanowires with either wurtzite or mixed zinc blende/wurtzite structures was measured. It has been shown that the value of Youngs modulus obtained for wurtzite InP nanowires (E-[0001] = 130 +/- 30 GPa) was similar to the theoretically predicted value for the wurtzite InP material (E[0001] = 120 +/- 10 GPa). The Youngs modulus of mixed "zinc blende/wurtzite" InP nanowires (E-[111] = 65 +/- 10 GPa) appeared to be 40% less than the theoretically predicted value for the zinc blende InP material (E-[111] = 110 GPa). An advanced method for measuring the Youngs modulus of thin and flexible nanostructures is proposed. It consists of measuring the flexibility (the inverse of stiffness) profiles 1/k(x) by the scanning probe microscopy with precise control of loading force in nanonewton range followed by simulations.