Stability and plasticity of silicon nanowires: the role of wire perimeter

We investigated the properties of stability and plasticity of silicon nanowires using molecular dynamics simulations. We considered nanowires with <100>, <110> and <112> growth directions with several diameters and surface facet configurations. We found that the wire perimeter, and not the wire diameter, is the meaningful dimensional parameter. As a result, the surface facets play a central role on the nanowire energy, that follows a universal scaling law. Additionally, we have computed the response of a silicon nanowire to external load. The results were compared to available experimental and ab initio data.