Elastic Properties and Buckling of Silicon Nanowires

The ultrahigh flexibility and strong mechanical toughness of silicon nanowires (SiNWs) is demonstrated using manipulation and measurements on buckled SiNWs in a scanning electron microscope (see figure). The experimental data and calculated results show that the nanowire can bear a large strain (1.5%), much more than the bulk material, while the elastic constant of the NW is similar to that of the bulk.