Hexagonal silicon could be light emitter
Silicon naturally crystallizes in a cubic structure and is best known in this form along with its properties such as having limited optical properties due to its indirect band gap. The hope is that when formed with hexagonal structure silicon mixed with germanium will have a direct band gap which could lead to novel electro-optical properties. It could also have novel mechanical and superconductor properties.
The research team formed the hexagonal silicon by growing it epitaxially on a gallium phosphide nanowire template. The stacking of the hexagonal structure is shown by aberration-corrected imaging in transmission electron microscopy and the material is stable up to 9 GPa pressure.
The research is published in a recent issue of Nano Letters. The team plans to use the methods laid out in this paper to fabricate hexagonal versions of germanium and silicon-germanium compounds.
Related links and articles:
"Hexagonal silicon realized."Nano Letters. DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b01939
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