NEMS nanostructures with enhanced piezoresistive and piezoelectric properties. Application to sensor devices and energy harvesting

In this paper we present how piezoresitive and piezoelectric effects could be significantly enhanced in semiconductor nanostructures, and more specifically in nano heterostructures. Simulations results from analytical, multiphysics and finite element methods are presented. A new AFM method to directly measure the piezoelectric effect in nanowires is also introduced. Finally sensor and energy harvesting structures are derived from this larger sensitivity of these nanostructures, exploiting size and quantum effects.