Wafer-Scale Electroactive Nanoporous Silicon: Large and Fully Reversible Electrochemo-Mechanical Actuation in Aqueous Electrolytes

Wafer-Scale Electroactive Nanoporous Silicon: Large and Fully Reversible Electrochemo-Mechanical Actuation in Aqueous Electrolytes

Manuel Brinker and Patrick Huber

Nanoporosity in silicon results in interface-dominated mechanics, fluidics, and photonics that are often superior to the ones of the bulk material. However, their active control, for example, by electronic stimuli, is challenging due to the absence of intrinsic piezoelectricity in the base material. Here, for nanoporous silicon wetted by aqueous electrolytes, electrosorption-induced mechanical stress generation of up to 600 kPa that is adjustable at will by potential variations of ≈1 V is shown. Laser cantilever bending experiments allow the determination of the capacitive charge–stress coupling parameter upon ion sorption. The observation of electrochemo-mechanical actuation in a mainstream semiconductor opens up novel opportunities for on-chip integrated actuorics at exceptionally low operation voltages.

Advanced Materials 33, 202105923 (2021)
Corresponding Author: Patrick Huber

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