Transport study of a single bismuth nanowire fabricated by the silver and silicon nanowire shadow masks

The authors have carried out measurements of the electrical conductivity of single bismuth nanowires fabricated by the low energy electron beam lithography using the silver/silicon nanowire shadow masks. The examined nanowires had cross-sectional dimensions of 40×30 and 40×50nm2. The chosen nanowire sizes had been slightly below the critical diameter D (∼50nm) at which a semimetal to semiconductor phase transition was predicted to occur. The results reveal a semiconductorlike temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity of a bismuth nanowire, which is strikingly different from that of the bulk bismuth.