Carrier mobility in strained Ge nanowires

We present fully atomistic calculations of the electron and hole mobilities in Ge nanowires with diameter up to 10 nm. We show that the phonon-limited mobility is strongly dependent on the diameter and on the orientation of the nanowire, and is also very responsive to unaxial strains. The similarities and differences with the case of Si nanowires are highlighted. In strained Ge nanowires, the mobility can reach >3000 cm2/V/s for electrons and 12000 cm2/V/s for holes. Ge nanowires are therefore promising nanostructures for ultimate electronic devices.