Quantum confinement effect in β-SiC nanowires

The quantum confinement effect is important in nanoelectronics and optoelectronics applications; however, there is a discrepancy between the theory of quantum confinement, which indicates that band-gap widening occurs only at small sizes, and experimental observations of band-gap widening in large-diameter nanowires (NWs). This paper reports an obvious blue shift of the absorption edge in the UV-visible absorption spectra of SiC NWs with diameters of 50–300 nm. On the basis of quantum confinement theory and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images of SiC NWs, band-gap widening in SiC NWs with diameters of up to hundreds of nanometers is fully explained; the results could help to explain similar band-gap widening in other NWs with large diameters.