Electronic transport in natively oxidized silicon nanowires

Silicon nanowires are widely used as active functional elements in advanced electronic devices, most notably in biological sensors. While surface oxidation of the wires occurs upon exposure to a wet environment, theoretical studies are often limited to ideally crystalline, H-terminated wire models. We present an accurate computational study of the electronic and transport properties of natively oxidized, ultrathin silicon nanowires including dopant elements. Comparisons with perfectly ordered and distorted H-terminated structures reveal an unexpected interplay of effects that oxidation-induced structural distortions and electronegative Si/SiO_x interfaces have on the conductance of B- or P-doped nanowires.