Nanowires, both metallic and semiconducting, will be utilized for various NEMS applications, including mass, force and pressure sensing, next generation wireless applications, etc. One key issue for nanowire-based NEMS is that their Q-factors, due to surface effects degrade considerably with decreasing nanowire size.

We have recently demonstrated using classical molecular dynamics that mechanical strain can be an effective tool to combat the intrinsic surface-induced Q-factor degradation in nanowires. The idea underlying this effect is that surface atoms vibrate at different frequencies than do bulk atoms because of their different elastic stiffness. The application of mechanical strain causes the surface atoms to have a stiffness that becomes similar to the bulk atoms, which thus improves the coherency of oscillation, and thus the Q-factors.