An energetic stability predictor of hydrogen-terminated Si nanostructures

We present a linear relationship between the cohesive energies and the H/Si ratio for hydrogen-terminated Si semiconductor nanostructures based on our model analysis and first-principles calculations. The H/Si ratio is shown to be a universal predictor of the nanostructure's energetic stability and allows easily searching of magic numbers in Si quantum dots. Our findings substantially improve the understanding of nanostructure stability and make practical the prediction of structural properties. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.