Discovery Could Lead to New Materials for Ultra-small Components
August 2, 2016 | Department of Energy, Office of ScienceEstimated reading time: 1 minute
As any good carpenter knows, it’s often easier to get what you want if you build it yourself. An international team using resources at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials took that idea to heart. They wanted to tailor extremely small wires that carry light and electrons. They devised an approach that lets them tailor the wires through exquisite control over the structures at the nanoscale. New structures could open up a potential path to a wide range of smaller, lighter, or more efficient devices.
This development could lead to highly tailored nanowires for new classes of high-performance, energy-efficient computing, communications, and environmental and medical sensing systems. The resulting devices could lead to smaller electronics as well as improving solar panels, photodetectors, and semiconductor lasers.
Semiconducting nanowires have a wide range of existing and potential applications in optoelectronic materials, from single-electron transistors and tunnel diodes, to light-emitting semiconducting nanowires to energy-harvesting devices. An international collaboration led by the University of Cambridge and IBM has demonstrated a new method to create novel nanowires that contain nanocrystals embedded within them. They accomplished this by modifying the classic “vapor-liquid-solid” crystal growth method, wherein a liquid-phase catalyst decomposes an incoming gas-phase source and mediates the deposition of the solid, growing nanowire. In this work, a bimetallic catalyst is used. The team showed that by appropriate thermal treatment, it is possible to crystallize a solid silicide structure within the liquid catalyst, and then attach the nanowire to the solid silicon in a controlled epitaxial fashion. The Center for Functional Nanomaterials’ Electron Microscopy Facility was employed to image the nanomaterials by high spatial-resolution, aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy. As well, scientists used a first-of-its-kind direct electron detector to obtain high temporal-resolution images of the fabrication process. Incorporating these instruments with the expertise and insight of the scientific team led to fantastic, nanoscale control over these structures and presents notable potential for a broad range of potential devices, like photodetectors and single electron transistors.
Suggested Items
Scientists Propose a New Way to Search for Dark Matter
04/02/2024 | SLAC National Accelerator LaboratoryEver since its discovery, dark matter has remained invisible to scientists, despite the launch of multiple ultra-sensitive particle detector experiments around the world over several decades.
Walmart Acquires Vizio, Set to Overtake Samsung as the Largest TV Brand in the US
02/22/2024 | TrendForceUS retail giant Walmart announced on February 20, that it has acquired smart TV brand Vizio for US$2.3 billion, aiming to accelerate the growth of its advertising business: Walmart Connect. Since its launch in 2021, Walmart Connect has seen double-digit annual growth in both its online and offline retail media advertising ventures. Vizio has been expanding its device ecosystem and its SmartCast TV OS, boasting over 18 million active users, according to TrendForce.
Fiber Optic Cables Effective Way to Detect Tsunamis
02/16/2024 | University of MichiganFiber optic cables that line ocean floors could provide a less expensive, more comprehensive alternative to the current buoys that act as early warning systems for tsunamis, says a University of Michigan researcher.
EIPC Winter Conference 2024, Day 2: A Closer Look at Global Trends
02/14/2024 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007The opening session of the second day’s conference proceedings focused on global PCB trends and was introduced and moderated by Dr. Michele Stampanoni, vice president of strategic sales and business development at Cicor Group in Switzerland. He opened the session with Dr. Hayao Nakahara’s knowledgeable and enlightening video presentation on the IC substrates industry.
IDTechEx Discusses Whether Fuel Cell Vehicles Will Succeed and What It Would Take
02/12/2024 | PRNewswireThe sales of hydrogen fuel cell cars have largely stalled from 2021 onwards, but does this mean there is no market for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in the future, and what is required to make them a success? IDTechEx's report, "