Nanowires

Nanowires Zhong Lin Wang Semiconductor nanowires (NWs) are wires only a few nanometers in size that do not occur naturally. They represent an important broad class of nanometer-scale wire structures, which can be rationally and predictably synthesized in single-crystal form with all their key parameters controlled during growth: chemical composition, diameter, length, doping, and so on. Semiconductor NWs thus represent one of best-defined and best-controlled classes of nanoscale building blocks, which correspondingly have enabled a wide range of devices and integration strategies. For example, semiconductor NWs have been assembled into nanometer-scale field effect transistors (FETs), p-n diodes, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), bipolar junction transistors, complementary inverters, complex logic gates, and even computational circuits that have been used to carry out basic digital calculations. It is possible to combine distinct NW building blocks in ways not possible in conventional electronics. Leveraging the knowledge base of chemical modifications of inorganic surfaces can produce semiconductor NW devices that achieve new functions and produce novel device concepts.