Home > Press > Building bridges between nanowires
![]() |
Abstract:
Place a layer of gold only a few atoms high on a surface bed of germanium, apply heat to it, and wires will form of themselves. Gold-induced wires is what Mocking prefers to call them. Not 'gold wires', as the wires are not made solely out of gold atoms but also contain germanium. They are no more than a few atoms in height and are separated by no more than 1.6 nanometres (a nanometre is one millionth of a millimetre). Nanotechnologists bridge this small 'gap' with a copper-phthalocyanine molecule. A perfect fit. This molecule was found to be able to rotate if the electrons coursing towards it possess sufficient energy, allowing it to function as a switch. What's more: the copper atom of this molecule floats in the vacuum above the gap - fully detached. This might allow researchers to identify new properties the nanowires may possess.
Quantum effects
Mocking also managed to craft new 1D structures with two different metals, iridium and cobalt - obtaining entirely different results. For instance, he was able to prove that quantum effects occur to iridium when heated to room temperature, leading to the wires always being 4.8 nanometres, or a multiple thereof, in length. This astonishing result was published in Nature Communications earlier this year. When cobalt, the third of the metals, was heated, no wires were formed.
Instead, little 'islands' and 'nanocrystals' appeared.
Bottom-up nanoelectronics
Mocking used the semiconductor germanium as substrate for each of the three metals, as it is easy to work with at relatively low temperatures and possesses a suitable crystal structure. Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) is ideally suited to investigate these structures. His research is of fundamental importance, as surprising physical effects are noticeable when deconstructing to the lower dimensions, up to 1D. It also allows for the 'bottom-up' crafting of electronic switches: start with the smallest, self-organising structures, add molecules, and proceed from there. The process is still in its infancy, but may become an alternative to the current 'top-down' approach, which entails removing ever more parts from a larger structure. The gold and iridium-inducted wires may form starting blocks for the process. The cobalt islands, though less suitable to this new type of electronics science, do provide fundamental new insights.
Tijs Mocking (1984, Utrecht, NL) defended his dissertation ‘Properties of 1D metal-induced structures on semiconductor surfaces' on 19 September 2013. His research was conducted within the Physics of Interfaces and Nanomaterials group of the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, led by Professor Harold Zandvliet. A digital copy of the dissertation, or a summary thereof, may be requested.
####
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Wiebe van der Veen
+31612185692
Copyright © AlphaGalileo
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Related News Press |
News and information
Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025
Quantum computers simulate fundamental physics: shedding light on the building blocks of nature June 6th, 2025
A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
Chip Technology
A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
Programmable electron-induced color router array May 14th, 2025
Enhancing power factor of p- and n-type single-walled carbon nanotubes April 25th, 2025
Ultrafast plasmon-enhanced magnetic bit switching at the nanoscale April 25th, 2025
Nanoelectronics
Interdisciplinary: Rice team tackles the future of semiconductors Multiferroics could be the key to ultralow-energy computing October 6th, 2023
Key element for a scalable quantum computer: Physicists from Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University demonstrate electron transport on a quantum chip September 23rd, 2022
Reduced power consumption in semiconductor devices September 23rd, 2022
Atomic level deposition to extend Moore’s law and beyond July 15th, 2022
Discoveries
Researchers unveil a groundbreaking clay-based solution to capture carbon dioxide and combat climate change June 6th, 2025
Cambridge chemists discover simple way to build bigger molecules – one carbon at a time June 6th, 2025
Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025
A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
Announcements
Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025
Quantum computers simulate fundamental physics: shedding light on the building blocks of nature June 6th, 2025
A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
Quantum nanoscience
Programmable electron-induced color router array May 14th, 2025
![]() |
||
![]() |
||
The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
![]() |
![]() |
||
Premium Products | ||
![]() |
||
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
![]() |
||
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||
![]() |