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New Perspectives in Nanowires: From Growth and Characterization to Technological Applications

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A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "D：Materials and Processing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 October 2018) | Viewed by 33251

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Sonia Conesa-Boj

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Guest Editor

Department of Quantum Nanoscience, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Building 22/Room F184, Lorentzweg 1, 2628 CJ Delft, The Netherland
Interests: nanowires; topological insulators; nitrogen vacancy centers in diamond; Transmission Electron Microscopy; nanodevices

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Semiconducting nanowires represent one of today's most actively investigated one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures. This interest is motivated by their demonstrated potential in nanotechnology applications such as nano-electronics, nano-optics, nano-sensing, and solar cells. In addition to their intrinsically interesting physical properties, nanowires are the one of the most promising building blocks for nanoscale quantum architectures, which should find applications as components in a variety of quantum devices.

The aim of this Special Issue is to bring together the latest developments on both the fundamental physics and the optoelectronic and photonic applications of nanowires based on materials such as III-V, Si, Ge, nitrides, diamond, tellurides, among several others, as well as in associated heterostructures. Particular emphasis will be placed on the use of nanowires for emergent research fields ranging from integrated photonics, LEDs and lasers, single-photon emitters, and photodetectors, to topological quantum computing.

Specifically, this Special Issue seeks to showcase the blooming potential of research in nanowires by highlighting scientific papers, short communications, and review articles addressing important aspects of the field such as: (i) Major advancements based on the material design, synthesis, characterization and theoretical modelling; (ii) The potential to realize future nanoscale electronic, optical and photonic devices and technologies based on nanowires and their networks; (iii) Nanowires for quantum information processing applications.

Dr. Sonia Conesa-Boj
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

nanowires
fabrication
Transmission Electron Microscopy
thermoelectric
photodetectors
single-photon emitter
LEDs
lasers
photonic devices
electronic devices
optical devices
devices based on nanowire networks

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 2348 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Surface Engineering of Carbon-Based Microelectrodes for High-Performance Microsupercapacitors

by Liang He, Tianjiao Hong, Yue Huang, Biao Xiong, Xufeng Hong, Muhammad Tahir, Waqas Ali Haider and Yulai Han

Micromachines 2019, 10(5), 307; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi10050307 - 07 May 2019

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2626

Abstract

In this research, the enhancement in electrochemical performance of pyrolyzed carbon microelectrodes by surface modification is investigated. For the proposed microfabrication process, pyrolyzed carbon microelectrodes with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on their surface are obtained by developing GM-1060 photoresist in mixture of propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PGMEA) and CNTs, and following pyrolysis of a micropatterned photoresist. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/H₂SO₄ electrolyte (1 M) was applied to assemble this carbon/CNT microelectrode-based all-solid-state microsupercapacitor (carbon/CNT-MSC). The carbon/CNT-MSC shows a higher electrochemical performance compared with that of pyrolyzed carbon microelectrode-based MSC (carbon-MSC). The specific areal and volumetric capacitances of carbon/CNT-MSC (4.80 mF/cm² and 32.0 F/cm³) are higher than those of carbon-MSC (3.52 mF/cm² and 23.4 F/cm³) at the scan rate of 10 mV/s. In addition, higher energy density and power density of carbon/CNT-MSC (2.85 mWh/cm³ and 1.98 W/cm³) than those of carbon-MSC (2.08 mWh/cm³ and 1.41 W/cm³) were also achieved. This facile surface modification and optimization are potentially promising, being highly compatible with modern microfabrication technologies and allowing integration of highly electrically conductive CNTs into pyrolyzed carbon to assemble MSCs with improved electrochemical performance. Moreover, this method can be potentially applied to other high-performance micro/nanostructures and microdevices/systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives in Nanowires: From Growth and Characterization to Technological Applications)

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8 pages, 3677 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fabrication and Characteristics of SnAgCu Alloy Nanowires for Electrical Connection Application

by Jung-Hsuan Chen, Shen-Chuan Lo, Shu-Chi Hsu and Chun-Yao Hsu

Micromachines 2018, 9(12), 644; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9120644 - 05 Dec 2018

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2731

Abstract

As electronic products become more functional, the devices are required to provide better performances and meet ever smaller form factor requirements. To achieve a higher I/O density within the smallest form factor package, applying nanotechniques to electronic packaging can be regarded as a possible approach in microelectronic technology. Sn-3.0 wt% Ag-0.5 wt% Cu (SAC305) is a common solder material of electrical connections in microelectronic devices. In this study, SAC305 alloy nanowire was fabricated in a porous alumina membrane with a pore diameter of 50 nm by the pressure casting method. The crystal structure and composition analyses of SAC305 nanowires show that the main structure of the nanowire is β-Sn, and the intermetallic compound, Ag₃Sn, locates randomly but always appears on the top of the nanowire. Furthermore, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results indicate the melting point of SAC305 alloy nanowire is around 227.7 °C. The melting point of SAC305 alloy nanowire is significantly higher than that of SAC305 bulk alloy (219.4 °C). It is supposed that the non-uniform phase distribution and composite difference between the nanowires causes the change of melting temperature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives in Nanowires: From Growth and Characterization to Technological Applications)

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7 pages, 2323 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sol-Gel Template Synthesis and Characterization of Lu₂O₃:Eu³⁺ Nanowire Arrays

by Yahua Hu, Mu Gu, Xiaolin Liu, Juannan Zhang, Shiming Huang and Bo Liu

Micromachines 2018, 9(11), 601; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9110601 - 16 Nov 2018

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4249

Abstract

Uniform Lu₂O₃:Eu³⁺ nanowire arrays were successfully prepared by the sol-gel process using anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates. The as-synthesized nanowires are homogeneous, highly ordered, and dense and have a uniform diameter of ~300 nm defined by the AAO templates. The X-ray diffraction and selected area electron diffraction results show that the Lu₂O₃:Eu³⁺ nanowires have a polycrystalline cubic structure, and the crystallite size of the Lu₂O₃:Eu³⁺ nanowires is confined by the AAO template. The nanowires within the AAO template showed good photoluminescence and X-ray-excited optical luminescence performances for Lu₂O₃:Eu³⁺. The emission peaks were attributed to the ⁵D₀ → ⁷F_J transitions of Eu³⁺ (J = 0, 1, 2, 3). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives in Nanowires: From Growth and Characterization to Technological Applications)

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Graphical abstract

14 pages, 3181 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Monolithic Wafer Scale Integration of Silicon Nanoribbon Sensors with CMOS for Lab-on-Chip Application

by Ganesh Jayakumar, Per-Erik Hellström and Mikael Östling

Micromachines 2018, 9(11), 544; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9110544 - 25 Oct 2018

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2776

Abstract

Silicon ribbons (SiRi) have been well-established as highly sensitive transducers for biosensing applications thanks to their high surface to volume ratio. However, selective and multiplexed detection of biomarkers remains a challenge. Further, very few attempts have been made to integrate SiRi with complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) circuits to form a complete lab-on-chip (LOC). Integration of SiRi with CMOS will facilitate real time detection of the output signal and provide a compact small sized LOC. Here, we propose a novel pixel based SiRi device monolithically integrated with CMOS field-effect-transistors (FET) for real-time selective multiplexed detection. The SiRi pixels are fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator wafer using a top-down method. Each pixel houses a control FET, fluid-gate (FG) and SiRi sensor. The pixel is controlled by simultaneously applying frontgate (V_G) and backgate voltage (V_BG). The liquid potential can be monitored using the FG. We report the transfer characteristics (I_D-V_G) of N- and P-type SiRi pixels. Further, the I_D-V_G characteristics of the SiRis are studied at different V_BG. The application of V_BG to turn ON the SiRi modulates the subthreshold slope (SS) and threshold voltage (V_TH) of the control FET. Particularly, N-type pixels cannot be turned OFF due to the control NFET operating in the strong inversion regime. This is due to large V_BG (≥25 V) application to turn ON the SiRi sensor. Conversely, the P-type SiRi sensors do not require large V_BG to switch ON. Thus, P-type pixels exhibit excellent I_ON/I_OFF ≥ 10⁶, SS of 70–80 mV/dec and V_TH of 0.5 V. These promising results will empower the large-scale cost-efficient production of SiRi based LOC sensors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives in Nanowires: From Growth and Characterization to Technological Applications)

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Review

Jump to: Research

28 pages, 3095 KiB

Open AccessReview

Synthesis and Applications of Silver Nanowires for Transparent Conductive Films

by Yue Shi, Liang He, Qian Deng, Quanxiao Liu, Luhai Li, Wei Wang, Zhiqing Xin and Ruping Liu

Micromachines 2019, 10(5), 330; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi10050330 - 16 May 2019

Cited by 39 | Viewed by 7842

Abstract

Flexible transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) are widely applied in flexible electronic devices. Among these electrodes, silver (Ag) nanowires (NWs) have gained considerable interests due to their excellent electrical and optical performances. Ag NWs with a one-dimensional nanostructure have unique characteristics from those of bulk Ag. In past 10 years, researchers have proposed various synthesis methods of Ag NWs, such as ultraviolet irradiation, template method, polyol method, etc. These methods are discussed and summarized in this review, and we conclude that the advantages of the polyol method are the most obvious. This review also provides a more comprehensive description of the polyol method for the synthesis of Ag NWs, and the synthetic factors including AgNO₃ concentration, addition of other metal salts and polyvinyl pyrrolidone are thoroughly elaborated. Furthermore, several problems in the fabrication of Ag NWs-based TCEs and related devices are reviewed. The prospects for applications of Ag NWs-based TCE in solar cells, electroluminescence, electrochromic devices, flexible energy storage equipment, thin-film heaters and stretchable devices are discussed and summarized in detail. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives in Nanowires: From Growth and Characterization to Technological Applications)

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17 pages, 7243 KiB

Open AccessReview

Polymeric Nanowires for Diagnostic Applications

by Hendrik Hubbe, Eduardo Mendes and Pouyan E. Boukany

Micromachines 2019, 10(4), 225; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi10040225 - 29 Mar 2019

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3742

Abstract

Polymer nanowire-related research has shown considerable progress over the last decade. The wide variety of materials and the multitude of well-established chemical modifications have made polymer nanowires interesting as a functional part of a diagnostic biosensing device. This review provides an overview of relevant publications addressing the needs for a nanowire-based sensor for biomolecules. Working our way towards the detection methods itself, we review different nanowire fabrication methods and materials. Especially for an electrical signal read-out, the nanowire should persist in a single-wire configuration with well-defined positioning. Thus, the possibility of the alignment of nanowires is discussed. While some fabrication methods immanently yield an aligned single wire, other methods result in disordered structures and have to be manipulated into the desired configuration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives in Nanowires: From Growth and Characterization to Technological Applications)

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19 pages, 3134 KiB

Open AccessReview

Nanowire-Based Biosensors: From Growth to Applications

by Pranav Ambhorkar, Zongjie Wang , Hyuongho Ko, Sangmin Lee, Kyo-in Koo, Keekyoung Kim and Dong-il (Dan) Cho

Micromachines 2018, 9(12), 679; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9120679 - 19 Dec 2018

Cited by 97 | Viewed by 8851

Abstract

Over the past decade, synthesized nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotube, nanoparticle, quantum dot, and nanowire, have already made breakthroughs in various fields, including biomedical sensors. Enormous surface area-to-volume ratio of the nanomaterials increases sensitivity dramatically compared with macro-sized material. Herein we present a comprehensive review about the working principle and fabrication process of nanowire sensor. Moreover, its applications for the detection of biomarker, virus, and DNA, as well as for drug discovery, are reviewed. Recent advances including self-powering, reusability, sensitivity in high ionic strength solvent, and long-term stability are surveyed and highlighted as well. Nanowire is expected to lead significant improvement of biomedical sensor in the near future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives in Nanowires: From Growth and Characterization to Technological Applications)

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