Dual-gate operation and carrier transport in SiGe p-n junction nanowires.

We investigate carrier transport in silicon-germanium nanowires with an axial p-n junction doping profile by fabricating these wires into transistors that feature separate top gates over each doping segment. By independently biasing each gate, carrier concentrations in the n- and p-side of the wire can be modulated. For these devices, which were fabricated with nickel source-drain electrical contacts, holes are the dominant charge carrier, with more favorable hole injection occurring on the p-side contact. Channel current exhibits greater sensitivity to the n-side gate, and in the reverse biased source-drain configuration, current is limited by the nickel/n-side Schottky contact.

Using Laser-Induced Thermal Voxels to Pattern Diverse Materials at the Solid-Liquid Interface.

We describe a high-resolution patterning approach that combines the spatial control inherent to laser direct writing with the versatility of benchtop chemical synthesis. By taking advantage of the steep thermal gradient that occurs while laser heating a metal edge in contact with solution, diverse materials comprising transition metals are patterned with feature size resolution nearing 1 µm. We demonstrate fabrication of reduced metallic nickel in one step and examine electrical properties and air stability through direct-write integration onto a device platform. This strategy expands the chemistries and materials that can be used in combination with laser direct writing.

Diameter dependent thermoelectric properties of individual SnTe nanowires.

The lead-free compound tin telluride (SnTe) has recently been suggested to be a promising thermoelectric material. In this work, we report on the first thermoelectric study of individual single-crystalline SnTe nanowires with different diameters ranging from ∼218 to ∼913 nm. Measurements of thermopower S, electrical conductivity σ and thermal conductivity κ were carried out on the same nanowires over a temperature range of 25-300 K. While the electrical conductivity does not show a strong diameter dependence, the thermopower increases by a factor of two when the nanowire diameter is decreased from ∼913 nm to ∼218 nm. The thermal conductivity of the measured NWs is lower than that of the bulk SnTe, which may arise from the enhanced phonon - surface boundary scattering and phonon-defect scattering. Temperature dependent figure of merit ZT was determined for individual nanowires and the achieved maximum value at room temperature is about three times higher than that in bulk samples of comparable carrier density.

Cellular complexity captured in durable silica biocomposites.

Tissue-derived cultured cells exhibit a remarkable range of morphological features in vitro, depending on phenotypic expression and environmental interactions. Translation of these cellular architectures into inorganic materials would provide routes to generate hierarchical nanomaterials with stabilized structures and functions. Here, we describe the fabrication of cell/silica composites (CSCs) and their conversion to silica replicas using mammalian cells as scaffolds to direct complex structure formation. Under mildly acidic solution conditions, silica deposition is restricted to the molecularly crowded cellular template. Inter- and intracellular heterogeneity from the nano- to macroscale is captured and dimensionally preserved in CSCs following drying and subjection to extreme temperatures allowing, for instance, size and shape preserving pyrolysis of cellular architectures to form conductive carbon replicas. The structural and behavioral malleability of the starting material (cultured cells) provides opportunities to develop robust and economical biocomposites with programmed structures and functions.

Multiphoton lithography of nanocrystalline platinum and palladium for site-specific catalysis in 3D microenvironments.

Integration of catalytic nanostructured platinum and palladium within 3D microscale structures or fluidic environments is important for systems ranging from micropumps to microfluidic chemical reactors and energy converters. We report a straightforward procedure to fabricate microscale patterns of nanocrystalline platinum and palladium using multiphoton lithography. These materials display excellent catalytic, electrical, and electrochemical properties, and we demonstrate high-resolution integration of catalysts within 3D defined microenvironments to generate directed autonomous particle and fluid transport.

Fabrication of a nanostructure thermal property measurement platform.

Measurements of the electrical and thermal transport properties of one-dimensional nanostructures (e.g. nanotubes and nanowires) are typically obtained without detailed knowledge of the specimen's atomic-scale structure or defects. To address this deficiency, we have developed a microfabricated, chip-based characterization platform that enables both transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of the atomic structure and defects as well as measurement of the thermal transport properties of individual nanostructures. The platform features a suspended heater line that physically contacts the center of a suspended nanostructure/nanowire that was placed using in situ scanning electron microscope nanomanipulators. Suspension of the nanostructure across a through-hole enables TEM characterization of the atomic and defect structure (dislocations, stacking faults, etc) of the test sample. This paper explains, in detail, the processing steps involved in creating this thermal property measurement platform. As a model study, we report the use of this platform to measure the thermal conductivity and defect structure of a GaN nanowire.

Ge diffusion at the Si(100) surface.

Using scanning tunneling microscopy movies, we directly observe individual embedded Ge atoms to be mobile within the Si(100)-(2x1)-Ge surface at temperatures as low as 90 degrees C. We demonstrate that Ge atoms move by exchange diffusion with (1) adsorbed monomers and (2) individual constituent atoms of adsorbed dimers. Our observations are consistent with recent density-functional theory calculations, which give the atomistic pathways and energetic barriers for both exchange mechanisms. We find that neither adsorbed monomers nor dimers can diffuse more than a few nanometers between exchange events, illustrating how Ge diffusion and intermixing are intimately coupled at the nanoscale on the Si(100) surface.

Diameter-dependent electronic transport properties of Au-catalyst/Ge-nanowire Schottky diodes.

We present electronic transport measurements in individual Au-catalyst/Ge-nanowire interfaces demonstrating the presence of a Schottky barrier. Surprisingly, the small-bias conductance density increases with decreasing diameter. Theoretical calculations suggest that this effect arises because electron-hole recombination in the depletion region is the dominant charge transport mechanism, with a diameter dependence of both the depletion width and the electron-hole recombination time. The recombination time is dominated by surface contributions and depends linearly on the nanowire diameter.

One-dimensional defect-mediated diffusion of Si adatoms on the Si(111)-(5 x 2)-Au surface.

Using scanning tunneling microscopy, we determine that the one-dimensional diffusion of Si adatoms along the Si(111)-(5 x 2)-Au surface reconstruction occurs by a defect-mediated mechanism. Distinctive diffusion statistics, especially correlations between sequential adatom displacements, imply that the displacements are triggered by an interaction with a defect that is localized to the adatom. The defect is intrinsic and thermally activated. The measured diffusion statistics are modeled accurately by a Monte Carlo simulation. The measured adatom diffusion activation barrier is 1.24 +/- 0.08 eV.

Unusually strong space-charge-limited current in thin wires.

The current-voltage characteristics of thin wires are often observed to be nonlinear, and this behavior has been ascribed to Schottky barriers at the contacts. We present electronic transport measurements on GaN nanorods and demonstrate that the nonlinear behavior originates instead from space-charge-limited current. A theory of space-charge-limited current in thin wires corroborates the experiments and shows that poor screening in high-aspect ratio materials leads to a dramatic enhancement of space-charge limited current, resulting in new scaling in terms of the aspect ratio.

How Pb-overlayer islands move fast enough to self-assemble on Pb-Cu surface alloys.

Low-energy electron microscopy reveals that two-dimensional, approximately 50 000 atom, Pb-overlayer and vacancy islands both have diffusion coefficients of 25.6+/-0.8 nm2/sec at 400 degrees C on Pb-Cu surface alloys. This high mobility, key to self-assembly in this system, results from the fast transport of Pb atoms on the surface alloy and of Cu through the Pb overlayer. A high Pb vacancy concentration, predicted by ab initio calculations, facilitates the latter.

Changing the diffusion mechanism of Ge-Si dimers on Si(001) using an electric field.

We change the diffusion mechanism of adsorbed Ge-Si dimers on Si(001) using the electric field of a scanning tunneling microscope tip. By comparing the measured field dependence with first-principles calculations we conclude that, in negative field, i.e., when electrons are attracted towards the vacuum, the dimer diffuses as a unit, rotating as it translates, whereas, in positive field the dimer bond is substantially stretched at the transition state as it slides along the substrate. Furthermore, the active mechanism in positive fields facilitates intermixing of Ge in the Si lattice, whereas intermixing is suppressed in negative fields.

Vacancy-mediated and exchange diffusion in a Pb/Cu(111) surface alloy: concurrent diffusion on two length scales.

Pb diffuses in a Pb/Cu(111) surface alloy predominantly by exchange with surface vacancies and, much less frequently, by exchange with thermal Cu adatoms. Because the infrequent adatom exchanges transport Pb atoms much farther, both processes affect observations of Pb transport in the Pb/Cu(111) surface alloy.

Diffusion kinetics in the Pd/Cu(001) surface alloy.

We use atom-tracking scanning tunneling microscopy to study the diffusion of Pd in the Pd/Cu(001) surface alloy as a function of temperature. By following the motion of individual Pd atoms incorporated in the surface, we show that Pd diffuses by a vacancy-exchange mechanism. We measure an activation energy for the diffusion of incorporated Pd atoms of 0.88 eV, which is in good agreement with our ab initio calculated energy of 0.94 eV.

Unique dynamic appearance of a Ge-Si ad-dimer on Si(001).

We carry out a comparative study of the energetics and dynamics of Si-Si, Ge-Ge, and Ge-Si ad-dimers on top of a dimer row in the Si(001) surface, using first-principles calculations. The dynamic appearance of a Ge-Si dimer is distinctively different from that of a Si-Si or Ge-Ge dimer, providing a unique way for its identification by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Its "rocking" motion, observed in STM, actually reflects a 180 degrees rotation of the dimer, involving a piecewise-rotation mechanism. The calculated energy barrier of 0.74 eV is in good agreement with the experimental value of 0.82 eV.