Building bridges between nanowires
Friday, September 20, 2013 - 13:00
in Physics & Chemistry
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. These wires are no more than a few atoms in height and are separated by no more than 1.6 nanometres. Nanotechnologists bridge this small 'gap' with a copper-phthalocyanine molecule, which is able to rotate if the electrons coursing towards it possess sufficient energy, allowing it to function as a switch. This might allow researchers to identify new properties the nanowires may possess.