S. Tom Picraux, Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Los Alamos National Laboratory
1:30 PM, CCR 201

Semiconducting nanowires promise a wide variety of potential applications, from novel sensors to energy harvesting devices. I will give highlights of three aspects from our research on Si/Ge nanowire materials synthesis and properties. First, kinetics and mechanisms for vapor-liquid-solid growth will be discussed, including plasma stimulation of nanowire nucleation and in situ optical reflectance studies. In the second part studies of axial and core/shell heterostructures studies will be presented. In contrast to 2D strained layer growth, nanowires are not laterally confined, allowing large strains to be incorporated as a new approach to bandstructure engineering. In the third part we discuss Si nanowire electrical transport and chemical properties. For example, chemically functionalizing nanowire surfaces with photo-switchable molecules allows reversible control of surface hydrophobicity and the movement of liquid droplets on surfaces using only light, suggesting new opportunities for microfluidics.

Host: Leonard Feldman