SGER: Engineered Nanowires and Devices

这个探索性项目的主要目标是证明金属-氧化物-金属拼接（MOMS）纳米线可以合成，并且它们可以组装成具有金属接触垫电极的基板上的纳米电子电路，用于纳米传感器应用。这些新型MOMS纳米线的结构包括金属纳米线（Pt; 50-100 nm直径; 1-100 μ m长），其中小段（50-100 nm宽）被传感器氧化物（SnO 2）替代。换句话说，MOMS纳米线具有精确尺寸的SnO 2，其具有整体Pt纳米线互连。这些MOMS纳米线纳米传感器可能具有前所未有的灵敏度和选择性，这是由于：（i）高表面积的纳米级SnO 2，提供高度响应的气体吸附物改性的表面电导率，以及（ii）与SnO 2接触的Pt纳米线用作催化剂。如果我们成功地实现了上述目标，这项研究将为将MOMS纳米线组装成高灵敏度，高选择性气体纳米传感器阵列开辟道路。这些MOMS纳米线纳米传感器也有可能被集成到基于“自下而上”的纳米电子电路中，提供额外的功能。因此，这项研究有可能彻底改变气体传感器领域，具有深远的影响。此外，所提出的方法本质上是通用的，并且其可以应用于包含其他氧化物片段（例如ZnO、BaTiO 3、（Ba，Sr）TiO 3、PbTiO 3、ZrO 2、SiO 2、Al 2 O3、MgO、焦磷酸盐等）的MOMS纳米线，其可以赋予其它功能。这也将为使用各种自组装方法组装特定位点的MOMS纳米线以制造纳米器件打开大门。因此，MOMS纳米线及其组装成器件有可能彻底改变整个纳米电子学领域。然而，这取决于我们合成和组装这些工程纳米线的能力，迄今为止还没有完成。这使得拟议的项目高风险，但适合小赠款探索性研究（SGER）计划。该项目将导致1研究生和1本科生在纳米电子学这一令人兴奋的领域的教育。

The prime objective of this exploratory project is to demonstrate that metal-oxide-metal spliced (MOMS) nanowires can be synthesize, and that they can be assembled into nanoelectronic circuits on substrates with metal contact-pad electrodes for nanosensor applications. The structure of these novel MOMS nanowire comprises metal nanowire (Pt; 50-100 nm diameter; 1-100 um long) with a small segment (50-100 nm wide) being replaced by a sensor oxide (SnO2 ). In other words, a MOMS nanowire has SnO2 of precise dimensions with integral Pt nanowire interconnects. These MOMS nanowire nanosensors are likely to have unprecedented sensitivity and selectivity due to: (i) the high-surface area Nanoscale SnO2 , providing highly responsive gas-adsorbate-modified surface-electrical conductivities and (ii) the Pt nanowire in contact with the SnO2 serving as a catalyst. If we are successful in achieving the stated objective, this research will open the way to assembling the MOMS nanowires into arrays of highly sensitive, highly selective gas nanosensors. These MOMS nanowire nanosensors also have the potential to be integrated into nanowire-based circuits in "bottom up" nanoelectronics providing added functionalities. Thus, this research has the potential to revolutionize the field of gas sensors, with far-reaching implications. Moreover, the proposed approach is generic in nature, and it could be applied to MOMS nanowires containing other oxide segments (e.g. ZnO, BaTiO3 , (Ba,Sr)TiO3 , PbTiO3 , ZrO2 , SiO2 , Al2 O3 , MgO, pyrochlores, etc.), which can impart other functionalities. This will also opens the door to assembling site-specific MOMS nanowire using various self-assembly methods for making nanodevices. Thus, the MOMS nanowires and their assembly into devices have the potential to revolutionize the entire field of nanoelectronics. However, this hinges on our ability to synthesize and assemble these engineered nanowires, which has hitherto not been done. This makes the proposed project high-risk, but suitable for the small grant exploratory research (SGER) program. This project will result in the education of 1 graduate and 1 undergraduate student in this exciting area of nanoelectronics.