Inter-american materials research in semiconductor nanowires

在过去的五六年里，半导体研究界对纳米线越来越感兴趣，纳米线是一种直径为纳米量级、长度为微米的头发状结构。 利用麦克马斯特大学新的国家超高分辨率电子显微镜设备，我们将测量半导体纳米线的结构特性，直到原子尺度。 我们在巴西和阿根廷的美洲合作伙伴是纳米结构光学和电学表征领域的领先专家。 他们对纳米线的电学和光学响应的研究将补充麦克马斯特的透射电子显微镜分析。 这项工作将提高我们对纳米线行为的理解，以便在生物医学工程，光电子学和能源生产中实现新的应用。

In the past five or six years, the semiconductor research community has become increasingly interested in nanowires, hair-like structures with diameters on the order of nanometers and lengths of microns.  Using the new National Ultrahigh Resolution Electron Microscopy Facility at McMaster University, we will measure the structural properties of semiconductor nanowires down to the atomic scale.  Our Inter-American collaborators in Brazil and Argentina are leading experts in the optical and electrical characterization of nanostructures.  Their work on the electrical and optical response of nanowires will complement McMaster's transmission electron microscopy analysis.  This work will improve our understanding of the behaviour of nanowires so new applications in biomedical engineering, optoelectronics, and energy production can be realized.