Methods of fabricating nanostructures and nanowires and devices fabricated therefrom

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9881999-B2
Application number	US-48831009-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 19, 2009
Priority date	Mar 30, 2001
Publication date	Jan 30, 2018
Grant date	Jan 30, 2018

Abstract

One-dimensional nanostructures having uniform diameters of less than approximately 200 nm. These inventive nanostructures, which we refer to as “nanowires”, include single-crystalline homostructures as well as heterostructures of at least two single-crystalline materials having different chemical compositions. Because single-crystalline materials are used to form the heterostructure, the resultant heterostructure will be single-crystalline as well. The nanowire heterostructures are generally based on a semiconducting wire wherein the doping and composition are controlled in either the longitudinal or radial directions, or in both directions, to yield a wire that comprises different materials. Examples of resulting nanowire heterostructures include a longitudinal heterostructure nanowire (LOHN) and a coaxial heterostructure nanowire (COHN).

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A population of nanowires, comprising:
a plurality of nanowires, each comprising:
a core of a first semiconductor material at least partially surrounded by a sheath of a compositionally different material;
wherein at least one of said core and said sheath has a uniform diameter;
wherein said sheath material is synthesized; and

wherein the population of nanowires has a uniform interwire diameter of less than or equal to approximately 50% RMS across the population of nanowires.

2. A population of nanowires as recited in claim 1 , wherein said sheath comprises a non-amorphous material.

3. A population of nanowires as recited in claim 2 , wherein at least one of said core and said sheath comprises a crystalline material.

4. A population of nanowires as recited in claim 3 , wherein at least one of said core and said sheath comprises a monocrystalline material.

5. A population of nanowires as recited in claim 1 , wherein said at least one said core and said sheath has a diameter ranging from about 5 nm to about 50 nm.

6. A population of nanowires as recited in claim 1 , further comprising an electrode coupled to at least one of said core and said sheath.

7. A population of nanowires as recited in claim 1 , wherein said sheath comprises a crystalline material.

8. A population of nanowires as recited in claim 7 , wherein said crystalline material is monocrystalline.

9. A population of nanowires as recited as in claim 1 , comprising two or more sheath layers surrounding said core.

10. A population of nanowires as recited in claim 1 , wherein said core comprises at least first and second segments of compositionally different materials.

11. A population of nanowires as recited in claim 1 , wherein said sheath comprises a conformal carbon coating.

12. A population of nanowires as recited in claim 1 , wherein the sheath is selected from the group comprising: a metallic element, an oxide, a nitride, a selenide and a polymer.

13. A population of nanowires as recited in claim 1 , wherein the distribution of diameters within the population of nanowires is less than or equal to approximately 20% rms.

14. A population of nanowires as recited in claim 13 , wherein the distribution of diameters within the population of nanowires is less than or equal to approximately 10% rms.

15. A population of nanowires as recited in claim 1 , wherein the core comprises an inorganic material.

16. A population of nanowires as recited in claim 1 , wherein the core comprises silicon.

17. A population of nanowires as recited in claim 1 , wherein both the core and the sheath have a uniform diameter.

18. A population of nanowires, comprising:
a plurality of nanowires, each comprising:
a core of a first inorganic material at least partially surrounded by a sheath of a compositionally different material;
wherein at least one of said core and said sheath has a uniform diameter;
wherein said sheath material is synthesized; and

wherein the population of nanowires has a uniform interwire diameter of less than or equal to approximately 50% RMS across the population of nanowires.

19. A population of nanowires as recited in claim 18 , wherein the core comprises a semiconductor material.

20. A population of nanowires as recited in claim 19 , wherein the core comprises silicon.

21. A population of nanowires as recited in claim 18 , wherein both the core and the sheath have a uniform diameter.

Assignees

• Majumdar Arun
• Shakouri Ali
• Sands Timothy D
• Yang Peidong
• Mao Samuel S
• Russo Richard E
• Feick Henning
• Weber Eicke R
• Kind Hannes
• Huang Michael
• Yan Haoquan
• Wu Yiying
• Fan Rong
• Univ California

Inventors

• Majumdar Arun
• Shakouri Ali
• Sands Timothy D
• Yang Peidong
• Mao Samuel S
• Russo Richard E
• Feick Henning
• Weber Eicke R
• Kind Hannes
• Huang Michael
• Yan Haoquan
• Wu Yiying
• Fan Rong

Classifications

• H10W72/551

  Materials of bond wires · CPC title

• H10W72/555

  of outermost layers of multilayered bond wires, e.g. material of a coating · CPC title

• H10W72/522

  Multilayered bond wires, e.g. having a coating concentric around a core · CPC title

• H10P14/3462

  Nanowires · CPC title

• H10P14/3426

  Oxides · CPC title