YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, NY – IBM and Purdue University researchers have discovered tiny silicon nanowires might be ideal for manufacturing in computers and consumer electronics because the structures repeatedly form the same way.
 
According to a Purdue spokesperson, the researchers used a transmission electron microscope to observe nanowires made of nucleate. Silicon nanowires form from gold nanoparticles ranging in size from 10 to 40 nm.
 
This is the first time researchers have made such precise measurements of the nucleation process in nanowires, a participating researcher said, according to published reports.
 
The researchers studied silicon; however, the findings could be applied to manufacturing nanowires made from other semiconducting materials, published reports say.
 
Nanowires could aid the semiconductor industry’s ongoing need to place more transistors in smaller spaces. The challenge will be to replace gold with other metals used in electronics, according to the researchers.
 
The National Science Foundation is funding the program.