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Nanowires with large scale ambitions
Nanowires with large scale ambitions
Disparate US-based research projects into silicon nanowires show huge potential for these microscopic devices to generate both solar and thermoelectric power that could be used in large scale applications.
In one project, 300nm wide silicon wires have been demonstrated to convert sunlight to electrical energy. At one extreme, tiny devices can be used to power miniature sensors or robotic devices. But at the other extreme, dense arrays of silicon nanowires can be configured for much larger scale applications. They have the potential for creating efficient solar panels at comparatively low cost.
Exploiting the silicon nanowire properties of good electrical conductivity and poor thermal conductivity, researchers are working on developing thermoelectric devices which could be used to cool and power electronic devices in the future. Although the principle of converting waste heat to electricity using thermoelectric materials is not new, scientists did not expect silicon nanowires to be suitable. Ultimately, the technology could be used for large scale thermoelectric devices that could capture the waste heat from power stations and manufacturing plants, at least to create the energy needed to run them.
Elsewhere, researchers are exploiting the high quality factor of silicon nanowires to generate stable vibrations, to use them for oscillators in nanoscale electromechanical devices, and ultimately in nano sensors. The 30 to 500nm diameter hexagonal gallium nitride (GaN) nanowires have been demonstrated on a piezoelectric device, excited by an electrical signal and by an electron beam. The wires have the advantage of being less susceptible to some noise sources, and less vulnerable to temperature fluctuations.
Disparate US-based research projects into silicon nanowires show huge potential for these microscopic devices to generate both solar and thermoelectric power that could be used in large scale applications.
In one project, 300nm wide silicon wires have been demonstrated to convert sunlight to electrical energy. At one extreme, tiny devices can be used to power miniature sensors or robotic devices. But at the other extreme, dense arrays of silicon nanowires can be configured for much larger scale applications. They have the potential for creating efficient solar panels at comparatively low cost.
Exploiting the silicon nanowire properties of good electrical conductivity and poor thermal conductivity, researchers are working on developing thermoelectric devices which could be used to cool and power electronic devices in the future. Although the principle of converting waste heat to electricity using thermoelectric materials is not new, scientists did not expect silicon nanowires to be suitable. Ultimately, the technology could be used for large scale thermoelectric devices that could capture the waste heat from power stations and manufacturing plants, at least to create the energy needed to run them.
Elsewhere, researchers are exploiting the high quality factor of silicon nanowires to generate stable vibrations, to use them for oscillators in nanoscale electromechanical devices, and ultimately in nano sensors. The 30 to 500nm diameter hexagonal gallium nitride (GaN) nanowires have been demonstrated on a piezoelectric device, excited by an electrical signal and by an electron beam. The wires have the advantage of being less susceptible to some noise sources, and less vulnerable to temperature fluctuations.
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