semiconductor nanowires tagged posts

A device that can separate and recombine pairs of electrons may offer a way to study an unusual form of superconductivity, according to RIKEN physicists. This superconducting state would involve exotic particles, Majorana fermions that could prove useful in developing quantum computers.

In conventional superconductors, electrical current flows with no resistance due to electrons teaming up to make ‘Cooper pairs’. A superconductor touching a normal conductor can sometimes induce superconductivity in that conductor through Cooper pairs from the superconductor penetrating the normal conductor.

Now, Sadashige Matsuo of the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and collea...

(Left) Silicon wires with match heads and (right) light absorption profile of a single match-head wire at 587 nm absorption. Credit: Image courtesy of the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies

Crystal growth on a nano/microscale level produces “match-head”-like, 3D structures that enhance light absorption and photovoltaic efficiency. This is the first large structure grown on a nanowire tip and it creates a completely new architecture for harnessing energy. Match-head semiconductor nanowires focus incident light for greater overall efficiency. The match heads are naturally formed during the wire-growth process, which can be applied to various materials and structures for photonic and optoelectronic devices.

Enhanced light absorption and efficient, photogenerated carrier collection are...