Nanoworld 'snow blowers' carve straight channels in semiconductor surfaces
Monday, December 28, 2015 - 10:52
in Physics & Chemistry
In the nanoworld, tiny particles of gold can operate like snow blowers, churning through surface layers of an important class of semiconductors to dig unerringly straight paths. The surprising trenching capability, reported by scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and IBM, is an important addition to the toolkit of nature-supplied 'self-assembly' methods that researchers aim to harness for making useful devices.