Thermoelectric materials interconvert thermal gradients and electric fields for power generation or for refrigeration. Thermoelectrics currently find only niche applications because of their limited efficiency, which is measured by the dimensionless parameter ZT-a function of the Seebeck coefficient or thermoelectric power, and of the electrical and thermal conductivities. Maximizing ZT is challenging because optimizing one physical parameter often adversely affects another. Several groups have achieved significant improvements in ZT through multi-component nanostructured thermoelectrics, such as Bi(2)Te(3)/Sb(2)Te(3) thin-film superlattices, or embedded PbSeTe quantum dot superlattices. Here we report efficient thermoelectric performance from the single-component system of silicon nanowires for cross-sectional areas of 10 nm x 20 nm and 20 nm x 20 nm. By varying the nanowire size and impurity doping levels, ZT values representing an approximately 100-fold improvement over bulk Si are achieved over a broad temperature range, including ZT approximately 1 at 200 K. Independent measurements of the Seebeck coefficient, the electrical conductivity and the thermal conductivity, combined with theory, indicate that the improved efficiency originates from phonon effects. These results are expected to apply to other classes of semiconductor nanomaterials.
A bottom-up approach was the key to the successful fabrication of this memory. This approach both minimized the number of processing steps following deposition of the molecular monolayer, as well as protected the molecules from remaining processing steps. In the following paragraphs, we briefly describe the nanofabrication procedures utilized to construct the memory circuit. A full paper describing these procedures in more detail will be submitted for publication in the near future. form an array of top Ti NW electrodes, and the crossbar structure is complete.
The quantitative, real time detection of single stranded oligonucleotides with silicon nanowires (SiNWs) in physiologically relevant electrolyte solution is demonstrated. Debye screening of the hybridization event is minimized by utilizing electrostatically adsorbed primary DNA on an amine-terminated NW surface. Two surface functionalization chemistries are compared: an amine terminated siloxane monolayer on the native SiO 2 surface of the SiNW, and an amine terminated alkyl monolayer grown directly on a hydrogen-terminated SiNW surface. The SiNWs without the native oxide exhibit improved solution-gated field-effect transistor characteristics and a significantly enhanced sensitivity to single stranded DNA detection, with an accompanying two orders of magnitude improvement in the dynamic range of sensing. A model for the detection of analyte by SiNW sensors is developed and utilized to extract DNA binding kinetic parameters. Those values are directly compared with values obtained by the standard method of surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and demonstrated to be similar. The nanowires, however, are characterized by higher detection sensitivity. The implication is that Si NWs can be utilized to quantitate the solution phase concentration of biomolecules at low concentrations. This work also demonstrates the importance of surface chemistry for optimizing biomolecular sensing with silicon nanowires.
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