Sunday, July 30, 2006

US Patent 7081293 - Nanowire with Aspect Ratio>100,000

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7081293.pdf

Nanowires are usually defined as cylindrical structures having a nanometer diameter and a high aspect ratio. However, in order to construct useful devices such as electrical conductors it is useful to have very high aspect ratio nanowires. This patent from General Motors describes a new fabrication method enabling aspect ratios of greater than 100,000 to be created. Thus nanowires with diameters measured in the tens of nanometers may have lengths in the millimeter range. Claim 1 reads:

1. A metallic nanowire composed of at least one of bismuth, indium, tin, lead, zinc, antimony, alloys containing bismuth, alloys containing indium, alloys containing tin, alloys containing lead, alloys containing zinc and alloys containing antimony, the metallic material present in at least one single elongated crystal having an aspect ratio of greater than or equal to 100,000.