Nanoscale Sensors: At LARGE!

Great future for energy resources of the electronic world! Nanoscale sensors has been invading the interest of the many for it has a lot of potential applications, and so with the Georgia Tech researchers as spearheaded by the Material Science Prof. Zhong Lin Wang. But this time it would be minus its bulky power sources as it’s typically have.

Freestanding nanowires that is made of Zinc Oxide composes the sensors, that when put under stress condition the nanowires generate potential energy functioning as transistors. This new project was stimulated when the team previously studied the piezoelectric nanowires to make nanogenerators that aims to gather biomechanical energy that will be utilized for any portable electronics devices!

The nanowires were embedded in a substrate which is connected to a gold electrodes that acts as the source and drain. With the semiconducting properties of Zinc Oxide as it is capable of generating electrical potential when bent, this will lead to build up charges along the root connection. This will serve then as the gate voltage, thus allowing electrical current to from source to drain, activating the device. The Zinc Oxide wire is 25 nanometers in diameter, positioned vertically to make a field-effect transistor.

Wang explained that the freestanding nanowires resembles the sensing hairs of the ear, hence the projects before the nanowire sensors were tethered at both ends, thus limiting their range of movements. Wang’s team earn some appreciation from Liwei Li, the co-director of the University of California, Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center, saying “Wang’s group is unique in using nano structures to make something like this!”.

Related Posts:

• Microbial Fuel Cell

Bookmark It