Simple ways to complex nanowires and their application

Abstract

Many syntheses exist for nanowire fabrication. This development was driven by the promise of novel applications. In order to realize these applications, simple and rapid ways have to be found for organized nanowire fabrication, because applications often require large area coverage with nanostructures or low production costs for mass fabrication. Furthermore, contact formation to nanowires is often difficult to achieve. One solution is the fabrication of nanowires within thin film cracks. Two examples for this method will be shown, one for flexible electronics, the other for the integration in microchips. The first is discussing about the change in properties of polymer foils by covering them with a large amount of parallel and crossed nanowires, leading to a variation of the optical and electrical conductivity behaviour. The other is showing the fabrication of ZnO nanowires and their integration into microchips, it is demonstrated that they can be used as field effect transistors for sensor applications. © 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.