As components for electronics get smaller and smaller, and researchers are finding promising methods for making nano-sized devices, the question arises, "Where are we getting the wires for these devices?" A team of researchers at the Canadian National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT) has discovered a method for producing conductive wires for silicon chips with diameters as small as 10 nanometers, and measuring 50,000 nanometers in length (still only the width of one human hair). The production of these nano-wires uses the process of self-assembly, a way in which molecules recognize and bind to each other, forming nano-sized structures. The discovery has huge implications for the practicality of nano-devices, although an important next step will be to find a method for cheap mass-production.

Molecules Line Up to Make the Tiniest of Wires

Labels: Nanotechnology