Spiraling nanotrees offer new twist on growth of nanowires

Spiraling pine tree-like nanowires created by University of Wisconsin-Madison chemistry professor Song Jin and graduate student Matthew Bierman are evidence of an entirely different way of growing the tiny wires, one that could be harnessed to make better nanowires for applications such as high performance integrated circuits, LEDs and lasers, biosensors, and solar cells. The rapid elongation of the trunks is driven by a spiral defect within them called "screw dislocation," which causes them to twist as they grow and their branches to spiral. Photo by: courtesy Song Jin