‘High Q’ Nanowires May be Practical Oscillators

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Electron micrograph of a NIST-grown nanowire with a high quality factor vibrating more than 1 million times per second. At lower right a stationary nanowire shows the typical hexagonal shape of the gallium nitride structures. Credit: S. Tanner CUJILA
Electron micrograph of a NIST-grown nanowire with a high “quality factor” vibrating more than 1 million times per second. At lower right, a stationary nanowire shows the typical hexagonal shape of the gallium nitride structures. Credit: S. Tanner, CU/JILA

Nanowires grown at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have a mechanical “quality factor” at least 10 times higher than reported values for other nanoscale devices such as carbon nanotubes, and comparable to that of commercial quartz crystals. Because a high Q factor indicates a capacity for stable vibrations, the nanowires might be used as oscillators in nano-electromechanical systems for future nano-sensors and communications devices.


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