Superlattice Nanowire Pattern Transfer (SNAP)

During the past 15 years or so, nanowires (NWs) have emerged as a new and distinct class of materials. Their novel structural and physical properties separate them from wires that can be prepared using the standard methods for manufacturing electronics. NW-based applications that range from traditional electronic devices (logic and memory) to novel biomolecular and chemical sensors, thermoelectric materials, and optoelectronic devices, all have appeared during the past few years. From a fundamental perspective, NWs provide a route toward the investigation of new physics in confined dimensions. Perhaps the most familiar fabrication method is the vapor−liquid−solid (VLS) growth technique, which produces semiconductor nanowires as bulk materials. However, other fabrication methods exist and have their own advantages. In this Account, I review a particular class of NWs produced by an alternative method called superlattice nanowire pattern transfer (SNAP). The SNAP method is distinct from other nanowire preparation methods in several ways. It can produce large NW arrays from virtually any thin-film material, including metals, insulators, and semiconductors. The dimensions of the NWs can be controlled with near-atomic precision, and NW widths and spacings can be as small as a few nanometers. In addition, SNAP is almost fully compatible with more traditional methods for manufacturing electronics. The motivation behind the development of SNAP was to have a general nanofabrication method for preparing electronics-grade circuitry, but one that would operate at macromolecular dimensions and with access to a broad materials set. Thus, electronics applications, including novel demultiplexing architectures; large-scale, ultrahigh-density memory circuits; and complementary symmetry nanowire logic circuits, have served as drivers for developing various aspects of the SNAP method. Some of that work is reviewed here. As the SNAP method has evolved into a robust nanofabrication method, it has become an enabling tool for the investigation of new physics. In particular, the application of SNAP toward understanding heat transport in low-dimensional systems is discussed. This work has led to the surprising discovery that Si NWs can serve as highly efficient thermoelectric materials. Finally, we turn toward the application of SNAP to the investigation of quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) superconducting physics in extremely high aspect ratio Nb NWs

Comment on 'a global map of human impact on marine ecosystems'

Halpern et al. (Reports, 15 February 2008, p. 948) integrated spatial data on 17 drivers of change in the oceans to map the global distribution of human impact. Although fishery catches are a dominant driver, the data reflect activity while impacts occur at different space and time scales. Failure to account for this spatial disconnection could lead to potentially misleading conclusions

Molecular Electronics

Molecular electronics describes the field in which molecules are utilized as the active (switching, sensing, etc.) or passive (current rectifiers, surface passivants) elements in electronic devices. This review focuses on experimental aspects of molecular electronics that researchers have elucidated over the past decade or so and that relate to the fabrication of molecular electronic devices in which the molecular components are readily distinguished within the electronic properties of the device. Materials, fabrication methods, and methods for characterizing electrode materials, molecular monolayers, and molecule/electrode interfaces are discussed. A particular focus is on devices in which the molecules or molecular monolayer are sandwiched between two immobile electrodes. Four specific examples of such devices, in which the electron transport characteristics reflect distinctly molecular properties, are discussed

The distribution and moments of the error term in the Dirichlet divisor problem

This paper will consider results about the distribution and moments of some of the well known error terms in analytic number theory. To focus attention we begin by considering the error term ∆(x) in the Dirichlet divisor problem, which is defined a

Zeros of Systems of p{\mathfrak p}-adic Quadratic Forms

It is shown that a system of $r$ quadratic forms over a ${\mathfrak p}$-adic field has a non-trivial common zero as soon as the number of variables exceeds $4r$, providing that the residue class field has cardinality at least $(2r)^r$.Comment: Revised version, with better treatment and results for characteristic

The largest prime factor of X3+2X^3+2

The largest prime factor of $X^3+2$ has been investigated by Hooley, who gave a conditional proof that it is infinitely often at least as large as $X^{1+\delta}$, with a certain positive constant $\delta$. It is trivial to obtain such a result with $\delta=0$. One may think of Hooley's result as an approximation to the conjecture that $X^3+2$ is infinitely often prime. The condition required by Hooley, his R$^{*}$ conjecture, gives a non-trivial bound for short Ramanujan-Kloosterman sums. The present paper gives an unconditional proof that the largest prime factor of $X^3+2$ is infinitely often at least as large as $X^{1+\delta}$, though with a much smaller constant than that obtained by Hooley. In order to do this we prove a non-trivial bound for short Ramanujan-Kloosterman sums with smooth modulus. It is also necessary to modify the Chebychev method, as used by Hooley, so as to ensure that the sums that occur do indeed have a sufficiently smooth modulus