Extramural Research
Presentation Abstract
Grantee Research Project Results
Ray LaPierre
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
I will present the growth and applications of semiconductor nanowires by molecular beam epitaxy using a technique called the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) process. The VLS process uses a catalytic seed particle that spatially confines the nucleation processes responsible for semiconductor growth. Using this approach, single wires less than 10 nanometers in diameter and as long as tens of microns have been produced. By altering the conditions of wire growth, complex heterostructures may be incorporated into the wires adding optoelectronic functionality for biological applications of interest to human health including solution assays, fluorescent labeling, optical barcoding, separation, delivery, and biosensing. We propose to study the physicochemical properties of semiconductor nanowires to develop an understanding of their potential toxicological and biological impact. The capabilities of the VLS process will allow, for the first time, a systematic study of the size-, shape-, and composition-dependence of the transport properties of nanoparticles and their cellular interactions.