Conducting nanowires in insulating ceramics.
Low-dimensional structures, such as microclusters, quantum dots and one- or two-dimensional (1D or 2D) quantum wires, are of scientific and technological interest due to their unusual physical properties, which are quite different from those in the bulk. Here we present a successful method for fabricating conducting nanowire bundles inside an insulating ceramic single crystal by using unidirectional dislocations. A high density of dislocations (10(9) cm(-2)) was introduced by activating a primary slip system in sapphire (alpha-Al2O3 single crystal) using a two-stage deformation technique. Plate specimens cut out from the deformed sapphire were then annealed to straighten the dislocations. Finally, the plates on which metallic Ti was evaporated were heat-treated to diffuse Ti atoms inside sapphire. As a result of this process, Ti atoms segregated along the unidirectional dislocations within about 5 nm diameter, forming unidirectional Ti-enriched nanowires, which exhibit excellent electrical conductivity. This simple technique could potentially to be applied to any crystal, and may give special properties to commonly used materials.
Nakamura
Atsutomo
A
Institute of Engineering Innovation, The University of Tokyo, Yayoi 2-11-16, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
Matsunaga
Katsuyuki
K
Tohma
Jun
J
Yamamoto
Takahisa
T
Ikuhara
Yuichi
Y
D000537:Aluminum Oxide; D002516:Ceramics / Q000737:chemistry*; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D004559:Electric Wiring; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D036103:Nanotechnology; D014025:Titanium
D014025:Titanium; D000537:Aluminum Oxide