Thursday, 19th October 2006 (4308 views)

Gold nanoparticles could be used in an innovative technique to deposit miniscule amounts of material on surfaces.

Scientists at the California Institute of Technology, Stanford University and New York University in the US claim the technique, known as plasmon-assisted chemical vapour deposition, could be utilised to construct micro-devices which are even smaller than those currently produced.

Writing in the journal Nano Letters, the team explained how they focus a low-powered laser beam onto a substrate coated with gold nanoparticles. The laser, adapted to match the natural resonance in the gold, heats up the nanoparticles to several hundred degrees.

These gold nanoparticles can then decompose precursor molecules in the gas that strikes them and form deposits on the nanoparticles.

Demonstrating the technique, the scientists managed to grow nanowires of lead oxide on a glass substrate. Lead researcher David Boyd said: "Anything that can be deposited as a film by conventional means can probably be deposited with this technique."

He explained that the ability to write on such small structures while keeping the rest of the substrate cool, as the laser heats up only one point, opens up new possibilities for nanotechnology.

 

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