Nanowire

nanowire, thin wire, generally having a diameter less than or equal to 100 nanometers (1 nm = 1 × 10⁻⁹ metre). The first nanoscale quantum-well wire (a thinly layered semiconductor structure) was developed in 1987 by scientists at Bell Laboratories. A nanowire of more-refined design was developed and described in 1991 by Belgium engineer Jean-Pierre Colinge. Since then, nanowires have been investigated for possible applications in many fields, including optics, electronics, and genetics.

Nanowires can be made from a wide variety of materials, including silicon, germanium, carbon, and various conductive metals, such as gold and copper. Their small size makes them good conductors, with electrons passing easily through them, a property that has allowed for important advances in computer science. For example, the development of an optical photonic switch using specialized cadmium sulfide nanowires that allow photons to pass through the wire and act as binary signals (i.e., 0 and 1) has the potential to greatly enhance computer speed.

In genetics, researchers have used nanowires to create artificial protein-coding DNA. Such nanowires are formed using amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins, and DNA. The technology could be used to facilitate the creation or production of proteins, thereby advancing protein research and potentially leading to advances in therapeutic applications, such as for the replacement or repair of dysfunctional proteins.