Nanotechnology Now

Our NanoNews Digest Sponsors







Heifer International

Wikipedia Affiliate Button


Home > Press > ‘Nanocrystal doping’ developed by Hebrew University researchers results in semiconductor nanocrystals with enhanced electrical function

Prof. Uri Banin of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Prof. Uri Banin of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Abstract:
Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have achieved a breakthrough in the field of nanoscience by successfully altering nanocrystal properties with impurity atoms -- a process called doping - thereby opening the way for the manufacture of improved semiconductor nanocrystals.

‘Nanocrystal doping’ developed by Hebrew University researchers results in semiconductor nanocrystals with enhanced electrical function

Jerusalem, Israel | Posted on April 4th, 2011

Semiconductor nanocrystals consist of tens to thousands of atoms and are 10,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. These tiny particles have uses in a host of fields, such as solid-state lighting, solar cells and bio-imaging. One of the main potential applications of these remarkable materials is in the semiconductor industry, where intensive miniaturization has been taking place for the last 50 years and is now in the nanometer range.

However, these semiconductors are poor electrical conductors, and in order to use them in electronic circuits, their conductivity must be tuned by the addition of impurities. In this process, foreign atoms, called impurities, are introduced into the semiconductor, causing an improvement in its electrical conductivity.

Today, the semiconductor industry annually spends billions of dollars in efforts to intentionally add impurities into semiconductor products, which is a major step in the manufacturing of numerous electronic products, including computer chips, light emitting diodes and solar cells.

Due to the importance of doping to the semiconductor industry, researchers worldwide have made continuing attempts at doping nanocrystals in order to achieve ever greater miniaturization and to improve production methods for electronic devices. Unfortunately, these tiny crystals are resistant to doping, as their small size causes the impurities to be expelled. An additional problem is the lack of analytical techniques available to study small amounts of dopants in nanocrystals. Due to this limitation, most of the research in this area has focused on introducing magnetic impurities, which can be analyzed more easily. However, the magnetic impurities don't really improve the conductivity of the nanocrystal.

Prof. Uri Banin and his graduate student, David Mocatta, of the Hebrew University Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, have achieved a breakthrough in their development of a straightforward, room- temperature chemical reaction to introduce impurity atoms of metals into the semiconductor nanocrystals. They saw new effects not previously reported. However, when the researchers tried to explain the results, they found that the physics of doped nanocrystals was not very well understood.

Bit by bit, in collaboration with Prof. Oded Millo of the Hebrew University and with Guy Cohen and Prof. Eran Rabani of Tel Aviv University, they built up a comprehensive picture of how the impurities affect the properties of nanocrystals. The initial difficulty in explaining this process proved to be a great opportunity, as they discovered that the impurity affects the nanocrystal in unexpected ways, resulting in new and intriguing physics.

"We had to use a combination of many techniques that when taken together make it obvious that we managed to dope the nanocrystals. It took five years but we got there in the end," said Mocatta.

This breakthrough was reported recently in the prestigious journal Science. It sets the stage for the development of many potential applications with nanocrystals, ranging from electronics to optics, from sensing to alternative energy solutions. Doped nanocrystals can be used to make new types of nanolasers, solar cells, sensors and transistors, meeting the exacting demands of the semiconductor industry.

Full bibliographic information
Heavily Doped Semiconductor Nanocrystal Quantum Dots
David Mocatta, Guy Cohen, Jonathan Schattner, Oded Millo, Eran Rabani, and Uri Banin
Science 1 April 2011: 77-81.

####

Contacts:
Jerry Barach
972-2-5882904

Copyright © AlphaGalileo

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Bookmark:
Delicious Digg Newsvine Google Yahoo Reddit Magnoliacom Furl Facebook

Related News Press

News and information

Pioneering breakthrough of chemical nanoengineering to design drugs controlled by light June 18th, 2013

Study Shows How the Nanog Protein Promotes Growth of Head and Neck Cancer June 18th, 2013

New Method to Synthesize Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles with High Catalytic Activity June 18th, 2013

Production of Polyaniline Biosensors Modified with Conductive Polymer Composites June 18th, 2013

Chip Technology

Which qubit my dear? New method to distinguish between neighbouring quantum bits June 18th, 2013

SEMATECH to Address Critical Supply Chain Challenges and Present Latest Technology Advances at SEMICON West 2013 June 17th, 2013

Imec shows multiple enhancement options for next-generation FinFETs: Leading nano-electronics R&D center addresses key challenges of Germanium finFET technology at VLSI 2013 June 14th, 2013

Imec showcases innovation in RRAM R&D at VLSI Technology Symposium June 14th, 2013

Nanoelectronics

Imec shows multiple enhancement options for next-generation FinFETs: Leading nano-electronics R&D center addresses key challenges of Germanium finFET technology at VLSI 2013 June 14th, 2013

Controlling magnetic clouds in graphene June 14th, 2013

Spot-welding graphene nanoribbons atom by atom June 13th, 2013

World's first large(wafer)-scale production of III-V semiconductor nanowire June 10th, 2013

Discoveries

Which qubit my dear? New method to distinguish between neighbouring quantum bits June 18th, 2013

Pioneering breakthrough of chemical nanoengineering to design drugs controlled by light June 18th, 2013

Study Shows How the Nanog Protein Promotes Growth of Head and Neck Cancer June 18th, 2013

New Method to Synthesize Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles with High Catalytic Activity June 18th, 2013

Announcements

Pioneering breakthrough of chemical nanoengineering to design drugs controlled by light June 18th, 2013

Study Shows How the Nanog Protein Promotes Growth of Head and Neck Cancer June 18th, 2013

New Method to Synthesize Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles with High Catalytic Activity June 18th, 2013

Production of Polyaniline Biosensors Modified with Conductive Polymer Composites June 18th, 2013

NanoNews-Digest
The latest news from around the world, FREE







  Premium Products
NanoNews-Custom
Only the news you want to read!
 Learn More
NanoTech-Transfer
University Technology Transfer & Patents
 Learn More
NanoStrategies
Full-service, expert consulting
 Learn More












ASP
Nanotechnology Now Featured Books




NNN

The Hunger Project








abbigliamento uomo
Computer Accessories
© Copyright 1999-2013 7th Wave, Inc. All Rights Reserved PRIVACY POLICY :: CONTACT US :: STATS :: SITE MAP :: ADVERTISE