US and Chinese Collaboration Makes Progress With Nanowires - New Technology

A Chinese and US collaboration of scientists has recently made advances in the research of nano optical wave guiding.

Researchers from Zhejiang University and Harvard University haveused a new method to get very evenly shaped sub-micron and nano-diameter silicon oxide wires. They also successfully conducted a low-loss transmission experiment using these wires. The research entitled "Subwavelength- diameter silica wires for low-loss optical wave guiding", is to be published in the 426th issue of Nature magazine.

The technique is aimed at raising optical wave guiding quality by using long wires with a smooth surface and low-loss transmission. Nanowires made in this manner are very suitable for various kinds of nano optical wave guiding devices and have applications in physics, chemistry, biology and materials research.

Posted 1^st February 2004