We report on a simple electromechanical memory device in which an iron nanoparticle shuttle is controllably positioned within a hollow nanotube channel. The shuttle can be moved reversibly via an electrical write signal and can be positioned with nanoscale precision. The position of the shuttle can be read out directly via a blind resistance read measurement, allowing application as a nonvolati...

Miniaturized combined arrays of three different pH indicators allowing for sensitive, robust and broad-range acidity detection are prepared by parallel dip-pen nanolithography, which proves the potential of this technique to fabricate multiplexed platforms at the micro- and nanoscale that can act as sensors.

Atmospheric and work place aerosol particles are frequently heterogeneous on a nanometer scale (e.g., Ebert et al., 2002; Weinbruch et al., 2002). Up to now, these heterogeneities could only be studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Recently, secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) was extended to the nanometer scale, making this new technique (NanoSIMS) a very attractive tool for th...

Large-scale Ni-doped ZnO nanowire (NW) arrays are grown. The electrical conductivity of a single Ni-doped ZnO NW has been increased for 30 times. The photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of the doped ZnO NWs has a red shift, suggesting possible doping induced band edge bending. The doped NW arrays could be the basis for building integrated nanoscale transistors, sensors, and photodetectors.

Ultra-fast responding and recovering C(2)H(5)OH sensors were prepared using nanoscale SnO(2) hollow spheres with NiO-functionalized inner walls. The exceptional ultra-fast recovery characteristics were attributed to the catalytic surface reaction assisted by NiO at the inner shell.

With the advent of microtechnology over the last few decades, designs for new and innovative microscale machines and sensors have been released to market at a record pace. Current life saving devices based on this technology, such as air bag deployment sensors and blood pressure sensors necessitate a high degree of reliability. As a result, it has become increasingly important to determine when...

Nanoelectromechanical systems can be operated as ultrasensitive mass sensors and ultrahigh-frequency resonators, and can also be used to explore fundamental physical phenomena such as nonlinear damping and quantum effects in macroscopic objects. Various dissipation mechanisms are known to limit the mechanical quality factors of nanoelectromechanical systems and to induce aging due to material d...