Harvard College

Hao Yan

Charles M Lieber

Yue Wu

Wei Lu

Brian Timko

Jie Xiang

The present invention generally relates to nanotechnology and submicroelectronic devices that can be used in circuitry and, in some cases, to nanoscale wires and other nanostructures able to encode data. One aspect of the invention provides a nanoscale wire or other nanostructure having a region that is electrically-polarizable, for example, a nanoscale wire may comprise a core and an electrically-polarizable shell. In some cases, the electrically-polarizable region is able to retain its polarization state in the absence of an external electric field. All, or only a portion, of the electricallypolarizable region may be polarized, for example, to encode one or more bits of data. In one set of embodiments, the electrically-polarizable region comprises a functional oxide or a ferroelectric oxide material, for example, BaTiO, lead zirconium titanate, or the like. In some embodiments, the nanoscale wire (or other nanostructure) may further comprise other materials, for example, a separation region separating the electrically polarizable region from other regions of the nanoscale wire. For example, in a nanoscale wire, one or more intermediate shells may separate the core from the electrically polarizable shell.

Nanoscale wire-based data storage

The present invention generally relates to nanoscale heterostructures and, in some cases, to nanowire heterostructures exhibiting ballistic transport, and/or to metal-semiconductor junctions that that exhibit no or reduced Schottky barriers. One aspect of the invention provides a solid nanowire having a core and a shell, both of which are essentially undoped. For example, in one embodiment, the core may consist essentially of undoped germanium and the shell may consist essentially of undoped silicon. Carriers are injected into the nanowire, which can be ballistically transported through the nanowire. In other embodiments, however, the invention is not limited to solid nanowires, and other configurations, involving other nanoscale wires, are also contemplated within the scope of the present invention. Yet another aspect of the invention provides a junction between a metal and a nanoscale wire that exhibit no or reduced Schottky barriers. As a non-limiting example, a nanoscale wire having a core and a shell may be in physical contact with a metal electrode, such that the Schottky barrier to the core is reduced or eliminated. Still other aspects of the invention are directed to electronic devices exhibiting such properties, and techniques for methods of making or using such devices.

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Cambridge, MA, United States of America

Hao Yan