Nanometer-scale wire structures

A second application of current interest in which widely separated length scales come into play is fabrication of modulated foils or wires with layer thickness of a few nanometers or less [156]. In this application, the aspect ratio of layer thickness, which may be of nearly atomic dimensions, to workpiece size, is enormous, and the current distribution must be uniform on the entire range of scales between the two. Optimal conditions for these structures require control by local mechanisms to suppress instability and produce layer by layer growth. Epitaxially deposited single crystals with modulated composition on these scales can be described as superlattices. Moffat, in a report on Cu-Ni superlattices, briefly reviews the constraints operating on their fabrication by electrodeposition [157]. 

In the work presented here, structural changes were shown but not their companion physical properties. As we know that the structure, either amorphous or crystalline, may have a sizeable influence on the CP s optical properties, it becomes very useful to probe their optical and conductive properties in order to compare the amorphous part to the scratched one. In other words, the question rises concerning the change of the CP properties inside the bundle. If sizeable changes are obtained, one may expect to produce, through scratching, a contrast at the molecular scale. Also it now becomes possible to achieve an area of well separated conductive nanometer wires. 

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