US Patent 7211464 - Uniform diameter nanowires

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7211464.html

Electronic parameters of nanowires such as bandgap are dependent on the diameter of the nanowire. This patent originating from Harvard researches presents a very broad claim towards a method of growing nanowires of uniform diameter (give or take 20%) to achieve more consistent electronic device functionality. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method, comprising: growing a population of semiconductor nanowires, each having at least one portion having a smallest width less than 500 nanometers, catalytically from catalyst colloid particles having a variation in diameter of less than about 20% and being selected such that the population of semiconductor nanowires produced according to the method has a variation in diameter of less than 20%.