Our paper is among the first few reports on the nanoelectronic device made of a nanostructured material which has both remarkable properties and versatile application prospects.

   Does it describe a new discovery, methodology, or synthesis of knowledge?

“Our paper provides a comprehensive review on a new class of nanomaterials which have wide applications in many aspects.”

Yes, the three-terminal behavior of a nanoscale field effect transistor made from ZnO nanowires had not been reported before. In addition, we presented the effect of oxygen adsorption on the nanowire surface, which is an important issue for nanoscale sensing devices.

Our paper demonstrates that ZnO nanowires can serve as the building blocks for future nanoelectronic devices. This has become the focus of many research groups. In addition, we have shown in the paper that this type of material is very promising for highly sensitive chemical gas detection.

We did an extensive literature search before starting this branch of research. We envisioned that this class of nanomaterials will emerge as one of the most versatile and functional materials, and that much waits to be understood and explored. Under this motivation, we have focused our investigation on semiconductor nanowires, such as ZnO, trying to study, in depth, their fundamental properties as well as to develop their potential applications.

There were, of course, obstacles along the path of research. Perseverance and adaptability are important factors for successful research conducted under scarce resources.

This research has far-reaching implications. The ability to synthesize nanoscale building blocks, then to assemble and integrate them into larger structures with unique properties will change the way materials and devices are produced and applied in the future.

Jia Grace Lu, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA, USA