Tuesday, 5th July 2005 (4592 views)

Gold is being used to help advance electronics on a tiny, nano-scale.

Researchers at Northwestern University say they have struck gold with a new technique which harnesses molecular science to develop a form of "on-wire lithography".

Northwestern's Dr Lidong Qin told respected journal Science that using molecular tools the developers were able to forge metal wires complete with molecular sized connections.

Typically a gold wire is used, with an electrochemical process depositing the gold molecules to form the cable, before tiny sections are stripped away the New York Times reports.

The result is a wire matching the molecular components that can be slotted into the remaining spaces.

Dr Qin says that at the moment the five nano-metre spaces are too large for wider applications, but says that with work the wires could offer a useful development within nano-technology.

 

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