Volume 7 Issue 5, May 2012

The quantum interference of large molecules can be recorded in real time thanks to state-of-the-art nanofabrication and nano-imaging technologies.

An ultrasensitive nanomechanical mass sensor based on a single carbon nanotube could have applications in mass spectrometry and surface science.

A direct current flowing through a carbon nanotube on a substrate heats the substrate but not the nanotube, and it may be possible to exploit this phenomenon in the thermal management of nanoelectronic devices.

An atomic force microscope with a gold-coated tip can be used to directly observe quantum interference in molecular monolayers adsorbed on gold substrates.

Nanoelectromechanical (NEM) switches have the potential to complement or selectively replace conventional semiconductor technology. This Review discusses the challenges involved in the large-scale manufacture of a representative set of NEMS-based devices.

A nanofabricated diffraction grating and single-molecule imaging are used to record the build up of the quantum interference patterns for molecules with masses as high as 1,298 AMU.

A carbon nanotube resonator is used to form the basis of an ultrasensitive mass sensor that can also be employed to study basic phenomena in surface science.

Charge-transport measurements provide direct evidence for destructive quantum interference in two-terminal molecular junctions at room temperature.

Silicon nanotubes surrounded by silicon oxide shells can maintain high discharge capacities for 6,000 cycles.

An electric current in a single carbon nanotube can dissipate most of its energy in a supporting substrate, rather than in the nanotube itself.

Magnetic fields are imaged with nanoscale resolution and high sensitivity using nitrogen-vacancy centres embedded in high-purity diamond nanopillars.

The results of simultaneous measurements of the structure and optical properties of more than 200 single-walled carbon nanotubes are reported and included in an atlas that allows the chiral index of any single-walled nanotube to be determined from a measurement of its optical resonances, and vice versa.

The resonant frequency and magnitude of graphene plasmons in graphene/insulator stacks depend on the layer number, which allows tunable filters and polarizers to be built.

Films of densely packed core–shell quantum dots demonstrate full-colour amplified spontaneous emission with single-exciton gain, and are used to build vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers operating at very low optical pumping thresholds.