Microstructured Optical Fibers as New Nanotemplates for High Pressure CVD

Solid state chemists have long been interested in templated growth of materials using many approaches. The resulting materials have been useful in areas as diverse as photonics and catalysis. Microstructured optical fibers (MOFs) form a new class of nanotemplates that can have sub 20 nm pores that are meters to kilometers long. We have developed a high-pressure microfluidic chemical process that allows for conformal deposition of materials within MOFs to form the most extreme aspect ratio semiconductor nanowires known. The wires can be spatially organized with respect to each other at dimensions down to the nanoscale because the MOF templates can be designed with almost any desired periodic or aperiodic pattern. Many if not most of the chemistries used for conventional chemical vapor deposition (CVD) can be adapted for this process. The resulting materials should enable a large range of scientific and technological applications.