my recent articles |
| Algae skeletons made into silicon components |
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7 March 2007, for New Scientist The microscopic glass skeletons of algae could be transformed into silicon for novel electronic applications, a new study suggests. The relatively simple method creates a near-exact silicon replica of each shell, preserving its intricate structure. Since each replica is converted from silica to semiconducting silicon, and since the algae, known as diatoms, come in a huge variety of forms, the converted shells could have various potential applications. These could range from making microscopic gas sensors, to creating new kinds of batteries, the researchers say.Diatom shells are about 10 micrometres across and come in a variety of shapes – resembling barrels, donuts, triangles, and stars – with regularly sized features of 10 nanometres or smaller. The new procedure replicates all of these features accurately.... Read the rest of the article and see a photo of the diatom replica on New Scientist's web site. |