This document discusses several methods for synthesizing polycrystalline germanium nanowires and thin films, including vapor-liquid-solid growth, chemical vapor deposition, electrodeposition, and sol-gel processing. It then summarizes potential biomedical applications such as using the materials for biosensors, biomedical imaging, drug delivery, wound healing, and tumor treatment.
This document discusses several methods for synthesizing polycrystalline germanium nanowires and thin films, including vapor-liquid-solid growth, chemical vapor deposition, electrodeposition, and sol-gel processing. It then summarizes potential biomedical applications such as using the materials for biosensors, biomedical imaging, drug delivery, wound healing, and tumor treatment.
This document discusses several methods for synthesizing polycrystalline germanium nanowires and thin films, including vapor-liquid-solid growth, chemical vapor deposition, electrodeposition, and sol-gel processing. It then summarizes potential biomedical applications such as using the materials for biosensors, biomedical imaging, drug delivery, wound healing, and tumor treatment.
1. Vapor-Liquid-Solid (VLS) growth: This method involves the use of a catalytic metal, such as gold or platinum, to facilitate the growth of Germanium nanowires from a gaseous source. 2. Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD): This method involves the decomposition of a gaseous precursor, such as GeH4 or GeCl4, to form Germanium nanowires on a substrate. 3. Electrodeposition: This method involves the growth of Germanium nanowires and or a thin film from an electrolyte solution through an applied electric field. 4. Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD): This method involves the deposition of Germanium vapor onto a substrate to form nanowires or a thin film. 5. Pulse Electrodeposition: This method involves the growth of Germanium thin films through pulsed electrodeposition. 6. Sol-Gel Processing: This method involves the synthesis of Germanium thin films through the sol-gel process, which involves the hydrolysis and condensation of a metal alkoxide precursor. Solution-phase-based synthesis of GeNWs : Supercritical fluidic synthesis : Method Stabilized Au nanoparticles were employed as catalyst and tetraethylgermane (TEG) and diphenylgermane (DPG) were mixed with cylohexane. After reactions at 350–400 °C and 13.8–38 MPa, GeNWs were formed. The growth mechanism was suggested to be vapor–liquid–solid (VLS). Three stages are involved in this growth mechanism. Initially, precursor molecules containing Ge are decomposed to supply reactive Ge species, which are fed into growth seed(e.g., Au) to form alloy. When the eutectic condition of this binary-phase system is reached, the alloy particle becomes a liquid droplet. Further feeding of Ge causes supersaturation of Ge in the alloy liquid, thus precipitation and nucleation of Ge crystal occur. As more Ge is continuously supplied, this feeding–alloying–nucleation process is continued and Ge crystal prolongs to form a crystalline nanowire. Solution-phase-based synthesis of GeNWs : Supercritical fluidic synthesis : Method The VLS growth offers better control over nanowire sizes since they are essentially controlled by the sizes of growth seed. A large size distribution of the as-produced nanowires, presumably due to Au nanoparticle aggregation in the solution and uncontrolled deposition of Ge on the surfaces of GeNWs. In addition, sophisticated purification and assembly techniques have yet to be developed to effectively utilize this method because it is not directly compatible with existing semiconductor technologies. Low-temperature preparation of polycrystalline germanium thin films by Al-induced crystallization : Method Al thin films (~200 nm) were firstly deposited by vacuum thermal evaporation on Corning 7059 glass substrates. Then, a-Ge : H thin films (~1 pm) were deposited on the surface of Al thin films using a radio frequency (13.56 MHz) capacitive- coupled PECVD system. The reaction gases were Ar and GeHg (Hz dilution) mixture with a total flow of 20sccm. The substrate temperature was fixed at 200°C. The base pressure and the deposition pressure were3.0 x 10-4 Pa and 150 Pa, respectively. The applied radio frequency power was 30W. Finally, the samples were taken after each successive annealing from 250°C to 350°C under Np atmosphere. Low-temperature preparation of polycrystalline germanium thin films by Al-induced crystallization : Method
The structure, morphologies and electrical properties of
the Gethin films were characterized with XRD, Raman spectra, SEM, AFM and four-point probe. All measurements were carried out at room temperature. The XRD measurements were performed on a RigakuRINT2000 X-ray diffractometer with Cu Ka radiation. The morphologies of the Ge thin films were obtained on an S-4800 scanning electron microscope and SPA-400 AFM. Micro-Raman spectra were measured using a Jobinyvon HK800 with excitation wavelength of 532 nm, Great care was taken to limit the laser power in a low level in order to prevent a-Ge : H thin films from crystallization during the Raman measurements. The Rs was measured by a four point probe. Low-temperature preparation of polycrystalline germanium thin films by Al-induced crystallization : Method Al-induced crystallization of amorphous Ge thin films We employed polyimide films (thickness: 12–125 μm) as substrates. The softening temperature of the polyimide is approximately 400 °C, which is sufficiently higher than the temperature required for the AIC of a-Ge . Because the crystal quality of AIC-Ge depends on the substrate materials, the polyimides were coated with a 100-nm-thick SiO2 film, which has been shown to yield high-quality Ge. Then, 50-nm-thick Al layers were deposited onto the SiO2 films, and then exposed to air for 10 min to form native AlOx membranes as diffusion limiting layers . Finally, 45 nm of a-Ge was deposited on the AlOx. All the depositions were performed at room temperature using radio frequency magnetron sputtering (base pressure: 3.0 × 10−4 Pa) with an Ar plasma. The deposition rate was 28 nm min−1 for Ge and 31 nm min−1 for Al. Pieces of Si substrates were used to fix the samples to the vacuum chamber stage and prevent the samples from moving during deposition. Al-induced crystallization of amorphous Ge thin films Following Ge deposition, the samples were annealed at 325 °C in N2 for 100 h to induce layer exchange between Ge and Al. The Ge(111)-oriented grains included those with surface planes having orientations up to 15° from the exact GE(111) plane orientation. A grain was an area surrounded by random grain boundaries. Before XRD and EBSD, the surface Al layers were removed by dipping the samples into a diluted HF solution (1.5% HF) for 1 min to expose the poly-Ge layers. Biomedical application of polycrystalline Germanium nanowires and thin films
1. Biosensors: Polycrystalline Germanium nanowires and thin films can be used as
biosensors for the detection of disease markers, such as proteins or nucleic acids 2. Biomedical imaging: Polycrystalline Germanium nanowires and thin films can be used as contrast agents for X-ray or computed tomography (CT) imaging applications, due to their high X-ray absorption coefficient 3. Biocompatibility: Polycrystalline Germanium nanowires and thin films are biocompatible, making them suitable for use in medical devices and implants. 4. Thermoelectric devices: Polycrystalline Germanium nanowires and thin films can be used in thermoelectric devices for cooling or heating applications, such as maintaining the temperature of biological samples. 5. Photovoltaics: Polycrystalline Germanium nanowires and thin films can be used as a material for photovoltaic devices for energy generation. Biomedical application of polycrystalline Germanium nanowires and thin films
6. Tissue engineering: Polycrystalline Germanium nanowires and thin films can be
used as scaffolds for tissue engineering applications, as they promote cell growth and support the formation of new tissue. 7. Drug delivery: Polycrystalline Germanium nanowires and thin films can be used to deliver drugs or therapeutic agents directly to cells, tissues, or organs. 8. Wound healing: Polycrystalline Germanium nanowires and thin films can be used to promote wound healing through their antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. 9. Tumor treatment: Polycrystalline Germanium nanowires and thin films can be used to treat tumors through radiation therapy or hyperthermia. 10. Stem cell differentiation: Polycrystalline Germanium nanowires and thin films can be used to promote stem cell differentiation into specific cell types, such as neurons or muscle cells .
Modified Polymers, Their Preparation and Properties: Main Lectures Presented at the Fourth Bratislava Conference on Polymers, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, 1-4 July 1975