SBIR Phase I: Secondary Electron Emission from Nanowire Arrays

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will optimize the secondary electron emission (SEE) properties of arrays of metallic anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) nanowires coated with a thin magnesium oxide (MgO) film. Arrays of gold, iron and nickel nanowires will be produced using a template technique. The technique exploits the self-organizational pore structures that develop when aluminum is anodized under the proper conditions for use as a template to form the nanowires. After the nanostructured materials are processed the SEE coeficient will be measured and the optimum structure identified. The coupling of the nanowire SEE structures with photocathode technology to produce a new class of miniature optical detectors that are fast, efficient and low-cost will be explored. These devices could outperform PIN and avalanche photodiodes. Further, these devices can be directly integrated with silicon based control electronics. The commercial potential that can be derived from studying the SEE from MgO coated metallic nanowire arrays lies in using the projected enhancement in the SEE to engineer electron multiplier devices that surpass existing technologies to rapidly amplify a small number of electrons into a significant signal for data acquisition and analysis. These devices would find a market in the commercial and scientific communities as optical sensors for experimentation, optical communications, and the detection of hazardous bio-chemical agents.