Molecular scale semiconductor nanowires were first discovered in the late 90's, a few years after the emergence of carbon nanotubes. Since then there has been an explosion in research into their synthesis and understanding of their structures, growth mechanisms and properties. The realisation of their unique electrical, optical and mechanical properties has led to a great interest for their use in electronics, energy generation and storage.

This book provides a timely reference on semiconductor nanowires including an introduction to their synthesis and properties and specific chapters focusing on the different applications including photovoltaics, nanogenerators, transistors, biosensors and photonics. This is the first book dedicated to semiconductor nanowires and provides an invaluable resource for researchers already working in the area as well as those new to the field.

Edited by leading experts in the field and with contributions from well-known scientists, the book will appeal to both those working on fundamental nanomaterial research and those interested in their commercial applications.

Wei Lu has been working on semiconductor nanowires since 2003. Among his achievements in nanowire research include the development of Ge/Si core/shell heterostructure nanowires and their applications, the synthesis and application of n-type Si nanowires, metal/semiconductor nanowire heterostructures, nanowire-based nanoelectromechanical systems, and the growth and applications of transparent conducting oxide nanowires. Currently his group works on the development of vertical nanowire transistors and photodetectors, and memory and logic devices based on two-terminal resistive switches (memristors). He is currently an associate professor at the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. He received B.S. degree in physics from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, in 1996, and Ph.D. in physics from Rice University, Houston, TX in 2003. From 2003 to 2005, he was a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. He joined the faculty of UM in 2005. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, and serves as co-Editor-in-Chief for Nanoscale, associate editor for Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group), and member of the ITRS Emerging Research Devices Working group. He has published 50 journal papers including 4 review articles and two book chapters on nanowire research. His publications have received over 3700 citations and an h-factor of 23 to date.

Dr. Jie Xiang has studied semiconductor nanowires for more than 10 years. He joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Materials Science Engineering program at University of California, San Diego as an Assistant Professor in 2009. Prior to his appointment he was a KNI Prize postdoctoral fellow in the Kavli Nanoscience Institute at California Institute of Technology. He received the B.S. degree in physics from Peking University in China (2002), the A.M. degree in physics (2006) and the Ph.D. degree in chemical physics from Harvard University in 2007. His research interests include electron and phonon transport phenomena in nanostructured materials and the development of novel nanodevices for logic, sensing and energy harvesting applications. He is a recipient of the Materials Research Society Graduate Student Gold Award, the KNI Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship, NSF CAREER Award and the Hellman Fellowship.

Introdcution and Nanowire Growth; Nanowire Photoelectrochemistry and Photovoltaics; Nanowire Nanogenerators; Nanowire Transistors; Nanowires for Energy Storage; Nanowire Phase Change Memory (and Optics); Spintronics, Magnetic Devices and Silicide Nanowires; Nanowire Biosensors; Nanowire Thermoelectrics; Nanowire Photoelectric Chemistry and Photonics;