image gallery

This scanning electron microscope image shows nanotube yarn fibers drawn from a "nanotube forest." Nanometer and micron-sized yarn or fibers drawn from multiwalled carbon nanotubes can have tensile strengths comparable to or exceeding those of spider silk. Replacing metal wires...

This scanning electron microscope image shows the relative thickness of typical nanowire in comparison with a strand of human hair. • SIZE: The hair is about 100 µm in diameter; the nanowire's diameter is about 100 nm. • IMAGING TOOL:...

This is a scanning electron microscope image of a single strand of human hair. • SIZE: The diameter of a human hair ranges from about 50 µm to 100 µm. • IMAGING TOOL: Scanning electron microscope

This is an optical microscope image of a human venule—a tiny blood vessel. A venule is tiny blood vessel that connects capillaries—where the blood exchanges the oxygen it carries for carbon dioxide—to larger veins leading back to the heart. •...

A bundle of singlewalled nanotubes processed into a thin sheet is shown in this scanning electron microscope image. Singlewalled nanotubes are extremely important in the continuing miniaturization of electronic devices. These tubes have an average diameter of 1-2 nm. Their...

This scanning electron microscope image shows an indium arsenide (InAs) nanowire field-effect transistor. Semiconductor nanowires such as those of indium arsenide (InAs) offer exciting possibilities for the electronic systems of the future because of the unique possibilities they offer for...

This is scanning electron microscope image of indium arsenide nanowires. Semiconductor nanowires such as those of indium arsenide (InAs) offer exciting possibilities for the electronic systems of the future because of the unique possibilities they offer for controlling fundamental properties...

This scanning electron microscope image shows an electrospun scaffold grown for studying brain tissue engineering and nerve regeneration. Scaffolds are of great interest in tissue engineering and nerve regeneration because they form a framework on which soft tissue is supported...

This is a scanning electron microscope image of vertical arrays of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires on a sapphire substrate. Zinc oxide (ZnO) is an ideal material for nanoscale optoelectronics, electronics, and biotechnology applications. Numerous ZnO-based devices have already been developed,...

This scanning electron micrograph depicts a silicon crystal nanomachined into an antenna oscillator that can vibrate about 1.5 billion times per second. The antenna-type oscillator is a nanomachined single-crystal structure of silicon. Using this design, movements 1000 times smaller than...

This is a scanning electron micrograph of a nanoscale interface for spin injection in a nanomechanical torsion oscillator used for measuring tiny amounts of torque. This interface is built on a silicon-based nanomechanical torsion oscillator, a device used to measure...

This scanning electron micrograph shows a nanomechanical torsion oscillator used by computer engineers to measure extremely small amounts of torque. A nanomechanical torsion oscillator is used to measure extremely small torsion or twisting forces smaller than those created by the...

This scanning electron microscope image shows a hydrogel scaffold grown for studying brain tissue engineering and nerve regeneration. Hydrogels are polymers of great interest to researchers studying tissue engineering and nerve regeneration because they are compatible with a range of...

This scanning electron microscope image shows a zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire photodetector device grown by photolithography. Nanowires geometry and structure make them both sensitive to light and efficient low-noise signaling devices, so they are ideally suited for applications involving light—such...

This scanning electron micrograph shows a gallium nitride nanowire photodetector device with a zinc oxide core grown by e-beam lithography. The geometry and structure of nanowires make them both sensitive to light and efficient low-noise signaling devices, so they are...

This scanning electron micrograph depicts the functional part of a nano-biosensor containing silicon nanowires. Field effect transistors are best known for their key role in computer microprocessors, but their compatibility with various microfabrication strategies has also led researchers to study...

This is a photograph of an organic light-emitting diode (OLED). OLEDs are being used in the newest generation of television screens. An OLED is comprised of a thin organic film held between conductors. When electrical current is applied to the...

This scanning electron microscope image shows a silicon nanowire resting on two silicon nitride (SiNx) membranes. Thermoelectric materials convert heat to electricity and vice versa. Most fossil-fuel-powered engines generate waste heat, so researchers are using nanotechnologies to explore ways of...

This transmission electron microscope image shows a single silicon nanowire. Thermoelectric materials convert heat to electricity and vice versa. Most fossil-fuel-powered engines generate waste heat, so researchers are using nanotechnologies to explore ways of making thermoelectric devices more efficient in...

This is a scanning electron microscope image of a silicon nanowire array synthesized for thermoelectric applications. Thermoelectric materials convert heat to electricity and vice versa. Most fossil-fuel-powered engines generate waste heat, so researchers are using nanotechnologies to explore ways of...

To create this scanning electron microscope image, gold nanoshells were dispersed in a drop of water which then dried on a glass microscope slide. The colors are due to selective scattering of light by nanoscale particles. Gold Nanoshells have a...

To create this optical microscope image, gold nanoshells were dispersed in a drop of water which then dried on a glass microscope slide. The colors are due to selective scattering of light by nanoscale particles. Gold Nanoshells have a variety...

The cholera bacteria in this scanning electron microscope image cause a potentially fatal disease of the digestive system. • SIZE: These bacteria are each about 500 nm wide and 1-2 µm long. • IMAGING TOOL: Scanning electron microscope

The tissue culture shown in this scanning electron microscope image is infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV. • SIZE: HIV particles are 90-120 nm in diameter. • IMAGING TOOL: Scanning electron microscope

The feet of the gecko cling to virtually any surface. This scanning electron microscope image shows one of the branching hairs, or setae, on the sole of a gecko's foot. These hairs nestle into nanoscale niches on the contact surface....