Biomedical/analytical applications of deposited nanostructured Si films

We report on various biomedical applications of our deposited nanostructured column-void Si films including respiratory monitoring, quick mass analysis for proteomics, and cell attachment. These applications exploit certain unique attributes of our nanostructured Si material that are not present for bulk Si, such as molecular immobilization, enhanced coupling with electromagnetic radiation, high surface area, and pronounced hydrophobicity. A brief review of morphology and film growth is also given according to our latest understanding. Our capability of controlling columnar separation and porosity by varying film growth conditions allows the tailoring of the properties of our films as well as the optimization of the performance in an application. The fact that these films can be deposited on low processing temperature substrates such as plastics further enhances their versatility.