1. A plurality of semiconductor nanowires each being fixed to the same support, each of the nanowires comprising II-VI materials and each nanowire terminating in a free end and a metal alloy nanoparticle is fixed to each nanowire at its free end, wherein the metal alloy nanoparticle is a nanowire growth catalyst having a melting point of 330\xb0 C. or less and above the metal alloy’s eutectic temperature.
2. The plurality of semiconductor nanowires of claim 1 wherein the support includes glass, semiconductor substrates, metal foils, or high temperature plastics.
3. The plurality of semiconductor nanowires of claim 1 wherein the support includes a low energy surface film.
4. The plurality of semiconductor nanowires of claim 3 wherein the low energy surface film includes silicon oxide or aluminum oxide.
5. The plurality of semiconductor nanowires of claim 1 wherein the metal alloy nanoparticle is gold-tin (Au\u2014Sn).
6. The plurality of semiconductor nanowires of claim 5 wherein the molar percentage of tin in the gold-tin alloy is at least 56%.
7. The plurality of semiconductor nanowires of claim 1 wherein the II-VI materials includes binary, ternary, or quaternary II-VI compositions.
8. The plurality of semiconductor nanowires of claim 1 wherein the diameter of each nanowire is less than 500 nanometers.
9. The plurality of semiconductor nanowires of claim 8 wherein the diameter of each nanowire is less than 100 nanometers.
10. The plurality of semiconductor nanowires of claim 1 wherein the length of each nanowire is greater than 500 nanometers.
11. The plurality of semiconductor nanowires of claim 10 wherein the length of each nanowire is greater than 2 microns.
12. The plurality of semiconductor nanowires of claim 1 wherein each nanowire includes one or more discrete heterostructure units whose II-VI material composition is either uniform or varies over its length.
13. The plurality of semiconductor nanowires of claim 12 wherein the discrete heterostructure units have lengths which range from 1-10 nm to microns.
14. The plurality of semiconductor nanowires of claim 1 further including dopants in the nanowires which modifies the conductivity of the nanowires.
15. The plurality of semiconductor nanowires of claim 14 wherein the dopants are n-type and are selected from Al, In, Ga, Cl, Br or I.
16. The plurality of semiconductor nanowires of claim 14 wherein the dopants are p-type and are selected from N, P, As, Li, Cu, or LiN.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A protective helmet to be worn on the head of a person, comprising:
A rigid outer shell defining an interior chamber; and
A controlled air dissipation (CAD) assembly removably installed within said interior chamber of said outer shell and including an inner shell liner, first and second primary bellows units mounted to a first surface of said inner shell liner, first and second secondary bellows units mounted to a second surface of said inner shell liner, a primary air transfer conduit and a secondary air transfer conduit, said first primary bellows unit including at least two first primary bellows chambers which are fluidically interconnected by a first primary air channel to facilitate air transfer therebetween, said second primary bellows unit including at least two second primary bellows chambers which are fluidically interconnected by a second primary air channel to facilitate air transfer therebetween, said primary air transfer conduit fluidically interconnecting one of said first primary bellows chambers with one of said second primary bellows chambers to facilitate air transfer between said first and second primary bellows units, said first secondary bellows unit including at least two first secondary bellows chambers which are fluidically interconnected by a first secondary air channel to facilitate air transfer therebetween, said second secondary bellows unit including at least two second secondary bellows chambers which are fluidically interconnected by a second secondary air channel to facilitate air transfer therebetween, said secondary air transfer conduit fluidically interconnecting one of said first secondary bellows chambers to one of said second secondary bellows chambers to facilitate air transfer between said first and second secondary bellows units, said inner shell liner including first and second air transfer holes, said first air transfer hole arranged to facilitate air transfer between one of said first primary bellows chambers and one of said first secondary bellows chambers, and said second air transfer hole arranged to facilitate air transfer between one of said second primary bellows chambers and one of said second secondary bellows chambers.
2. The protective helmet of claim 1 wherein said first primary bellows unit includes a first primary base section adapted to be mounted to said first surface of said inner shell liner, a plurality of first primary pad sections extending from said first primary base section and which define said first primary bellows chambers therein, and a plurality of first primary bridge sections formed in said first primary base section which interconnect adjacent first primary pad sections and define said first primary air channels, and wherein said second primary bellows unit includes a second primary base section adapted to be mounted to said first surface of said inner shell liner, a plurality of second primary pad sections extending outwardly from said second primary base section and which define said second primary bellows chambers therein, and a plurality of second primary bridge sections formed in said second primary base section which interconnect adjacent second primary pad sections and define said second primary air channels.
3. The protective helmet of claim 2 wherein at least one of said first primary pad sections includes a first primary air charge hole to permit ambient air to communicate with said interconnected first primary bellows chambers, and wherein at least one of said second primary pad sections includes a second primary air charge hole to permit ambient air to communicate with said interconnected second primary bellows chambers.
4. The protective helmet of claim 3 wherein said first primary base section of said first primary bellows unit is thermally bonded to said first surface of said inner shell liner, and wherein said second primary base section of said second primary bellows unit is thermally bonded to said first surface of said inner shell liner.
5. The protective helmet of claim 4 wherein said primary air transfer conduit is thermally bonded to said first surface of said inner shell liner and defines a primary air passage having a first end fluidically communicating with one of said first primary bellows chambers and a second end fluidically communicating with one of said second primary bellows chambers to thereby establish a primary air flow circuit between said first and second primary bellows units.
6. The protective helmet of claim 1 wherein each of said first primary bellows chambers associated with said first primary bellows unit is aligned with a corresponding one of said first secondary bellows chamber associated with said first secondary bellows unit, and wherein said first air transfer hole is formed in said inner shell liner to facilitate air transfer between said aligned sets of first primary and secondary bellows chambers.
7. The protective helmet of claim 3 wherein said first secondary bellows unit includes a first secondary base section adapted to be mounted to said second surface of said inner shell liner, a plurality of first secondary pad sections extending from said first secondary base section and which define said first secondary bellows chambers therein, and a plurality of first secondary bridge sections formed in said first secondary base section which interconnect adjacent first secondary pad sections and define said first secondary air channels, and wherein said second secondary bellows unit includes a second secondary base section adapted to be mounted to said second surface of said inner shell liner, a plurality of second secondary pad sections extending outwardly from said second secondary base section and which define said second secondary bellows chambers therein, and a plurality of second secondary bridge sections formed in said second secondary base section which interconnect adjacent second secondary pad sections and define said second secondary air channels.
8. The protective helmet of claim 7 wherein at least one of said first secondary pad sections includes a first secondary air charge hole to permit ambient air to communicate with said interconnected first secondary bellows chambers, and wherein at least one of said second secondary pad sections includes a second secondary air charge hole to permit ambient air to communicate with said interconnected second secondary bellows chambers.
9. The protective helmet of claim 8 wherein said first secondary base section of said first secondary bellows unit and said second secondary base section of said second secondary bellows unit are thermally bonded to said second surface of said inner shell liner.
10. The protective helmet of claim 9 wherein said secondary air transfer conduit is thermally bonded to said second surface of said inner shell liner and defines a secondary air passage having a first end communicating with one of said first secondary bellows chambers and a second end communicating with one of said second secondary bellows chambers to thereby establish a secondary air flow circuit between said first and second secondary bellows units.
11. The protective helmet of claim 1 wherein said inner shell liner includes front and rear mounting flanges for releasably mounting said CAD assembly to said outer shell.
12. The protective helmet of claim 1 wherein said first primary bellows unit is fabricated as a one-piece first primary pad component and said second primary bellows unit is fabricated as a one-piece second primary pad component.
13. The protective helmet of claim 12 wherein said first secondary bellows unit is fabricated as a one-piece first secondary pad component and said second secondary bellows unit is fabricated as a one-piece second secondary pad component.
14. The protective helmet of claim 13 wherein said first primary pad component, said second primary pad component, said first secondary pad component and said second secondary pad component are each molded from a plastic material capable of being thermally bonded to corresponding surfaces of said inner shell liner.
15. A protective helmet to be worn on the head of a person, comprising:
A rigid outer shell defining an interior chamber; and
A controlled air dissipation (CAD) assembly removably installed within said interior chamber of said outer shell and including an inner shell liner, first and second primary bellows units mounted to a first surface of said inner shell liner, first and second secondary bellows units mounted to a second surface of said inner shell liner, a primary air transfer conduit and a secondary air transfer conduit, said first primary bellows unit including a first primary bellows chamber, said second primary bellows unit including a second primary bellows chamber, said primary air transfer conduit fluidically interconnecting said first primary bellows chamber with said second primary bellows chamber to facilitate air transfer between said first and second primary bellows units, said first secondary bellows unit including a first secondary bellows chamber, said second secondary bellows unit including a second secondary bellows chamber, said secondary air transfer conduit fluidically interconnecting said first secondary bellows chamber with said second secondary bellows chambers to facilitate air transfer between said first and second secondary bellows units, said inner shell liner including first and second air transfer holes, said first air transfer hole arranged to facilitate air transfer between said first primary bellows chamber and said first secondary bellows chamber, and said second air transfer hole arranged to facilitate air transfer between said second primary bellows chamber and said second secondary bellows chamber.
16. The protective helmet of claim 15 wherein said first primary bellows unit includes a first primary base section adapted to be mounted to said first surface of said inner shell liner, a plurality of first primary pad sections extending from said first primary base section and which each define said first primary bellows chamber therein, and a plurality of first primary bridge sections formed in said first primary base section which fluidically interconnect adjacent first primary pad sections, and wherein said second primary bellows unit includes a second primary base section adapted to be mounted to said first surface of said inner shell liner, a plurality of second primary pad sections extending outwardly from said second primary base section and which each define said second primary bellows chambers therein, and a plurality of second primary bridge sections formed in said second primary base section which fluidically interconnect adjacent second primary pad sections.
17. The protective helmet of claim 16 wherein at least one of said first primary pad sections includes a first primary air charge hole to permit ambient air to communicate with said interconnected first primary bellows chambers, and wherein at least one of said second primary pad sections includes a second primary air charge hole to permit ambient air to communicate with said interconnected second primary bellows chambers.
18. The protective helmet of claim 17 wherein said first primary base section of said first primary bellows unit is thermally bonded to said first surface of said inner shell liner, and wherein said second primary base section of said second primary bellows unit is thermally bonded to said first surface of said inner shell liner.
19. The protective helmet of claim 18 wherein said primary air transfer conduit is thermally bonded to said first surface of said inner shell liner and defines a primary air passage having a first end fluidically communicating with one of said first primary bellows chambers and a second end fluidically communicating with one of said second primary bellows chambers to establish a primary air flow circuit between said first and second primary bellows units.
20. The protective helmet of claim 16 wherein each of said first primary bellows chambers associated with said first primary bellows unit is aligned with a corresponding one of said first secondary bellows chambers associated with said first secondary bellows unit, and wherein said first air transfer hole is formed in said inner shell liner to facilitate air transfer between an aligned set of said first primary and secondary bellows chambers.
21. The protective helmet of claim 16 wherein said first secondary bellows unit includes a first secondary base section adapted to be mounted to said second surface of said inner shell liner, a plurality of first secondary pad sections extending from said first secondary base section and which each define said first secondary bellows chambers therein, and first secondary bridge sections formed in said first secondary base section which fluidically interconnect adjacent first secondary pad sections, and wherein said second secondary bellows unit includes a second secondary base section adapted to be mounted to said second surface of said inner shell liner, a plurality of second secondary pad sections extending outwardly from said second secondary base section and which each define said second secondary bellows chambers therein, and second secondary bridge sections formed in said second secondary base section which fluidically interconnect adjacent second secondary pad sections.
22. The protective helmet of claim 21 wherein at least one of said first secondary pad sections includes a first secondary air charge hole to permit ambient air to communicate with said interconnected first secondary bellows chambers, and wherein at least one of said second secondary pad sections includes a second secondary air charge hole to permit ambient air to communicate with said interconnected second secondary bellows chambers.
23. The protective helmet of claim 22 wherein said first secondary base section of said first secondary bellows unit and said second secondary base section of said second secondary bellows unit are thermally bonded to said second surface of said inner shell liner.
24. The protective helmet of claim 23 wherein said secondary air transfer conduit is thermally bonded to said second surface of said inner shell liner and defines a secondary air passage having a first end communicating with one of said first secondary bellows chambers and a second end communicating with said second secondary bellows chamber to thereby establish a secondary air flow circuit between said first and second secondary bellows units.
25. The protective helmet of claim 15 wherein said first primary bellows unit is fabricated as a one-piece first primary pad component, said second primary bellows unit is fabricated as a one-piece second primary pad component, said first secondary bellows unit is fabricated as a one-piece first secondary pad component, and said second secondary bellows unit is fabricated as a one-piece second secondary pad component.
26. The protective helmet of claim 25 wherein said first primary pad component, said second primary pad component, said first secondary pad component and said secondary pad component are each molded from a plastic material capable of being thermally bonded to corresponding surfaces of said inner shell liner.