We used epitaxially grown monodisperse nanowire arrays to measure cellular forces with a spatial resolution of 1 mum. Nerve cells were cultured on the array and cellular forces were calculated from the displacement of the nanowire tips. The measurements were done in situ on live cells using confocal microscopy. Forces down to 15 pN were measured on neural growth cones, showing that this method can be used to study the fine details of growth-cone dynamics.

We present a study of Young’s modulus of epitaxially grown InAs nanowires with diameters from 40 to 95 nm. The dynamic behavior of the nanowires is investigated using optical stroboscopic imaging. The Young’s modulus, evaluated using the eigenfrequencies of the fundamental and the first excited modes in air, decreases for smaller diameters. To avoid the influence of the electric field on the resonance frequency, we use the free ring-down response to a voltage step rather than driving with a harmonic voltage.

The ideal shape of nanowires means that their position within an optical image can be determined with a precision given by the signal‐to‐noise ratio rather than by the wavelength. This is the basis for a stroboscopic imaging technique capable of tracking the bending and oscillation of a single nanowire in space and time (see image). The achieved precision is below 1 nm, more than two orders of magnitude better than the diffraction limit.

We show that the principally two-dimensional (2D) scanning tunneling microscope (STM) can be used for imaging of 1D micrometer high free-standing nanowires. We can then determine nanowire megahertz resonance frequencies, image their top-view 2D resonance shapes, and investigate axial stress on the nanoscale. Importantly, we demonstrate the extreme sensitivity of electron tunneling even at very high frequencies by measuring resonances at hundreds of megahertz with a precision far below the angstrom scale.

The angle dependence of the scattered light from pairs and one-dimensional arrays of nanowires was studied. The intensity of the scattered light varied distinctly during rotation of the structure. The results could be theoretically modeled by treating a pair of nanowires as a double slit and an array of nanowires as a grating. The correspondence between theory and experimental results conclusively proves that the variations are due to the proposed interference effects.