Three-dimensional representation of curved nanowires

Nanostructures, such as nanowires, nanotubes and nanocoils, can be described in many cases as quasi one-dimensional curved objects projecting in three-dimensional space. A parallax method to construct the correct three-dimensional geometry of such one-dimensional nanostructures is presented. A series of scanning electron microscope images was acquired at different view angles, thus providing a set of image pairs that were used to generate three-dimensional representations using a MATLAB program. An error analysis as a function of the view angle between the two images is presented and discussed. As an example application, the importance of knowing the true three-dimensional shape of boron nanowires is demonstrated; without the nanowire's correct length and diameter, mechanical resonance data cannot provide an accurate estimate of Young's modulus.