Nanofingers pulled from bulk silver

Nanoscale finger-like structures are fabricated by pulling bulk silver wires at room temperature using a pair of cutter pliers. The diameter of these nanofingers (NFs) is found to have a narrow distribution ( d  = 15 ± 3 nm) and high uniformity along the length, which relies on the strain hardening induced by dislocation starvation. Theoretical prediction of the length agrees well with the experimental observation.