Patent ID: 8558256

Claim:
A light emitting diode (LED) comprising: a semiconductor substrate; first and second semiconductor protrusions disposed on the semiconductor substrate to face each other; a semiconductor nanowire suspended between the first and second semiconductor protrusions; and first and second electrodes disposed on the first and second protrusions, respectively, the first electrode being flush with a first top edge of the first semiconductor protrusion that is farthest from the semiconductor nanowire, and the second electrode being flush with a second top edge of the second semiconductor protrusion that is farthest from the semiconductor nanowire, wherein the first semiconductor protrusion, the semiconductor nanowire, and the second semiconductor protrusion are part of a monolithic body, and wherein the semiconductor nanowire is in the form of a plurality of semiconductor nanowires arranged between the first and second semiconductor protrusions, the plurality of semiconductor nanowires having different diameters ranging from 1.5 nm to 5 nm.