Dattoli describes his work: "One-dimensional structures such as nanowires and nanotubes have shown great potential as future electronic devices. Their commercial applications, however, depend critically on the development of effective, large scale assembly and integration of such nanostructures. I have worked to fabricate a totally transparent tin oxide nanowire-based thin-film transistor on a glass substrate. The device possesses carrier mobilities in excess of 100 cm^2/(V*s), a performance level that far exceeds the performance of existing thin-film transistor devices. In addition, the device was fabricated using low temperature processing conditions which are compatible with plastic (flexible) substrates. This work may one day open up avenues for low-power, transparent electronics on flexible, transparent, and cheap substrates."

Dattoli's work has already resulted in both a journal and a conference paper. He works with Prof. Wei Lu, a member of the Solid-State Electronics Laboratory.