Abstract: The present invention generally relates to nanotechnology and sub-microelectronic devices that can be used in circuitry, and, in particular, to nanoscale wires and other nanostructures able to encode data. One aspect of the present invention is directed to a device comprising an electrical crossbar array comprising at least two crossed wires at a cross point. In some cases, at least one of the crossed wires is a nanoscale wire, and in certain instances, at least one of the crossed wires is a nanoscale wire comprising a core and at least one shell surrounding the core. For instance, the core may comprise a crystal (e.g., crystalline silicon) and the shell may be at least partially amorphous (e.g., amorphous silicon). In certain embodiments, the cross point may exhibit intrinsic current rectification, or other electrical behaviors, and the cross point can be used as a memory device.