Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology comprises technological developments on the nanometer scale, usually 0.1 to 100 nm. (One nanometer equals one thousandth of a micrometer or one millionth of a millimeter.) The term has sometimes been applied to microscopic technology. This article discusses nanotechnology, nanoscience, and "molecular nanotechnology."

New materials, devices, technologies

As science becomes more sophisticated it naturally enters the realm of what is arbitrarily labeled nanotechnology. The essence of nanotechnology is that as we scale things down they start to take on novel characteristics. Nanoparticles (clusters at nanometre scale), for example, have very interesting properties and have proved useful as catalysts and in other uses since, for example when Charles Goodyear invented vulcanized rubber in 1839 or when the Mesoamericans achieved the same result some 2400 years earlier. If we ever do make nanobots, they will not be scaled down versions of contemporary robots. It is the same scaling effects that make nanodevices so special that prevent this. Nanoscaled devices will probably bear much stronger resemblance to nature's nanodevices: proteins, DNA, membranes etc. Supramolecular assemblies are a good example of this.

Related Topics:
Charles Goodyear - Vulcanized rubber - DNA - Supramolecular assemblies

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One fundamental characteristic of nanotechnology is that nanodevices self-assemble. That is, they build themselves from the bottom up. Scanning probe microscopy is an important technique both for characterization and synthesis of nanomaterials. Atomic force microscopes and scanning tunneling microscopes can be used to look at surfaces and to move atoms around. By designing different tips for these microscopes, they can be used for carving out structures on surfaces and to help guide self-assembling structures. Atoms can be moved around on a surface with scanning probe microscopy techniques, but it is cumbersome, expensive and very time-consuming, and for these reasons it is quite simply not feasible to construct nanoscaled devices atom by atom. You don't want to assemble a billion transistors into a microchip by taking an hour to place each transistor, but these techniques can be used for things like helping guide self-assembling systems.

Related Topics:
Scanning probe microscopy - Atomic force microscope - Scanning tunneling microscope

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One of the problems facing nanotechnology is how to assemble atoms and molecules into smart materials and working devices. Supramolecular chemistry is here a very important tool. Supramolecular chemistry is the chemistry beyond the molecule, and molecules are being designed to self-assemble into larger structures. In this case, biology is a place to find inspiration: cells and their pieces are made from self-assembling biopolymers such as proteins and protein complexes. One of the things being explored is synthesis of organic molecules by adding them to the ends of complementary DNA strands such as ----A and ----B, with molecules A and B attached to the end; when these are put together, the complementary DNA strands hydrogen bonds into a double helix, ====AB, and the DNA molecule can be removed to isolate the product AB.

Related Topics:
Supramolecular chemistry - Self-assemble - Protein

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Natural or man-made particles or artifacts often have qualities and capabilities quite different from their macroscopic counterparts. Gold, for example, which is chemically inert at normal scales, can serve as a potent chemical catalyst at nanoscales.

Related Topics:
Gold - Catalyst

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"Nanosize" powder particles (a few nanometres in diameter, also called nano-particles) are potentially important in ceramics, powder metallurgy, the achievement of uniform nanoporosity, and similar applications. The strong tendency of small particles to form clumps ("agglomerates") is a serious technological problem that impedes such applications. However, a few dispersants such as ammonium citrate (aqueous) and imidazoline or oleyl alcohol (nonaqueous) are promising additives for deagglomeration. (Those materials are discussed in "Organic Additives And Ceramic Processing," by D. J. Shanefield, Kluwer Academic Publ., Boston.)

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In October 2004, researchers at The University Of Manchester succeeded in forming a small piece of material only 1 atom thick called graphene.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15499015 Robert Freitas has suggested that graphene might be used as a deposition surface for a diamondoid mechanosynthesis tool.http://www.molecularassembler.com/Papers/PathDiamMolMfg.htm

Related Topics:
Graphene - Robert Freitas

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As of August 23rd 2004, Stanford University has been able to construct a transistor from single-walled carbon nanotubes and organic molecules. These single-walled carbon nanotubes are basically a rolled up sheet of carbon atoms. They have accomplished creating this transistor making it two nanometers wide and able to maintain current three nanometers in length. To create this resistor they cut metallic nanotubes in order to form electrodes, and afterwards placed one or two organic materials to form a semiconducting channel between the electrodes. It is projected that this new achievement will be available in different application in two to five years.

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News.com reported on March 1st 2005 that Intel is preparing to introduce processors with features measuring 65 nanometers. The company?s current engineers seem to deem that a 5 nanometer processes are actually proving themselves to be more and more feasible. The company showed pictures of these transistor prototypes measuring 65, 45, 32, and 22 nanometers. However, the company spoke about how their expectations for the future are for new processors featuring 15,10, 7, and 5 nanometers.

Related Topics:
March 1st - 2005

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Currently the prototypes use CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductors); however, according to Intel smaller scales will rely on quantum dots, polymer layers, and nanotube technology.

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PhysOrg.com writes about the use of plasmons in the world. Plasmons are waves of electrons traveling along the surface of metals. They have the same frequency and electromagnetic field as light; however, the sub-wavelength size allows them to use less space. These plasmons act like light waves in glass on metal, allowing engineers to use any of the same tricks such as multiplexing, or sending multiple waves. With the use of plasmons information can be transferred through chips at an incredible speed; however, these plasmons do have set backs. For instance, the distance plasmons travel before dying out depends on the metal, and even currently they can travel several millimeters, while chips are typically about a centimeter across each other. In addition, the best metal currently available for plasmons to travel farther is aluminum. However, most industries that manufacture chips use copper over aluminum since it is a better electrical conductor. Furthermore, the issue of heat will have to be looked upon. The use of plasmons will definitely generate heat but the amount is currently unknown.

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Further developments in the field of nanotechnology focuses on the oscillation of a nanomachine for telecommunication. The article states that in Boston an antenna-like sliver of silicon one-tenth the width of a human hair oscillated in a lab in a Boston University basement. This team led by Professor Pritiraj Mohanty developed the sliver of silicon. Since the technology functions at the speeds of gigahertz this could help make communication devices smaller and exchange information at gigahertz speeds. This nanomachine is comprised of 50 billion atoms and is able to oscillate at 1.49 billion times per second. The antenna moves over a distance of one-tenth of a picometer.

Related Topics:
Silicon - Gigahertz - Picometer

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