TECHNOLOGY NEWS: Index

Nanotechnology articles - June 2004

EU, CEOs call for nanotechnology push
Date: 30 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Reuters) -- The European Union and electronics companies on Tuesday called for six billion euros ($7.30 billion) of annual investments into nanotechnology. ...
Source: CNN International

Loomis Group CEO Joins Advisory Board for University of Oregon's ...
Date: 30 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...expertise for clients in diverse markets, including consumer and medical technologies, health care, communications, Internet, semiconductor and nanotechnology. ...
Source: Business Wire (press release)

ST's Pistorio takes leading role in European nano initiative
Date: 30 Jun 2004
Excerpt: European electronics companies will collaborate within Eniac, or European Nanoelectronics Initiative Advisory Council, to develop nanotechnology and implement ...
Source: EE Times UK

FEYNMAN PRIZE NOMINATIONS DUE
Date: 30 Jun 2004
Excerpt: There might be plenty of room at the bottom, but there isn't plenty of time to nominate a colleague for the Foresight Institute Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology ...
Source: Small Times

VANDERBILT ENGINEERING TO LEAD NEW DEFENSE NANOTECH PROGRAM
Date: 30 Jun 2004
Excerpt: June 29, 2004 -- The Vanderbilt School of Engineering will lead a new $2.4 million multi-institutional nanotechnology program funded by the US Army Research ...
Source: Small Times

Ultratech Extends Lithography Leadership in Advanced Packaging ...
Date: 30 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...(Nasdaq: UTEK), a leading supplier of photolithography systems used to manufacture semiconductors and nanotechnology devices, today unveiled its new family of ...
Source: PR Newswire (press release)

Webcast Alert: Nano-Proprietary, Inc. Announces Its July 8, 2004 ...
Date: 30 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...is a premier research and development organization dedicated to developing applications for nanotechnology with an extremely strong position in the field of ...
Source: Yahoo News (press release)

Kopin Corporation Added to Merrill Lynch Nanotech Index
Date: 29 Jun 2004
Excerpt: The Index, created in March 2004, includes companies that indicate in public documents that nanotechnology initiatives represent a significant component of ...
Source: Business Wire (press release)

India strives for a place in nanotech world
Date: 29 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...genes. Looks like the science of the miniature — nanotechnology (one nano metre is a billionth of a metre) — is here to stay. ...
Source: Times of India

US Presidential Candidate Plans to Invest in Technology Including ...
Date: 28 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...s optimistic, can-do spirit to ignite job growth in the industries of the future - broadband Internet, clean energy, nanotechnology, biotechnology and advanced ...
Source: Azom.com

Nanobyk Additives Improve Scratch Resistance of UV Coatings
Date: 28 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...occasion of the Asia Pacific Coatings Show held in Bangkok from June 3 - 4, 2004 BYK-Chemie introduced the first two products based on Nanotechnology to the ...
Source: Azom.com

Get aboard stock express at right moment
Date: 28 Jun 2004
Excerpt: If nanotechnology continues to gain acceptance on Wall Street, a slew of companies stand to benefit. Simply put, nanotechnology ...
Source: Wilkes Barre Times-Leader

The world goes nano
Date: 28 Jun 2004
Excerpt: The countries are more and more clear that nanotechnology and converging markets influence economy, employment and the societies wealth and development. ...
Source: Innovations-Report

Advanced Materials Industry Veteran Joins NanoDynamics; Company ...
Date: 28 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...and funding organizations, identify funding opportunities, monitor industry progress toward NEMI's goals, and monitor progress in nanotechnology research. ...
Source: Business Wire (press release)

The benefits of a Trans-Tasman Joint Agency
Date: 28 Jun 2004
Excerpt: From gene therapy to tissue engineering and the application of nanotechnology in the prevention and treatment of disease, technological advances have resulted ...
Source: Scoop.co.nz (press release)

Ge Opens Technology Center in Germany
Date: 28 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...years, and is now focused on developing breakthrough innovations in areas such as molecular medicine, alternative energy, nanotechnology, advanced propulsion ...
Source: The Scotsman

New opportunities for SMEs in an enlarged Europe
Date: 28 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...sectors (manufacturing, engineering, medical technologies, automotive), as well as cutting-edge technology areas such as nanotechnology and nanoelectronics. ...
Source: Categorynet (Communiqués de presse)

Kenet Closes $10 Million Series B Funding; Oak Investment ...
Date: 28 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Founded in 1984, Kopin is pioneering the use of nanotechnology to manufacture nanosemiconductor products that make mobile electronic devices small, fast, bright ...
Source: Business Wire (press release)

Degussa to invest EUR 50 million in Nanotronics Science to ...
Date: 28 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...with university researchers, suppliers and customers in an interdisciplinary and inter-branch approach, thus covering the whole nanotechnology value chain from ...
Source: mysan.de

THE WEATHERS REPORT
Date: 28 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Progress in genetic engineering, nanotechnology, robotics, computer technology, and surveillance systems will make it possible, even easy, for the government ...
Source: Memphis Flyer

Some ideas to encourage manufacturing
Date: 28 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...of Science and Technology Policy, which includes funding for basic research and development and an additional $1 billion for nanotechnology; increased funding ...
Source: Orlando Sentinel (subscription)

Houston may be big leader in small field
Date: 26 Jun 2004
Excerpt: At the forefront is some of the latest work in nanotechnology, minuscule devices and probes that can embed in cells and circulate through blood vessels. ...
Source: Houston Chronicle

Royal boost for nanotechnology
Date: 25 Jun 2004
Excerpt: As a new player in the field of nanotechnology, Thailand must lay down clear strategies for boosting its development while supporting organisations working on ...
Source: The Nation, Thailand

Tegal Not Affected by Accounting Probe
Date: 25 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Nanotechnology company Tegal Corp. on Friday said its earnings for the fourth quarter ended March 31 were not affected by an accounting review. ...
Source: Forbes

Asia's Investments in Nanotech and Biotech
Date: 25 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...include Singapore's Biopolis research park containing Swiss pharma giant Novartis' new labs, the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, and the Genome ...
Source: Innovation World bioTechConnect

RPI to conduct joint research on nanotech lubricant
Date: 25 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Researchers at the school's Nanotechnology Center will use the funds to develop a lubricant that remains effective on Earth and in outer space. ...
Source: Albany Business Review

First Nano Additives of BYK-Chemie
Date: 25 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Occasion of the Asia Pacific Coatings Show Held in Bangkok From June 3 - 4, 2004 BYK-Chemie Introduced the First Two Products Based on Nanotechnology to the ...
Source: PR Newswire (press release)

Tegal Corporation Announces Final Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year ...
Date: 25 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...a leading designer and manufacturer of plasma etch and deposition systems used in the production of integrated circuits and nanotechnology devices, today ...
Source: Internet Telephony Magazine

SIA sets national research initiative
Date: 25 Jun 2004
Excerpt: The federal government's National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) now devotes perhaps one-fifth of its $900 million 2004 budget to semiconductor and electronics ...
Source: EE Times Online (subscription)

Vandy to work on Army nanotechnology project
Date: 24 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Vanderbilt School of Engineering is leading a new $2.4 million, multi-institutional nanotechnology program funded by the US Army Research Laboratory to develop ...
Source: Nashville Business Journal

KLA Unveils Atomic Force Line Monitoring Tool
Date: 24 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...company. The tool incorporates an AFM head developed jointly with SII NanoTechnology Inc., a subsidiary of Seiko Instruments. The ...
Source: Electronic News

Altair Nanotechnologies Provides Shareholder Update
Date: 24 Jun 2004
Excerpt: The Performance Materials Division is taking pioneering nanotechnology to market. ... Nanotechnology is rapidly emerging as a unique industry sector. ...
Source: Market Wire (press release)

Albany NanoTech showcases its view of future
Date: 23 Jun 2004
Excerpt: The Bush administration's technology chief got an up-close look at the University at Albany's nanotechnology center Tuesday, and he said he walked away ...
Source: Albany Times Union

The Geostrategically Lobotomized West
Date: 23 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Four years ago in an article he wrote for Wired magazine, Joy declared that the headlong race in biotechnology and nanotechnology might prove catastrophic. ...
Source: NewsMax.com

Interview: Marburger defends R&D policies
Date: 23 Jun 2004
Excerpt: A: Sure. Nanotechnology is a good one, and energy-related technologies. Q: I wasn't aware we were lagging in nano research funding. ...
Source: United Press International

New patent enlivens NVE stock
Date: 23 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Tiny NVE Corp., a player in the emerging field of nanotechnology, reported that it received a newly issued patent on Monday. Since ...
Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune (subscription)

Firms Eye 'Nanotech' Cautiously
Date: 22 Jun 2004
Excerpt: While many law firms are poised for a surge in nanotechnology business, some say the real dollars will come only when people figure out what it is. ...
Source: NY Lawyer

Physicists reveal first “ nanoflowers ?
Date: 22 Jun 2004
Excerpt: The images are published in the Institute journal Nanotechnology. These stunning images were taken by Ghim Wei Ho, a PhD student ...
Source: Institute of Physics (press release)

The next big scare
Date: 22 Jun 2004
Excerpt: You don't have to know anything about nanotechnology to realize that this new science, widely hailed as an economic and technological miracle in the making, is ...
Source: National Post (subscription)

Tegal Appoints Vahan Tchakerian as Vice President Sales and Field ...
Date: 22 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...a leading designer and manufacturer of plasma etch and deposition systems used in the production of integrated circuits and nanotechnology devices, today ...
Source: Business Wire (press release)

Bush administration technology official to visit Albany NanoTech
Date: 22 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...being done at the university. "You all have the first college of nanotechnology," Bond said earlier this year. At the time, he said ...
Source: Albany Business Review

Ametek buys British manufacturer
Date: 22 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...of ultra-precision measurement instrumentation for a variety of markets, including optics, semiconductors, hard disk drives and nanotechnology research. ...
Source: Bizjournals.com

Tough sell for a new business
Date: 21 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Ventura was a great salesman for the state's economy, Wyrobek said, but when it came to understanding nanotechnology, "It just wasn't on his radar at all.". ...
Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune (subscription)

American Superconductor lands $3.1M contract
Date: 21 Jun 2004
Excerpt: According to a release from the Westborough-based American Superconductor, the nanotechnology-enabled wire will be used for electronic warfare and electric ...
Source: Boston Business Journal

Increasing Oilprice and Nanobiotechnology make Biofuel ...
Date: 21 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Nanotechnology and converging biotechnology increase the energy potential in the plants used for biofuel with more than 60 percent. ...
Source: Innovations-Report

From the June 18, 2004 print edition
Date: 21 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Nanoparticles Application Center (NAC) hosts a Nanotechnology Colloquium from 11:30 am-1 pm at the Law offices of Winstead Sechrest & Minick PC. ...
Source: Austin Business Journal

Computers/Electronics News
Date: 21 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Company's nanotechnology-enabled 2G wire to be optimized for advanced warfare and weapons systems WESTBOROUGH, Mass., June 21 /PRNewswire/ -- American ...
Source: PR Newswire (press release)

NVE Granted Patent on MRAM Innovation; Spin Momentum Memory Cells ...
Date: 21 Jun 2004
Excerpt: MRAM (Magnetic Random Access Memory) is a revolutionary type of memory fabricated using nanotechnology which uses electron spins to encode data. ...
Source: Business Wire (press release)

AMETEK Acquires Taylor Hobson Holdings Limited; Acquisition ...
Date: 21 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...of ultra-precision measurement instrumentation for a variety of markets, including optics, semiconductors, hard disk drives and nanotechnology research. ...
Source: Business Wire (press release)

JMAR Technologies, Inc. Plans Launch of Laser-Based Early- ...
Date: 21 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...and supports advanced laser, sensor, and custom systems for applications in the semiconductor, biotech, homeland security, and nanotechnology markets. ...
Source: Business Wire (press release)

Tech sector calls on DTI to boost design funding
Date: 19 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...work. Design projects were almost absent from a DTI call for proposals to be funded by its micro and nanotechnology fund. "What ...
Source: The Scotsman

Nanotechnology Size Matters
Date: 17 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Bragging rights and applications aside, Seeman sees the walker as one more event in an accelerating series that is transforming nanotechnology from science ...
Source: PC Magazine

Pushing The Limits
Date: 17 Jun 2004
Excerpt: And in our final segment, "Nanotechnology: Size Matters," technology writer Jim Akin explores some of the real products that are emerging from nanotechnology ...
Source: PC Magazine

Richardson denies interest in vice presidency — again
Date: 17 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...business groups. He said he wanted to develop the areas of digital media, nanotechnology, biosensors and hydrogen fuel. While in ...
Source: KOB-TV

Australian premier signs agreement to bring Israel's expertise to ...
Date: 17 Jun 2004
Excerpt: An $81 million budget will go toward the construction and operation of a world-class nanotechnology research center at Georgia Tech. ...
Source: Israel 21C

PeopleSoft requests court-appointed hostage negotiator
Date: 17 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...as disparate as Bill Joy and Prince Charles to warn of the possible dangers of artificial intelligence, genetic engineering and molecular nanotechnology. ...
Source: Good Morning Silicon Valley

Tegal Completes Acquisition of First Derivative Systems, Inc.
Date: 16 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...a leading designer and manufacturer of plasma etch and deposition systems used in the production of integrated circuits and nanotechnology devices, today ...
Source: Business Wire (press release)

Shareholders of mPhase Technologies Authorize an Increase in the ...
Date: 15 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...develops and commercializes next-generation telecommunications and nanotechnology solutions, delivering novel systems to the marketplace that advance ...
Source: TMCnet

Nanotechnology Pioneer Slays 'Grey Goo' Myths
Date: 15 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Eric Drexler, known as the father of nanotechnology, today publishes a paper that admits that self-replicating machines are not vital for large-scale molecular ...
Source: TMCnet

Nanotechnology Film Wins Top Telly Animation Honors for ...
Date: 15 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...being singled out for their work together on animation for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that depicts future military applications of nanotechnology ...
Source: TMCnet

Harris & Harris Proposes Stock Offer
Date: 15 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...shelf registration on Tuesday. The business development company invests primarily in nanotechnology startups. The underwriters of ...
Source: Forbes

Drug Discovery and Delivery Applications of Nanotechnology and ...
Date: 14 Jun 2004
Excerpt: NEW YORK, June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The broad based application of nanotechnology as a discovery platform, as well as in drug delivery and diagnostic tools will ...
Source: Yahoo News (press release)

A giant in the field of small things
Date: 14 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...described tinkerer who spends hours alone with gizmos in his garage, he also speaks frequently in public about the interplay between nanotechnology and society ...
Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Getting to the particulars of NANOTECH
Date: 13 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Nanotechnology, the evolving science of manipulating nature's smallest building blocks, holds the promise to forever change the way we manufacture things. ...
Source: Pioneer Press (Subscription)

US fabric makers seek fade-proof survival
Date: 12 Jun 2004
Excerpt: China has started shipping water-resistant microfibers made using nanotechnology, while South Korea is exporting a treated performance suede. ...
Source: Houston Chronicle

Nanotechnology - the next GM ?
Date: 11 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Nanotechnology - a broad term covering the use of techniques to manipulate matter at an atomic scale - is gradually entering the public consciousness. ...
Source: Spiked

Texas Nanotechnology Initiative names executive director
Date: 11 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Securities industry veteran Joseph H. McCall has been named the first executive director of the Texas Nanotechnology Initiative. ...
Source: Houston Business Journal

Nanotechnology Pioneer Slays 'Grey Goo' Myths
Date: 10 Jun 2004
Excerpt: June 9, 2004 -- Eric Drexler, known as the father of nanotechnology, today publishes a paper that admits that self-replicating machines are not vital for large ...
Source: Science Daily (press release)

Drexler Calms Fears of Runaway Replicators
Date: 10 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...is scientifically addressed in the paper "Safe Exponential Manufacturing," released today by The Institute of Physics in their journal Nanotechnology. ...
Source: Nanodot

Trade Group Calls for More Nano
Date: 10 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...the best efforts of the Bush administration, the US semiconductor industry will still need a $1.5 billion shot in the arm to succeed in nanotechnology (define ...
Source: InternetNews.com

Industry groups develop nanotechnology standards
Date: 09 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Semi) has teamed up with the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) to support each other's programmes to create nanotechnology and micro ...
Source: Computing

Paving the Way For Nanotech
Date: 09 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Nanotechnology has been billed as the next great technological revolution—sometimes referred to as the “second Industrial Revolution.? It holds great ...
Source: Chemical & Engineering News

KP's Khosla Pulls No Punches, Slams Plans for Nanosys IPO
Date: 09 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Vinod Khosla, one of the industry's most respected technology investors, has warned of an impending nanotechnology "bubble" and criticized plans by venture ...
Source: Private Equity Week

TEXAS REMEMBERS THE NANO WITH REVAMPED SITE
Date: 09 Jun 2004
Excerpt: The Texas Nanotechnology Initiative today announced its new push to promote nano commercialization throughout the state, including a redesign of the TNI's Web ...
Source: Small Times

Expert says nothing to fear from 'grey goo'
Date: 09 Jun 2004
Excerpt: The scientist who first raised the alarm about grey goo destroying life on Earth now says there is nothing to fear from nanotechnology. ...
Source: Sydney Morning Herald

UC-Berkeley forms group with Taiwan researchers
Date: 09 Jun 2004
Excerpt: A first-of-its-kind alliance between UC-Berkeley and Taiwan's leading research organization will mean $500,000 a year to support nanotechnology research at the ...
Source: East Bay Business Times

Nanotech moves from lab to chip production line
Date: 09 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Nantero, a start-up developing memory chips using nanotechnology, and LSI Logic, a leading maker of specialty microchips, have announced that they have ...
Source: International Herald Tribune

IEEE and SEMI Sign Agreement to Foster Nanotechnology and MEMS ...
Date: 08 Jun 2004
Excerpt: JOSE, Calif., June 7 /PRNewswire/ -- SEMI and IEEE have signed a memorandum of understanding to support each other's programs to create nanotechnology and MEMS ...
Source: Yahoo News (press release)

Nuclear Solutions Issues Company Update on Nuclear Weapons ...
Date: 08 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Our mission is to develop product technologies for application in the areas of homeland security, nanotechnology, and environmental technology," Herda ...
Source: PrimeZone (press release)

Nanofab Center makes need list
Date: 08 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Center last week — the first step in distributing $1.93 million in grants funneled to the university through a consortium of nanotechnology research schools ...
Source: The Shorthorn

Hotels of the future
Date: 08 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Glen Hiemstra, founder of www.futurist.com, believes that three things will define the future of hotels: robotics, nanotechnology, and biometric security, such ...
Source: MSNBC

Nanotech Memory Chips Might Soon Be A Reality
Date: 08 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Nantero, a startup developing memory chips using nanotechnology, and LSI Logic, a leading maker of specialty microchips, are set to announce that they have ...
Source: Financial Express

Nanotechnology Film Wins Top Telly Animation Honors for ...
Date: 07 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Telly Awards has gone to two Concord (Massachusetts) creative firms, working together to create a film for MIT's exciting new nanotechnology laboratory. ...
Source: Emediawire (press release)

Nanotech risk put on insurance agenda
Date: 07 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Nanotechnology presents new challenges for insurance companies, according to a new report that calls on the industry to get to grips with assessing the risks ...
Source: ABC Science Online

Nanotech Memory Chips Might Soon Be a Reality
Date: 07 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...antero, a start-up developing memory chips using nanotechnology, and LSI Logic, a leading maker of specialty microchips, are expected to announce today that ...
Source: New York Times

Tech roundup: putting the pieces together
Date: 07 Jun 2004
Excerpt: The state created the world's first nanotechnology college, the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, on the Albany NanoTech campus. ...
Source: Albany Business Review

Nissan Licence Ormecon Organic Metals Nanotechnology
Date: 3 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd. is pleased to announce a license agreement with Ormecon, GmbH, based on which Nissan Chemical started ...
Source: AZoNano.com

Taiwan to Push Nanotechnology
Date: 3 Jun 2004
Excerpt: ...the National Science Council (%u570B%u79D1%u6703) is set to focus on research and development programs in the pioneering field of nanotechnology and in the ...
Source: physics.about.com

Petersen Wins Nanotechnology Post
Date: 02 Jun 2004
Excerpt: President (Research) at The University of Western Ontario since 2002, has been appointed Director General of Canada's flagship nanotechnology research institute ...
Source: Western News

Scholars Probe Nanotechnology's Promise and Its Potential ...
Date: 02 Jun 2004
Excerpt: With a revolution in everything from toys to tumors on the horizon, scientists in the nanotechnology arena are working to gain the public's trust. ...
Source: PhysicsToday.org

BIO 2004 Annual Convention American Society for Biochemistry and ...
Date: 02 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Founded in 1997, Do-Coop Technologies is a NanoBiotechnology company that has developed novel Nanotechnology to process water-based Nano-Reagents to deliver ...
Source: Fininfo (Communiqués de presse)

PSivida lifts pSiMedica stake to 100%
Date: 02 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Nanotechnology firm pSivida Ltd has acquired full ownership of its United Kingdom subsidiary pSiMedica Ltd for $57.8 million in scrip and cash. ...
Source: The Age

Improving on Edison / Bamboo lights the way for eco-friendly ...
Date: 02 Jun 2004
Excerpt: The bamboo that Suzuki uses--and to which he has applied every conceivable nanotechnology--is from a grove in the region that is said to be the birthplace of ...
Source: Daily Yomiuri

Nanotech expert promises big things
Date: 02 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Yang, the new chief executive of the government-funded Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (Astri), plans to add nanotechnology to research ...
Source: The Standard

Nanotechnology Improving Energy Options
Date: 1 Jun 2004
Excerpt: Nanotechnology could help revolutionize the energy industry, producing advances such as solar power cells made of plastics to environmentally friendly ...
Source: TMCnet

February-04 March-04 April-04 May-04 June-04 July-04 August-04 September-04 October-04 November-04 December-04 December-04 January-05 February-05 March-05 April-05 May-05 06-05 07-05 Nanotechnology from Wikipedia


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 hypothetical molecular nanotechnology.

The term nanotechnology is sometimes conflated with molecular nanotechnology (also known as "MNT"), a hypothetical, advanced form of nanotechnology believed by some to be achievable at some point in the future, based on productive nanosystems. Molecular nanotechnology would fabricate precise structures using mechanosynthesis to perform molecular manufacturing. The hypothetical molecular nanotechnology, though not yet existent, is posited by its proponents to have a great impact on society if realized. Current debate on whether molecular nanotechnology is likely to be developed can be seen on the web at the weblog of Richard Jones and other sites mentioned therein.

More broadly, nanotechnology includes the many techniques used to create structures at a size scale below 100 nm, including those used for fabrication of nanotubes and nanowires, those used in semiconductor fabrication such as deep ultraviolet lithography, electron beam lithography, focused ion beam machining, atomic layer deposition, and molecular vapor deposition, and further including molecular self-assembly techniques such as those employing di-block copolymers.

The term nanoscience is used to describe the interdisciplinary fields of science devoted to the study of nanoscale phenomena employed in nanotechnology. This is the world of atoms, molecules, macromolecules, quantum dots, and macromolecular assemblies, and is dominated by surface effects such as Van der Waals force attraction, hydrogen bonding, electronic charge, ionic bonding, covalent bonding, hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, and quantum mechanical tunneling, to the virtual exclusion of macro-scale effects such as turbulence and inertia.

The size scale of nanoscience and nanotechnology make them susceptible to quantum-based phenomena, leading to often counterintuitive results. Furthermore, the vastly increased ratio of surface area to volume opens new possibilities in surface-based science, such as catalysis.

Nanotechnology is already having a considerable impact on the field of electronics, where the drive towards miniaturization continues and transistor gate lengths of 65 nm are routinely fabricated in prototype circuits. The device density of modern computer electronics (i.e. the number of transistors per unit area) has grown exponentially, and this trend is expected to continue for some time (see Moore's law). However, both economics and fundamental electronic limitations prevent this trend from continuing indefinitely. Some see further development of nanotechnology outside of the semiconductor roadmap, and the hoped-for advent of molecular nanotechnology, as the next logical steps for continued advances in computer architecture, while others are less sanguine.




Google
  Web mongabay.com


what's new | tropical fish | help support the site | madagascar | search | about | contact

Copyright Rhett Butler 1994-2006