Nano Point

2008-10-02T09:15:00.000-07:00

Nanotechnology applications

2008-10-02T08:49:00.000-07:00

Nanotechnology plays an increasingly important role in the manufacture of a wide range of consumer products which are improved and at a lower cost. Nanotechnology companies get new market opportunities by increasing the efficiency of manufacturing and logistics operations. Nanoscale materials are used in electronic, magnetic and optoelectronic, biomedical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, energy, catalytic and materials applications. Areas producing the greatest revenue for nanoparticles reportedly are chemical-mechanical polishing, magnetic recording tapes, sunscreens, automotive catalyst supports, biolabeling, electro conductive coatings, optical fibers, non-volatile magnetic memory, automotive sensors, landmine detectors and solid-state compasses. More than $32 billion worth products containing nano-materials were sold globally during 2007.
The value of the nanotechnology inputs used to produce consumer products worldwide is projected to reach $10.5 billion in 2010, at an average annual growth rate of 9.1%. Nanoparticles chiefly used in the production of automobile catalytic converters and tires account for more than 90% of inputs.
By 2010, nanostructured materials are projected to increase their share of the total market from 7.5% to 19%, and nanotubes from 0.002% to 8.3%. Nanocomposites and nanosensors, while expected to grow, should remain small in percentage terms.
The total market for end products that rely on nanotechnologies for their production, functioning and/or distribution is expected to reach $958 billion in 2010. By 2014, it is projected that $2.6 trillion in manufactured goods will incorporate nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology - Medical and health applications - Skin creams

2008-10-02T06:39:00.000-07:00

Skin creams

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles have a comparable UV protection property as the bulk material, but lose the cosmetically undesirable whitening as the particle size is decreased. In anti wrinkle cream and hair conditioner a polymer capsule is used to transport active agents like vitamins to improved care power. UV absorbers based on nanoparticulate zinc oxide incorporated in sun creams filter the high-energy radiation out of sunlight. Because of their tiny size, they remain invisible to the naked eye and so the cream is transparent on the skin.Some of the potential impacts from dermal exposure to nanoscale materials include the following: (1) enhanced amount and depth of penetration of active ingredients in cosmetics into the skin resulting in increased activity; (2) ingredients that are chemically unstable in air and light such as retinol and Vitamin E may be more readily used in topical products following encapsulation in na noparticles; and, (3) timed release of ingredients may become more feasible in topical products and could allow for improved effectiveness equivalent to current controlled release orally administered drugs. However, the potential usefulness of nanoparticles in cosmetic products is not fully understood at this time because it is not clear to what extent these nano-sized systems can penetrate the skin.

Nanotechnology - Medical and health applications - Medical implants

2008-10-02T06:37:00.000-07:00

Medical implants

Medical implants are being used in every organ of the human body. The system and product specifications for these devices included the user requirements in terms of functionality, location and physical constraints. They all require biocompatible coating material(s) that must remain stable for the lifetime of the implant, which in many cases can be the lifetime of a person. Currently so-called biomaterials are chosen because they are reasonably successful at hiding from the body's immune system, and are consequently not rejected. All the same, within a month of implanting them, the body isolates implants by wrapping them in a collagenous, avascular sac. Materials are considered to be 'biocompatible' if this sac is not too thick and are made with specifically sized pores that encourage small blood vessels to actively grow through the implant, or implants coated with DNA that specifically prevents formation of the collagenous capsule.Both of these allow the implant and the body actively work together, rather than simply try to prevent them fighting against each other. Current medical implants, such as orthopaedic implants and heart valves, are made of titanium and stainless steel alloys, primarily because they are biocompatible The implant material market has evolved over the years starting from vanadium steel and PTFE to the usage of shape memory alloys and resorbabales. Unfortunately, in some cases these metal alloys may wear out within the lifetime of the patient. At present there is no material which can be categorized as above but continuous research is done to improve the properties of the materials. Metallic Materials, Polymeric Materials and Ceramic Materials are used.Nanocrystalline zirconium oxide (zirconia) is hard, wearresistant, bio-corrosion resistant and bio-compatible. It therefore presents an attractive alternative material for implants. This and other nanoceramics can also be made as strong, light aerogels by sol–gel techniques. Nanocrystalline silicon carbide is another candidate material for artificial heart valves primarily because of its low weight, high strength and inertness.

Nanotechnology - Medical and health applications - Diagnostics

2008-10-02T06:30:00.000-07:00

Diagnostics

Nanomaterials can be useful for both in vivo and in vitro biomedical research and applications, development of diagnostic devices, contrast agents, analytical tools and physical therapy applications.

Nanotechnology-on-a-chip is one more dimension of lab-on-a-chip technology. Biological tests measuring the presence or activity of selected substances become quicker, more sensitive and more flexible when certain nanoscale particles are put to work as tags or labels. Magnetic nanoparticles, bound to a suitable antibody, are used to label specific molecules, structures or microorganisms. Gold nanoparticles tagged with short segments of DNA can be used for detection of genetic sequence in a sample. Multicolor optical coding for biological assays has been achieved by embedding different-sized quantum dots into polymeric microbeads. Nanopore technology for analysis of nucleic acids converts strings of nucleotides directly into electronic signatures.

Nanotechnology - medical and health applications - blood

2008-10-02T06:23:00.000-07:00

Bleeding arrester

First-aid treatment to stops bleeding featuring seven different product delivery systems such as sprays, nasal plugs, patches, powder, plasters, dressings and blotters each designed for specific usage occasions and all containing the stops-bleeding has been developed.

Nanotechnology for blood plasma cleaning

Russia's Nanotechnology Corporation has reported that nanotechnology will soon allow people to have their blood plasma cleaned relatively inexpensively. Patients can undergo treatment for metabolic disorder and remove toxins from their blood.Fitness centers and beauty parlors could soon use nanotechnology to offer plasmopheresis to their customers.

Dressing

Antimicrobial dressing covered with nanocrystalline coating of silver rapidly kills a broad spectrum of bacteria in a very short time.

Nanotechnology - Medical and health applications - biostructures

2008-08-31T11:41:00.001-07:00

Biostructures

These structures are designed to “mimic” some type of biological process which can also interact with a biological mechanism. One of the main focuses of this research is in the area of human repair and idea of self-assembly. This is also called “tissue engineering”. The biostructures will be inserted into the body to form a template to assist the body. Using the bone example again, the biostructure will form an outer shell around the area that needs to be repaired. The natural bone can then grow around the structure like a rose grows over a trellis. So now we don’t have to replace the bone we can simply, repair the damage easily. Tissue engineering might replace today’s conventional treatments like organ transplants or artificial implants.

Nanotechnology - medical and health applications - smart drug

2008-08-31T11:35:00.000-07:00

The potential medical applications of nanotechnology are by the use of human-engineered devices. These can interact with biological processes in sophisticated ways by the creation of a "smart drug".

Smart drug is a nano-scale device designed to perform a particular medical task such as destroying cancer cells, cleaning out clogged arteries or to construct needed proteins or mimicking anti-bodies.

Drug delivery mechanism

Researchers have discovered the possible pathway as to how anti-tumor drugs kill cancer cells by tiny drug-delivery particles for use in "nanomedicine."It is generally assumed that polymeric micelles, upon administration into the blood stream, carry drug molecules until they are taken up into cells followed by intracellular release. Result show that the hydrophobic probes in the core are released from micelles in the extracellular space. During administration of polymeric micelles to tumor cells core-loaded probes were found to release to the cell membrane before internalization. Results suggest a membrane-mediated pathway for cellular uptake of hydrophobic molecules preloaded in polymeric micelles and the plasma membrane provides a temporal residence for micelle-released hydrophobic molecules before their delivery to target. Intracellular destinations.Blood-stable micelles deliver hydrophobic drugs to the target site via prolonged circulation and extravasation from the vascular system.

The synthetic "polymer micelles" are drug-delivery spheres 60-100 nanometers in diameter, or roughly 100 times smaller than a red blood cell. The spheres harbor drugs in their inner core and contain an outer shell made of a material called polyethylene glycol.Purdue researchers showed for the first time how this shell of polyethylene glycol latches onto the membranes of cancer cells, allowing fluorescent probes mimicking cancer drugs to enter the cancer cells.Drug enter tumor cells and the micelles break down in the blood before they have a chance to deliver the drug to cancer cells. Experiments showed that "core-loaded" with the drug entered cancer cells within 15 minutes, suggesting a new drug-delivery pathway to kill tumor cells.

Unlike water, blood has many components like surfactants and lipids and proteins that interact with the whole micelle structure. As a result, the micelles are unstable in blood and the drug is released too soon. The micelles remain intact in red blood cells and components of blood plasma except for a class of plasma proteins called alpha and beta globulins, which causes the drug to be released (venere@purdue.edu). The overall drug consumption and side-effects can be lowered significantly by depositing the active agent in the morbid region only and in no higher dose than needed. This highly selective approach reduces costs and human suffering. An example can be found in dendrimers and nanoporous materials. They could hold small drug molecules transporting them to the desired location.

nanotechnology - medical applications - anti-aging nutrient

2008-08-31T10:59:00.001-07:00

Anti-aging nutrient
Encapsulation technology is insertion of active ingredients into protective boundaries that an insolate, disperse, mobilize, enhance activity, and transport these ingredients via immiscible media and barriers. Inserting active ingredients into capsules is the art of encapsulation. Nano-encapsulation is encapsulation of ingredients in nanometer size range capsules. Normally, this would apply to encapsulation of a single or several ingredient molecules per individual capsule. An example of nano-capsules is cyclodextrin. Nanotechnology principles are used to prepare anti-aging nutrients. When applied to nutrition. The process involves physically altering a hard-to-absorb nutrient so that it becomes more available to the body without altering its function.For example, fat-soluble vitamins like carotenoids and CoQ10 tend to bunch together in the intestine, making them difficult to absorb. To enhance absorbability, individual molecules are separated using nano encapsulation. This process prevents molecules from clinging together so they are more available for easy absorption. This superior bioavailability with new patent-pending CR-6 nutrients by Pharmanex is a first-ever formula to deliver NanoCoQ10 and nano carotenoids along with other nutrients for maximum anti-aging benefits. And in the case of coenzyme Q10, this process of nano encapsulation increases bioavailability by 5–10 times.

Nanotechnology - medical applications - synthetic bone

2008-08-31T10:53:00.000-07:00

synthetic bone
Nanoparticulate-based synthetic bone called "Human bone” is made of a calcium and phosphate composite called Hydroxyapatite. It is made by the manipulation of calcium and phosphate at the molecular level that is identical in structure and composition to natural bone. This novel synthetic bone can be used in cases where natural bone is damaged or removed, such as in the in the treatment of fractures and soft tissue injuries.

Nanotechnology - Medical and health Applications

2008-08-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

The potential medical applications of nanotechnology are by the use of human-engineered devices. These can interact with biological processes in sophisticated ways. The following are few important applications.

Smart drug
Synthetic bone
Biostructures
Dressing
Bleeding arrester
Drug delivery
Diagnostics
Medical implants
Skin creams
Anti-aging nutrient

Nanotechnology Applications - Introduction

2008-08-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

Nanotechnology Applications - Introduction
Nanotechnology plays an increasingly important role in the manufacture of a wide range of consumer products which are improved and at a lower cost. Nanotechnology companies get new market opportunities by increasing the efficiency of manufacturing and logistics operations.
Nanoscale materials are used in electronic, magnetic and optoelectronic, biomedical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, energy, catalytic and materials applications. Areas producing the greatest revenue for nanoparticles reportedly are chemical-mechanical polishing, magnetic recording tapes, sunscreens, automotive catalyst supports, biolabeling, electro conductive coatings, optical fibers, non-volatile magnetic memory, automotive sensors, landmine detectors and solid-state compasses. More than $32 billion worth products containing nano-materials were sold globally during 2007.
The value of the nanotechnology inputs used to produce consumer products worldwide is projected to reach $10.5 billion in 2010, at an average annual growth rate of 9.1%. Nanoparticles chiefly used in the production of automobile catalytic converters and tires account for more than 90% of inputs. By 2010, nanostructured materials are projected to increase their share of the total market from 7.5% to 19%, and nanotubes from 0.002% to 8.3%. Nanocomposites and nanosensors, while expected to grow, should remain small in percentage terms.
The total market for end products that rely on nanotechnologies for their production, functioning and/or distribution is expected to reach $958 billion in 2010. By 2014, it is projected that $2.6 trillion in manufactured goods will incorporate nanotechnology. The following is the list of various applications of nanotechnology found in the research reports, news, blogs, journals and institute releases. However the list is not exhaustive and seems never ending.

1.Medical and health

2.Food products

3.Agriculture

4.Water treatment

5.Energy

6.Information and communication

7.Aerospace

8.Refineries

9.Enhanced materials

10.Corrosion resistantance

11.Vehicle manufacture

12.Stronger, less-expensive, high-strength steels

13.Faster, smaller, safer gas sensor

14.Household

15.Optics

16.Textiles and paper

17.Sports Equipment

18.Miscelaneous materials

19.Patent applications

20.Grand challenges

21.Future goals for development

22.Future thrust

Safety

2008-08-28T10:57:00.001-07:00

FAQ & Abreviations

2008-08-28T10:55:00.004-07:00

Materials & test results

2008-08-28T10:55:00.003-07:00

Images

2008-08-28T10:55:00.001-07:00

MEMS&NEMS

2008-08-28T10:54:00.003-07:00

Global survey

2008-08-28T10:54:00.001-07:00

Institutes

2008-08-28T10:53:00.003-07:00

Carriers

2008-08-28T10:53:00.001-07:00

Manufacturers

2008-08-28T10:46:00.002-07:00

Nanotechnology -Measuring Instruments

2008-08-28T10:46:00.001-07:00

Nanotechnology -Measuring Instruments

Nanotechnology - Manufacturing Methods

2008-08-28T10:44:00.002-07:00

Manufacturing Methods

Nanotechnology - Characteristis

2008-08-28T10:44:00.001-07:00

Characteristis

History

2008-08-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

History of Nanotechnology

A Short History of Nanotechnology

2008-08-28T10:22:00.000-07:00

A Short History of Nanotechnology

1959 : Feynman described molecular machines building with atomic precision, and pointed out ‘‘There is plenty of room at the bottom”
1974 : Taniguchi used the term "nano-technology" in paper on ion-sputter machining
1977 : Drexler originated molecular nanotechnology concepts at MIT
1981 : First technical paper on molecular engineering to build with atomic precision &
STM was invented
1985 : Buckyball was discovered
1986 : First book on nano technology was published, AFM was invented and First organization was formed
1987 : First protein was engineered, First university symposium was organised
1988 : First university course was started
1989 : IBM logo was spelled in individual atoms and First national conference was organised
1990 : First nanotechnology journal was published, Japan's STA funded nanotech projects
1991 : Japan''s MITI announced the bottom-up "atom factory", IBM endorsed bottom-up path, Japan's MITI commits $200 million for nano projects and Carbon nanotube was discovered
1992 : First textbook was published and First Congressional testimony awarded
1993 : First Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology was awarded, "Engines of Creation" book was given to Rice administration, stimulating first university nanotech center
1994 : Nanosystems textbook was used in first university course
1995 : First think tank report was was submitted and First industry analysis of military applications was released
1996 : A $250,000 Feynman Grand Prize was announced, First European conference was oranised, NASA began work in computational nanotech and First nanobio conference was organised
1997 : First company named Zyvex was formed and First design of nanorobotic system was made
1998 : First NSF forum was held in conjunction with Foresight Conference and First DNA-based nanomechanical device was announced
1999 : First Nanomedicine book was published, First safety guidelines were framed
2000 : President Clinton announced U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative and First state research initiative for $100 million was announced in California
2001 : First report on nanotech industry released and U.S. announced first center for military applications. Nanotechnology Workshop was held in The University of California
2002 : First nanotech industry conference and Nanotechnology Workshop: From the Laboratory to New Commercial Frontiers were held
2003 : Drexler/Smalley debate was published in Chemical & Engineering News
2004 : First policy conference was organised on advanced nanotech, First center for nanomechanical systems was established
2005 : At Nanoethics meeting, Roco announce nanomachine/nanosystem project
2006 : National Academies nanotechnology report calls for experimentation toward molecular manufacturing

Detailed History of Nanotechnology

2008-08-28T10:20:00.000-07:00

History of Nanotechnology

The foundations of nanotechnology have emerged over many decades of research in many different fields.
Nanotechnology has been employed for thousands of years, for example in making steel and in vulcanizing rubber. Both of these processes rely on the properties of stochastically-formed atomic ensembles mere nanometers in size, and are distinguished from chemistry in that they don't rely on the properties of individual molecules.
The first mention of some of the distinguishing concepts in nanotechnology (but predating use of that name) was in 1867 by James Clerk Maxwell when he proposed as a thought experiment of a tiny entity to handle individual molecules.
In the 1920's, Irving Langmuir and Katharine B. Blodgett introduced the concept of a monolayer, a layer of material one molecule thick for which Langmuir won a Nobel Prize in chemistry. (aumsri.sulekha.com).

According to Robert Floyd Curl, Jr., Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry in 1996, Indian craftsmen used nanotechnology in Wootz steel as well as in paintings. More specifically carbon nanotubes, first announced by Russian scientists in 1952, was found in the sword of Tipu Sultan as well as in Ajanta paintings. Carbon nanotubes which are cylidrical fullerenes have extraordinary strength in terms of tensile strength and elastic modulus. Our ancestors have been using the technology for over 2,000 years and carbon nano for about 500 years. Carbon nanotechnology is much older than carbon nanoscience.

The first use of the concepts in 'nano-technology' (but predating use of that name) was in "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom," a talk given by physicist and chemist Richard Feynman at an American Physical Society meeting at Caltech on 1959. Feynman described a process by which the ability to manipulate individual atoms and molecules might be developed, using one set of precise tools to build and operate another proportionally smaller set, so on down to the needed scale.(Varnam.org).

Feynman announced two challenges. The first challenge involved the construction of a nanomotor, which, to Feynman's surprise, was achieved by November of 1960 by William McLellan. The second challenge involved the possibility of scaling down letters small enough so as to be able to fit the entire Encyclopedia Britannica on the head of a pin. (Wikipedia).
In the late 1970's, Eric Drexler began to invent what would become molecular manufacturing.
Also in 1974 the process of atomic layer deposition, for depositing uniform thin films one atomic layer at a time, was developed and patented by Dr. Tuomo Suntola and co-workers in Finland.
Nanotechnology and nanoscience got a boost in the early 1980s with two major developments: the birth of cluster science and the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). by IBM Corporation.

Other notable milestones that enabled nanotechnology as we know it today were the development of the atomic force microscope in 1985 (www.industryweek.com)
This development of STM led to the discovery of fullerenes in 1986. In another development, the synthesis and properties of semiconductor nanocrystals were studied. This led to a fast increasing number of semiconductor nanoparticles of quantum dots.

In 1989 IBM scientists in Zurich, using the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope, demonstrated that it is possible to precisely position 35 xenon atoms to spell "IBM."
During 1991 a significant new nanomaterial called carbon nanotubes which is a tiny cylinder of carbon atoms was discovered,. Cages of carbon called Buckminsterfullerene or buckyballs was discovered at the Universities of Arizona and Heidelberg. Sumio Lijino, a researcher at Japan, found there was more to the carbon than graphite, diamonds or the 60 atom buckyballs.
By 1992, Drexler was using "molecular nanotechnology" or "molecular manufacturing" to distinguish his manufacturing ideas from the simpler product-focused and continued to claim the term "nanotechnology”.

The first nanotube-based transistors appeared in 1998, followed by IBM's (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) discovery of the “quantum mirage” effect in 2000, which employed the wave nature of electrons instead of conventional wiring to enable data transfer within nanoscale electronic circuits too small to use wires.
National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) instead of focusing on molecular manufacturing funded nanoscale technology research.
Functional logic circuits and a ring oscillator built from discrete nanotube transistors first appeared in 2001. World's smallest solid-state light emitter built on a CNT appeared in 2003.
A published debate between Drexler and Nobelist chemist Richard Smalley in December 2003 illustrated a tone of controversy.

In 2005, using DNA molecules as scaffolds, scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign created superconducting nanodevices that demonstrated a new type of quantum interference. 2006 saw the demonstration of a five-stage, 10-transistor ring oscillator built as an IC on a single nanotube, and the introduction of the nano¬SQUID, a superconducting quantum interference device made with NTs.(www.industryweek.com).
2007 practice of nanotechnology embraces both stochastic approaches (in which, for example, supramolecular chemistry creates waterproof pants) and deterministic approaches wherein single molecules (created by stochastic chemistry) are manipulated on substrate surfaces (created by stochastic deposition methods) by deterministic methods comprising nudging them with STM or AFM probes and causing simple binding or cleavage reactions to occur. The dream of a complex, deterministic molecular nanotechnology remains elusive.

American car manufacturers have used nanotubes to improve the safety of fuel-lines in passenger vehicles and the electronics industry uses nanotubes in its packaging material to better protect goods and to aid the removal of any electrical charges before they can build to disruptive levels.
In the electronics world, only a few products made with CNTs are now available. Some early CNT sensors, probe tips and transparent conductive films are on the market, with more developed versions soon to come. Developers also now say more complex CNT-based memory chips; field emission devices and thermal management materials could be available within the next few years. Most off-the-shelf CNTs are instead going into what may be called novel applications. The world's first sailboat mast using CNT was made with NanoSolve materials by Zyvex Corp. to improve yacht performance by significantly increasing the strength and stiffness of the mast without adding weight.

The potential for more broad-based nanotechnology applications will come from a better understanding of how particles operate on a nanoscale and how biological and non-biological particles can be integrated - research and development continues in these fields and many others. There is still a way to go before we fully understand the workings and potential applications of the assembly of atoms and how to make these processes scalable, profitable and standardised (and therefore able to produce predictable and consistent outputs).
Around US$2 billion is being invested annually in nanotechnology developments around the world, with nearly 40% of this in the USA. Japan is a major contributor, as are the European Governments and major industrial economies such as Singapore, Taiwan, China, Korea and European countries including Scotland and the Netherlands have also played influential roles in the development of nanotechnology capabilities and the technology continues to be of world-wide interest (www.azonano.com).

What is sold today as “nanotechnology” is in fact a recasting of straightforward materials science, which is leading to a “nanotech industry built solely on selling nanotubes, nanowires and the like,” which will “end up with a few suppliers selling low-margin products in huge volumes.”
By 2014, according to a recent report from Lux Research (New York), $2.6T in global manufactured goods will incorporate nanotechnology (www.semiconductor.net).

Definitions of nanotechnology

2008-08-28T10:16:00.000-07:00

Definitions of nanotechnology

It is very difficult to define nanotechnology as many commonly used products have distributions that in the end extend into the nano regime. There are no commonly accepted criteria yet that allows one to draw a borderline between nanomaterials and their bulk counterparts.
Nano•tech•nol•o•gy (noun), Pronunciation: "na-nO-tek-'nä-l&-jE. The nanoscale is about a thousand times smaller than micro that is, about 1/80,000 of the diameter of a human hair. Approximately 3 to 6 atoms can fit inside of a nanometer, depending on the atom. The prefix nano means ten to the minus ninth power, or one billionth. Nano is of Greek origin and means dwarf. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter, or: 10-9 m. Taniguchi defined the range of nanotechnology as being from 0.1 nanometers (nm) to 100 nm. As of today, there is no single definition of nanotechnology, however various definitions available in the literature are listed below.
• Nanotechnology is the science of making, studying, and working with things on a nano-scale, in other words, very very small.
• The term nanotechnology appeared on the scientific scene for the first time in the early 1970s. Taniguchi introduced it in 1974 to describe ultra-fine machining. The term nanotechnology was first coined by K. Eric Drexler in 1986, in the book “Engines of Creation”.
• The term nanotechnology was used to describe ultra-fine machining, or more specifically the precision manufacture of mechanical parts with finishes and tolerances in the nanometer range.
• Nanotechnology is the art of manipulating materials on an atomic or molecular scale especially to build microscopic devices such as robots ( Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary)
• Nanoscale technologies are the development and use of devices that have a size of only a few nanometres. Nanotechnologists manipulate single molecules and atoms.
• Nanotechnology is a technology based on the manipulation of individual atoms and molecules to build structures to complex, atomic specifications. (Glossary in the book on Engines of Creation)
• Nanotechnology is the development and use of devices that have a size of only a few nanometers through research carried out into very small components, which depend on electronic effects and may involve movement of a countable number of electrons in their action. Such devices would act faster than larger components (The About.com).
• Nanotechnology deals with the production of structures on a molecular level by suitable sequences of chemical reactions. It is also possible to manipulate individual atoms on surfaces using a variant of the atomic force microscope.
• Nanotechnology refers broadly to a field of applied science and technology whose unifying theme is the control of matter on the atomic and molecular scale, normally 1 to 100 nanometers, and the fabrication of devices within that size range. It is a highly multidisciplinary field, drawing from fields such as applied physics, materials science, interface and colloid science, device physics, supramolecular chemistry (which refers to the area of chemistry that focuses on the noncovalent bonding interactions of molecules), chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering. Much speculation exists as to what may result from these lines of research. (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
• Nanotechnology can be seen as an extension of existing sciences into the nanoscale, or as a recasting of existing sciences using a newer, more modern term.
• Nanotechnology, or, as it is sometimes called, molecular manufacturing, is a branch of engineering that deals with the design and manufacture of extremely small electronic circuits and mechanical devices built at the molecular level of matter (Whatisit.com).
• Nanotechnology is the "science and technology where dimensions and tolerances in the range of 0.1 nanometer (nm) to 100 nm play a critical role". Nanotechnology is often discussed together with micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), a subject that usually includes nanotechnology but may also include technologies higher than the molecular level ( Institute of Nanotechnology, U.K).
• Nanotechnology refers to the purposeful build-up of smallest structural units and particles from the modular system of the classification of elements, in order to produce materials with new properties, machines with microscopic dimensions and entire systems. This requires working in the smallest dimensions, since 7 to 10 atoms in series correspond to 1/1,000,000,000 m = one nanometer. For comparison: the size of a nano-structure element relates to a football at the same ratio of the football to the earth. Up to now, the construction in nano-dimensions has been a domain of Mother Nature: for billions of years, she has been “building” our world of plants, animals and humans according to this proven basic principle.
• Nanotechnology is the creation of functional materials, devices and systems through control of matter on the nanometer length scale (1-100 nanometers), and exploitation of novel phenomena and properties (physical, chemical, biological, mechanical, electrical, etc.) at that length scale. For comparison, 10 nanometers is 1000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. A scientific and technical revolution has just begun based upon the ability to systematically organize and manipulate matter at nanoscale. Payoff is anticipated within the next 10-15 years.
• Nanotechnology presents a whole new spectrum of opportunities to build device, components and systems for entirely new space architectures (specific to NASA)
• Nanotechnology has the potential to provide solutions for some of the world's most pressing concerns. Research addresses our needs for energy and clean water, earlier disease detection and treatment, ensuring our security, and increasing the capability of electronics we use everyday.
• The term nanotechnology is applied to almost any materials or devices which are structured on the nanometre scale in order to perform functions or obtain characteristics which could not otherwise be achieved.
• Nanotechnology is the manipulation, precision placement, measurement, modeling or manufacture of sub to100 nanometer scale matter.
• Nanotechnology is the integration of multiple disciplines, technologies, materials, and processes to enable the creation, assembly, measurement, or manipulation of things at the nano and molecular scales.
• Nanotechnology is the research and technology development at the atomic, molecular or macromolecular levels, in the length scale of approximately 1 - 100 nanometer range, to provide a fundamental understanding of phenomena and materials at the nanoscale and to create and use structures, devices and systems that have novel properties and functions because of their small and/or intermediate size.
• Nanotechnology research and development includes manipulation under control of the nanoscale structures and their integration into larger material components, systems and architectures. Within these larger scale assemblies, the control and construction of their structures and components remains at the nanometer scale (http://www.nano.gov).
• The concept of nanotechnology is associated with the manipulation of matter at the scale of atoms and molecules with potential medical applications. Nanotechnology applications are significant, with human-engineered devices interacting with biological processes in sophisticated ways.
• Nanotechnology is the study, design, creation, synthesis, manipulation, and application of functional materials, devices and systems through control of matter at the nanometer scale (1–100 nanometers, one nanometer being equal to 1 ×10-9 of a meter), that is, at the atomic and molecular levels, and the exploitation of novel phenomena and properties of matter at that scale.
• Nanotechnology targets phenomena on the nanometre scale as well as apparatuses to control and measure the phenomena.
• Nanotechnology is the science of building things atom by atom or molecule by molecule, as nature would. Nanotechnology enables humans to build things from the ground up. It involves a world so small. Researchers believe that at some time in the future nanotechnology can be used to fix human cells that are diseased, heal wounds in minutes or repair damaged hearts. They envision nanotechnology devices that could be built to kill only cancer cells without destroying healthy tissue. (Houston Chronicle)
• The term refers to the manipulation of matter on the scale of the nano-meter (one billionth of a meter). The goal of nanotechnology is to control individual atoms and molecules to create computer chips and other devices that are thousands of times smaller than current technologies permit. Beyond being used in computers and communication devices, nanotechnology could be used to build devices, change the properties of materials and make advances in biotechnology.
• Nanotechnology is the manipulation or self-assembly of individual atoms, molecules, or molecular clusters into structures to create materials and devices with new or vastly different properties. This can be achieved by reducing the size of the smallest structures to the nanoscale (e.g. photonics applications in nanoelectronics and nanoengineering) or by manipulating individual atoms and molecules into nanostructures, which more closely resembles chemistry or biology.
• In Beauty and Cosmetics application, Nanotechnology is the invention of small particles in nano-size that does amazing things where normal size particles are unable to. It has the capacity to penetrate deep down into the skin layer while the core of the particle is being protected while carrying variety of substances to pass into the inner skin layer. This effective mechanism will target directly to the skin organ which will result in gaining the most benefit from the composition (NanoRiches.com).
• Nanotechnology is the design, characterization, production and application of structures, devices and systems at the scale of atoms and molecules, by controlling the shape and arrangement of nano-scale configurations dependent upon their technological utility.
• Nanotechnology concepts and potentials are outlined by Eric Drexler as truly mind-boggling, including an end to most human labour and the instant manufacture of any materials from computerised input of the component elements.
• Nanotechnology creates radical new approaches to material property enhancement and synthesis and will enable new technologies, applications and industries in yet-to-be-imagined ways.
• Insurance companies do not particularly address nanotechnology in their policies. However, in case single nanomaterials or products prove to be critical, they are addressed and defined by a change of contractual wording.
• In the course of the past decade, the term nanotechnology has been broadened well beyond the original meaning, which limited it to the areas of physics and precision engineering. It includes now a variety of other topics. The nanotechnology expert group was not able to agree on a definitive delineation of nanotechnology.

nanotechnology - Etching process

2008-08-26T01:37:00.000-07:00

When to use wet etching?

This is a simple technology, which will give good results if you can find the combination of etchant and mask material to suit your application. Wet etching works very well for etching thin films on substrates, and can also be used to etch the substrate itself. The problem with substrate etching is that isotropic processes will cause undercutting of the mask layer by the same distance as the etch depth. Anisotropic processes allow the etching to stop on certain crystal planes in the substrate, but still results in a loss of space, since these planes cannot be vertical to the surface when etching holes or cavities. If this is a limitation for you, you should consider dry etching of the substrate instead. However, keep in mind that the cost per wafer will be 1-2 orders of magnitude higher to perform the dry etching

If you are making very small features in thin films (comparable to the film thickness), you may also encounter problems with isotropic wet etching, since the undercutting will be at least equal to the film thickness. With dry etching it is possible etch almost straight down without undercutting, which provides much higher resolution.

Anisotropic and isotropic wet etching

When to use wet etching?

Nanotechnology - Lithography Module

2008-08-26T01:30:00.000-07:00

The Lithography Module
Typically lithography is performed as part of a well-characterized module, which includes the wafer surface preparation, photoresist deposition, alignment of the mask and wafer, exposure, develop and appropriate resist conditioning. The lithography process steps need to be characterized as a sequence in order to ensure that the remaining resist at the end of the modules is an optimal image of the mask, and has the desired sidewall profile.
The standard steps found in a lithography module are (in sequence): dehydration bake, HMDS prime, resist spin/spray, soft bake, alignment, exposure, post exposure bake, develop hard bake and descum. Not all lithography modules will contain all the process steps. A brief explanation of the process steps is included for completeness.
• Dehydration bake - dehydrate the wafer to aid resist adhesion.
• HMDS prime - coating of wafer surface with adhesion promoter. Not necessary for all
surfaces.
• Resist spin/spray - coating of the wafer with resist either by spinning or spraying. Typically
desire a uniform coat.
• Soft bake - drive off some of the solvent in the resist, may result in a significant loss of mass
of resist (and thickness). Makes resist more viscous.
• Alignment - align pattern on mask to features on wafers.
• Exposure - projection of mask image on resist to cause selective chemical property change.
• Post exposure bake - baking of resist to drive off further solvent content. Makes resist more
resistant to etchants (other than developer).
• Develop - selective removal of resist after exposure (exposed resist if resist is positive,
unexposed resist if resist is positive). Usually a wet process (although dry processes exist).
• Hard bake - drive off most of the remaining solvent from the resist.
• Descum - removal of thin layer of resist scum that may occlude open regions in pattern, helps
to open up corners.
We make a few assumptions about photolithography. Firstly, we assume that a well characterized module exists that: prepares the wafer surface, deposits the requisite resist thickness, aligns the mask perfectly, exposes the wafer with the optimal dosage, develops the resist under the optimal conditions, and bakes the resist for the appropriate times at the appropriate locations in the sequence. Unfortunately, even if the module is executed perfectly, the properties of lithography are very feature and topography dependent. It is therefore necessary for the designer to be aware of certain limitations of lithography, as well as the information they should provide to the technician performing the lithography.
The designer influences the lithographic process through their selections of materials, topography and geometry. The material(s) upon which the resist is to be deposited is important, as it affects the resist adhesion. The reflectivity and roughness of the layer beneath the photoresist determines the amount of reflected and dispersed light present during exposure. It is difficult to obtain a nice uniform resist coat across a surface with high topography, which complicates exposure and development as the resist has different thickness in different locations. If the surface of the wafer has many different height features, the limited depth of focus of most lithographic exposure tools will become an issue.

Nanotechnology - Lithography Pattern Transfer

2008-08-26T01:26:00.001-07:00

Lithography Pattern Transfer
Lithography in the MEMS context is typically the transfer of a pattern to a photosensitive material by selective exposure to a radiation source such as light. A photosensitive material is a material that experiences a change in its physical properties when exposed to a radiation source. If we selectively expose a photosensitive material to radiation (e.g. by masking some of the radiation) the pattern of the radiation on the material is transferred to the material exposed, as the properties of the exposed and unexposed regions differs. In lithography for micromachining, the photosensitive material used is typically a photoresist (also called resist, other photosensitive polymers are also used). When resist is exposed to a radiation source of a specific a wavelength, the chemical resistance of the resist to developer solution changes. If the resist is placed in a developer solution after selective exposure to a light source, it will etch away one of the two regions (exposed or unexposed). If the exposed material is etched away by the developer and the unexposed region is resilient, the material is considered to be a positive resist. If the exposed material is resilient to the developer and the unexposed region is etched away, it is considered to be a negative resist .Lithography is the principal mechanism for pattern definition in micromachining. Photosensitive compounds are primarily organic, and do not encompass the spectrum of materials properties of interest to micro-machinists. However, as the technique is capable of producing fine features in an economic fashion, so that the pattern may be transferred to the underlying layer. Photoresist may also be used as a template for patterning material deposited after lithography . The resist is subsequently etched away, and the material deposited on the resist is "lifted off".The deposition template (lift-off) approach for transferring a pattern from resist to another layer is less common than using the resist pattern as an etch mask. The reason for this is that resist is incompatible with most MEMS deposition processes, usually because it cannot withstand high temperatures and may act as a source of contamination.Once the pattern has been transferred to another layer, the resist is usually stripped. This is often necessary as the resist may be incompatible with further micromachining steps. It also makes the topography more dramatic, which may hamper further lithography steps.

Nanotechnology - Casting

2008-08-26T00:29:00.000-07:00

Casting
In this process the material to be deposited is dissolved in liquid form in a solvent. The material can be applied to the substrate by spraying or spinning. Once the solvent is evaporated, a thin film of the material remains on the substrate. This is particularly useful for polymer materials, which may be easily dissolved in organic solvents, and it is the common method used to apply photoresist to substrates (in photolithography). The thicknesses that can be cast on a substrate range all the way from a single monolayer of molecules (adhesion promotion) to tens of micrometers. In recent years, the casting technology has also been applied to form films of glass materials on substrates. The spin casting process is illustrated in the figure below.
When to use casting?
Casting is a simple technology which can be used for a variety of materials (mostly polymers). The control on film thickness depends on exact conditions, but can be sustained within +/-10% in a wide range. If you are planning to use photolithography you will be using casting, which is an integral part of that technology. There are also other interesting materials such as polyimide and spin-on glass which can be applied by casting.

Nanotechnology - Sputtering

2008-08-26T00:25:00.000-07:00

Sputtering

Sputtering is a technology in which the material is released from the source at much lower temperature than evaporation. The substrate is placed in a vacuum chamber with the source material, named a target, and an inert gas (such as argon) is introduced at low pressure. A gas plasma is struck using an RF power source, causing the gas to become ionized. The ions are accelerated towards the surface of the target, causing atoms of the source material to break off from the target in vapor form and condense on all surfaces including the substrate. As for evaporation, the basic principle of sputtering is the same for all sputtering technologies. The differences typically relate to the manor in which the ion bombardment of the target is realized. A schematic diagram of a typical RF sputtering system is shown in the figure below.

Typical RF sputtering system

Nanotechnology -Evaporation

2008-08-25T11:05:00.001-07:00

Evaporation

In evaporation the substrate is placed inside a vacuum chamber, in which a block (source) of the material to be deposited is also located. The source material is then heated to the point where it starts to boil and evaporate. The vacuum is required to allow the molecules to evaporate freely in the chamber, and they subsequently condense on all surfaces. This principle is the same for all evaporation technologies, only the method used to the heat (evaporate) the source material differs. There are two popular evaporation technologies, which are e-beam evaporation and resistive evaporation each referring to the heating method. In e-beam evaporation, an electron beam is aimed at the source material causing local heating and evaporation. In resistive evaporation, a tungsten boat, containing the source material, is heated electrically with a high current to make the material evaporate. Many materials are restrictive in terms of what evaporation method can be used (i.e. aluminum is quite difficult to evaporate using resistive heating), which typically relates to the phase transition properties of that material. A schematic diagram of a typical system for e-beam evaporation is shown in the figure below.

Typical system for e-beam evaporation of materials

Nanotechnology -Evaporation technology

2008-08-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

Evaporation
In evaporation the substrate is placed inside a vacuum chamber, in which a block (source) of the material to be deposited is also located. The source material is then heated to the point where it starts to boil and evaporate. The vacuum is required to allow the molecules to evaporate freely in the chamber, and they subsequently condense on all surfaces. This principle is the same for all evaporation technologies, only the method used to the heat (evaporate) the source material differs. There are two popular evaporation technologies, which are e-beam evaporation and resistive evaporation each referring to the heating method. In e-beam evaporation, an electron beam is aimed at the source material causing local heating and evaporation. In resistive evaporation, a tungsten boat, containing the source material, is heated electrically with a high current to make the material evaporate. Many materials are restrictive in terms of what evaporation method can be used (i.e. aluminum is quite difficult to evaporate using resistive heating), which typically relates to the phase transition properties of that material.

Nanotechnology -Physical Vapor Deposition

2008-08-25T11:04:00.000-07:00

Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD)

PVD covers a number of deposition technologies in which material is released from a source and transferred to the substrate. The two most important technologies are evaporation and sputtering.

When to use PVD?

PVD comprises the standard technologies for deposition of metals. It is far more common than CVD for metals since it can be performed at lower process risk and cheaper in regards to materials cost. The quality of the films are inferior to CVD, which for metals means higher resistivity and for insulators more defects and traps. The step coverage is also not as good as CVD. The choice of deposition method (i.e. evaporation vs. sputtering) may in many cases be arbitrary, and may depend more on what technology is available for the specific material at the time.

Nanotechnology -Thermal oxidation

2008-08-25T10:59:00.000-07:00

Thermal oxidation

This is one of the most basic deposition technologies. It is simply oxidation of the substrate surface in an oxygen rich atmosphere. The temperature is raised to 800° C-1100° C to speed up the process. This is also the only deposition technology which actually consumes some of the substrate as it proceeds. The growth of the film is spurned by diffusion of oxygen into the substrate, which means the film growth is actually downwards into the substrate. As the thickness of the oxidized layer increases, the diffusion of oxygen to the substrate becomes more difficult leading to a parabolic relationship between film thickness and oxidation time for films thicker than ~100nm. This process is naturally limited to materials that can be oxidized, and it can only form films that are oxides of that material. This is the classical process used to form silicon dioxide on a silicon substrate. A schematic diagram of a typical wafer oxidation furnace is shown in the figure below.

Typical wafer oxidation furnace.

When to use thermal oxidation?

Whenever you can! This is a simple process, which unfortunately produces films with somewhat limited use in MEMS components. It is typically used to form films that are used for electrical insulation or that are used for other process purposes later in a process sequence.

Nanotechnology- Epitaxy

2008-08-25T10:55:00.000-07:00

Epitaxy

This technology is quite similar to what happens in CVD processes, however, if the substrate is an ordered semiconductor crystal (i.e. silicon, gallium arsenide), it is possible with this process to continue building on the substrate with the same crystallographic orientation with the substrate acting as a seed for the deposition. If an amorphous/polycrystalline substrate surface is used, the film will also be amorphous or polycrystalline.
There are several technologies for creating the conditions inside a reactor needed to support epitaxial growth, of which the most important is Vapor Phase Epitaxy (VPE). In this process, a number of gases are introduced in an induction heated reactor where only the substrate is heated. The temperature of the substrate typically must be at least 50% of the melting point of the material to be deposited.
An advantage of epitaxy is the high growth rate of material, which allows the formation of films with considerable thickness (>100µm). Epitaxy is a widely used technology for producing silicon on insulator (SOI) substrates. The technology is primarily used for deposition of silicon. A schematic diagram of a typical vapor phase epitaxial reactor is shown in the figure below.

Typical cold-wall vapor phase epitaxial reactor

When to use epitaxy?

This has been and continues to be an emerging process technology in MEMS. The process can be used to form films of silicon with thicknesses of ~1µm to >100µm. Some processes require high temperature exposure of the substrate, whereas others do not require significant heating of the substrate. Some processes can even be used to perform selective deposition, depending on the surface of the substrate.

Nanotechnology - Electrodeposition

2008-08-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

Electrodeposition

This process is also known as "electroplating" and is typically restricted to electrically conductive materials. There are basically two technologies for plating: Electroplating and Electroless plating. In the electroplating process the substrate is placed in a liquid solution (electrolyte). When an electrical potential is applied between a conducting area on the substrate and a counter electrode (usually platinum) in the liquid, a chemical redox process takes place resulting in the formation of a layer of material on the substrate and usually some gas generation at the counter electrode.
In the electroless plating process a more complex chemical solution is used, in which deposition happens spontaneously on any surface which forms a sufficiently high electrochemical potential with the solution. This process is desirable since it does not require any external electrical potential and contact to the substrate during processing. Unfortunately, it is also more difficult to control with regards to film thickness and uniformity. A schematic diagram of a typical setup for electroplating is shown in the figure below.

Typical setup for electrodeposition

When to use electrodeposition?
The electrodeposition process is well suited to make films of metals such as copper, gold and nickel. The films can be made in any thickness from ~1µm to >100µm. The deposition is best controlled when used with an external electrical potential, however, it requires electrical contact to the substrate when immersed in the liquid bath. In any process, the surface of the substrate must have an electrically conducting coating before the deposition can be done.

Nanotechnology - Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)

2008-08-25T10:39:00.000-07:00

Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)

In this process, the substrate is placed inside a reactor to which a number of gases are supplied. The fundamental principle of the process is that a chemical reaction takes place between the source gases. The product of that reaction is a solid material with condenses on all surfaces inside the reactor.

The two most important CVD technologies in MEMS are the Low Pressure CVD (LPCVD) and Plasma Enhanced CVD (PECVD). The LPCVD process produces layers with excellent uniformity of thickness and material characteristics. The main problems with the process are the high deposition temperature (higher than 600°C) and the relatively slow deposition rate. The PECVD process can operate at lower temperatures (down to 300° C) thanks to the extra energy supplied to the gas molecules by the plasma in the reactor. However, the quality of the films tend to be inferior to processes running at higher temperatures. Secondly, most PECVD deposition systems can only deposit the material on one side of the wafers on 1 to 4 wafers at a time. LPCVD systems deposit films on both sides of at least 25 wafers at a time. A schematic diagram of a typical LPCVD reactor is shown in the figure below

Typical hot-wall LPCVD reactor

When to use CVD?
CVD processes are ideal to use when you want a thin film with good step coverage. A variety of materials can be deposited with this technology, however, some of them are less popular with fabs because of hazardous byproducts formed during processing. The quality of the material varies from process to process, however a good rule of thumb is that higher process temperature yields a material with higher quality and less defects.

Nanotechnology - MEMS Thin Film Deposition Processes

2008-08-25T10:33:00.001-07:00

MEMS Thin Film Deposition Processes
One of the basic building blocks in MEMS processing is the ability to deposit thin films of material. In this text we assume a thin film to have a thickness anywhere between a few nanometer to about 100 micrometer. The film can subsequently be locally etched using processes described in the Lithography and Etching sections of this guide.
MEMS deposition technology can be classified in two groups:

1. Depositions that happen because of a chemical reaction:
o Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)
o Electrodeposition
o Epitaxy
o Thermal oxidation

These processes exploit the creation of solid materials directly from chemical reactions in gas and/or liquid compositions or with the substrate material. The solid material is usually not the only product formed by the reaction. Byproducts can include gases, liquids and even other solids.

2. Depositions that happen because of a physical reaction:
o Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD)
o Casting

Common for all these processes are that the material deposited is physically moved on to the substrate. In other words, there is no chemical reaction which forms the material on the substrate. This is not completely correct for casting processes, though it is more convenient to think of them that way. This is by no means an exhaustive list since technologies evolve continuously.

Risks of Nanotechnology

2008-08-25T09:09:00.000-07:00

Risks and Other Issues
While much attention has been focused on the potential benefits of water treatment devices that incorporate nanotechnology, a growing number of people are advocating for more research to assess the potential human health and environmental risks of nanotechnologies. Current estimates indicate that investments in environment, health, and safety research are a small percentage of overall investments in nanotechnology R&D (e.g., in the US 4% of the total USD 1.1 billion is invested in EHS research). Although there are a limited number of research studies on the potential human health and environmental risks of nanotechologies, some research indicates that the unique properties of nanomaterials (e.g., size, shape, reactivity, conductivity) may cause them to be toxic. Because research on the impacts of nanomaterials is limited, risk experts are looking to the results of studies with incidental and natural nanoscale particles and studies with airborne ultrafine particles as the basis for the expanding field of nanotoxicology. Many people have also suggested that a coordinated risk research agenda should be developed to ensure that the right questions are being asked and resources are used efficiently. In addition to a lack of knowledge about the human health and environmental effects of nanoscale materials, common frameworks for risk research, risk assessment, and risk management are lacking; several organizations are working to fill these gaps.The challenges related to assessing and managing the potential risks of nanoscale materials are relevant to people in both developed and developing countries.Therefore, it is imperative that information about potential risks and risk management approaches is shared widely. In addition to potential risks, a number of social issues need to be addressed in developing projects that incorporate nanotechnology. As further illustrated in the case studies, information and education about water quality, in particular about contaminants that cannot be detected by observing the water’s physical properties (i.e., smell, taste, color), are needed to make communities aware of the actual quality of their drinking water. Furthermore, water service providers, government, and the community should all be involved from the planning to the implementation stages of a community water treatment project to enhance transparency and dispel distrust between the parties.

Nanotechnology Scientists

2008-08-25T09:07:00.000-07:00

Find below the photoes of nanotech scientists.

Richard Feynman
Richard Feynman's famous talk on atom-by-atom assembly is often credited with kick-starting nanotechnology. Fifty years on, Philip Ball investigates how influential it really was
Nobel prize winner Richard Feynman is often linked to the 'birth of nanotechnology'
Fifty years ago, Feynman gave an imaginative talk outlining a nano vision, where atoms can be arranged one by one
Feynman offered cash prizes for those who could solve his nano challenges
Feynman was a visionary and yet he failed to appreciate the role that chemistry would play in nanotechnology

The near-legendary physicist Richard Feynman of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) gave a talk called There's plenty of room at the bottom to the American Physical Society's West Coast section. He outlined a vision of what would later be called nanotechnology, imagining 'that we could arrange atoms one by one, just as we want them'

Nanotechnology - market

2008-08-25T09:05:00.001-07:00

Nanotechnology Market
Estimated sales of buckyballs, nanotubes, and other nanomaterials vary widely, but a reasonable estimate might be $50 million. However, products made partly with nanomaterials were worth $26.5 billion last year, reckons NanoMat, a materials-oriented network of research labs and companies based in Karlsruhe, Germany. Current products include chemicals produced with microscopic catalytic particles, sun lotions with invisibly small zinc-oxide flakes to shield against ultraviolet rays, emulsifiers that keep paint from separating, and coatings that make eyeglass lenses more scratch resistant or extend the life of industrial tools.

Miscellaneous informations on nanotechnology

2008-08-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

Miscellaneous informations on nanotechnology

Nano Point

Nanotechnology applications

Nanotechnology - Medical and health applications - Skin creams

Nanotechnology - Medical and health applications - Medical implants

Nanotechnology - Medical and health applications - Diagnostics

Nanotechnology - medical and health applications - blood

Nanotechnology - Medical and health applications - biostructures

Nanotechnology - medical and health applications - smart drug

nanotechnology - medical applications - anti-aging nutrient

Nanotechnology - medical applications - synthetic bone

Nanotechnology - Medical and health Applications

Nanotechnology Applications - Introduction

Safety

FAQ & Abreviations

Materials & test results

Images

MEMS&NEMS

Global survey

Institutes

Carriers

Further reading

Manufacturers

Nanotechnology -Measuring Instruments

Nanotechnology - Manufacturing Methods

Nanotechnology - Characteristis

History

A Short History of Nanotechnology

Detailed History of Nanotechnology

Definitions of nanotechnology

nanotechnology - Etching process

Nanotechnology - Lithography Module

Nanotechnology - Lithography Pattern Transfer

Nanotechnology - Casting

Nanotechnology - Sputtering

Nanotechnology -Evaporation

Nanotechnology -Evaporation technology

Nanotechnology -Physical Vapor Deposition

Nanotechnology -Thermal oxidation

Nanotechnology- Epitaxy

Nanotechnology - Electrodeposition

Nanotechnology - Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)

Nanotechnology - MEMS Thin Film Deposition Processes

Risks of Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology Scientists

Nanotechnology - market

Miscellaneous informations on nanotechnology