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. 

The Institute of Nanotechnology in the U.K. expresses it as "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.

NanoEngineering

The objective behind nanoengineering isn't much different from ordinary engineering; that is, to design and assemble functional devices from the available components. In this case, the components are atoms and molecules, and the devices can be integrated on the micro-, milli- and macro-scales.

• Manufactured products are made from atoms. The properties of those products depend on how those atoms are arranged. If we rearrange the atoms in coal we can make diamond. If we rearrange the atoms in sand (and add a few other trace elements) we can make computer chips. If we rearrange the atoms in dirt, water and air we can make potatoes.

Todays manufacturing methods are very crude at the molecular level. Casting, grinding, milling and even lithography move atoms in great thundering statistical herds. It's like trying to make things out of LEGO blocks with boxing gloves on your hands. Yes, you can push the LEGO blocks into great heaps and pile them up, but you can't really snap them together the way you'd like.

In the future, nanotechnology will let us take off the boxing gloves. We'll be able to snap together the fundamental building blocks of nature easily, inexpensively and in most of the ways permitted by the laws of physics. This will be essential if we are to continue the revolution in computer hardware beyond about the next decade, and will also let us fabricate an entire new generation of products that are cleaner, stronger, lighter, and more precise.

It's worth pointing out that the word "nanotechnology" has become very popular and is used to describe many types of research where the characteristic dimensions are less than about 1,000 nanometers. For example, continued improvements in lithography have resulted in line widths that are less than one micron: this work is often called "nanotechnology." Sub-micron lithography is clearly very valuable (ask anyone who uses a computer!) but it is equally clear that conventional lithography will not let us build semiconductor devices in which individual dopant atoms are located at specific lattice sites. Many of the exponentially improving trends in computer hardware capability have remained steady for the last 50 years. There is fairly widespread belief that these trends are likely to continue for at least another several years, but then conventional lithography starts to reach its limits.

If we are to continue these trends we will have to develop a new manufacturing technology which will let us inexpensively build computer systems with mole quantities of logic elements that are molecular in both size and precision and are interconnected in complex and highly idiosyncratic patterns. Nanotechnology will let us do this.

When it's unclear from the context whether we're using the specific definition of "nanotechnology" (given here) or the broader and more inclusive definition (often used in the literature), we'll use the terms "molecular nanotechnology" or "molecular manufacturing."

Whatever we call it, it should let us

• Get essentially every atom in the right place.
• Make almost any structure consistent with the laws of physics that we can specify in molecular detail.
• Have manufacturing costs not greatly exceeding the cost of the required raw materials and energy.

There are two more concepts commonly associated with nanotechnology:

• Positional assembly.
• Self replication.

Clearly, we would be happy with any method that simultaneously achieved the first three objectives. However, this seems difficult without using some form of positional assembly (to get the right molecular parts in the right places) and some form of self replication (to keep the costs down).

The need for positional assembly implies an interest in molecular robotics, e.g., robotic devices that are molecular both in their size and precision. These molecular scale positional devices are likely to resemble very small versions of their everyday macroscopic counterparts. Positional assembly is frequently used in normal macroscopic manufacturing today, and provides tremendous advantages. Imagine trying to build a bicycle with both hands tied behind your back! The idea of manipulating and positioning individual atoms and molecules is still new and takes some getting used to. However, as Feynman said in a classic talk in 1959: "The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom." We need to apply at the molecular scale the concept that has demonstrated its effectiveness at the macroscopic scale: making parts go where we want by putting them where we want!

The requirement for low cost creates an interest in self replicating manufacturing systems, studied by von Neumann in the 1940's. These systems are able both to make copies of themselves and to manufacture useful products. If we can design and build one such system the manufacturing costs for more such systems and the products they make (assuming they can make copies of themselves in some reasonably inexpensive environment) will be very low.

There is a brief and accessible video introduction to the basic idea of nanotechnology (Windows Media Player 56 kilobits/second or 165 kilobits/second) from Big Thinkers "Ralph Merkle: Nanotechnology"

Nanomedicine may be defined as the monitoring, repair, construction and control of human biological systems at the molecular level, using engineered nanodevices and nanostructures.

Basic nanostructured materials, engineered enzymes, and the many products of biotechnology will be enormously useful in near-term medical applications. However, the full promise of nanomedicine is unlikely to arrive until after the development of precisely controlled or programmable medical nanomachines and nanorobots.  

Nanotechnology Jobs

Visit http://www.nanoguys.com

Interview with Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Computers
Story by Matt Hamblen

SEPTEMBER 30, 2002 ( COMPUTERWORLD )

Age: 37

Claim to fame: In 1984, Dell founded Dell Computer Corp. In 1987, the company was the first to offer next-day direct computer sales.

What he's doing now: CEO of Dell Computer in Round Rock, Texas

What is the biggest thing happening in computing today?

We're pretty excited with wireless. There's still a lot to happen in business and the home to help people be constantly connected. With wireless, you are able to be connected at high speed to data. And it's more-rich media, with sound, video and those kinds of things that drive massive amounts of storage. Computing devices go everywhere.

What advances will follow this trend? 

Nanotechnology and communications will be in everything. All kinds of other devices will attach and link together, centered, I think, with the PC. But if you think about the user today, you've got a lot of disconnected devices that don't talk to each other, and the user has to be the integrator. Some devices, like the PDA, connect to the PC, but the phone doesn't really connect. Integration is a key coming technology. Wireless connects them all together.

A whole lot has to be done in ease of use. Anyone can operate a TV, and while computers are more portable, they are still not simple enough for anyone to use. That's a barrier we all need to work together to improve.

How will we interact with computers in the future? We've come a long way. We used to have punch cards, then numbers, text, colors and windows. The next innovation is basically interacting as we do with each other. Speech and plain gestures and much more natural interfaces will make computers more accessible. Speech is getting better, but it has to be pretty good to take over from a keyboard. I know it's going to happen, but it's just a question of when.

What other trends in computing will matter years from now? As we all develop great technologies, an important thing is how do you make them affordable and reliable, and how do you get them to customers all over the world? One contribution Dell has made to this industry is we've dramatically reduced the cost of reliable computing, with a high level of service. That's caused others to have to react to that. Computers are more affordable than they ever were.

Contributions to the industry don't always come from the lab. Dell has 1,400 patents and 4,000 research scientists, which is important, but business models matter, too.

What you are seeing is failed business models now, with WorldCom and some others, due to bad leadership and bad boards of directors and more. That shows that it's just as important to have a good business model to sustain success.

Companies to Watch

IBM Corp.
(as of 5/29/03)

www.ibm.com
Recent Price: $81
12-month price range: $54.01-126.39
12-moth revenue: $80.9 billion
12-month profit/(loss): $4.9 billion
Chief Executive: Samuel J. Palmisano

Amid a desolate corporate IT spending environment and a hostile stock market, shares of IBM have fallen off of the proverbial cliff in 2002. This has obscured the fact that IBM is quietly cornering what will soon emerge as a multi-billion dollar market opportunity. Ever since IBM researcher Don Eigler used a Scanning Tunneling Microscope to arrange 35 Xenon atoms to spell out “IBM” in 1989, the technology powerhouse has been considered the “Grandfather of Nanotechnology.” The nanotechnology industry is in the midst of an unprecedented intellectual property (IP) land-grab, and IBM’s vast IP portfolio is the most dominant in the industry. I see IBM as being in position to generate billions of dollars in free cash flow and potential equity from licensing its nanotechnology patent portfolio.

The reason: IBM’s IP, as well as many of its existing products, can be extended to nanotechnology applications. Over 700 of its patents are nanotechnology-related. Its IP portfolio covers over 20 years of exploration at the nanoscale by 3,000 scientists. The company discovered the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), which is used to manipulate and measure material at the atomic level, and the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM), which is more widely used for mapping, but cannot manipulate non-conductive material. Both the STM and AFM are in use in research laboratories around the world.

One of the most exciting devices IBM has developed is the “Millipede” data storage device. It does away with the spinning disk in favor of an array of over a thousand nanoprobes which make tiny depressions on a polymer surface. These data bits can then be read by the same tip. The Millipede can pack an incredible 1 terabit of data per square inch, compared to today’s magnetic-disk drive, which is limited to no more than 35 gigabits per square inch. That’s a 40x improvement in data density. IBM expects the Millipede to hit the market in the next 24 months.

IBM researchers recently discovered that transistors made from carbon nanotubes could carry twice the current, for a given width, than top-of-the-line silicon prototypes. IBM is aggressively championing carbon nanotubes as a future replacement for silicon. This work is very significant in laying the foundation for nanotubes as a replacement for silicon.

Farther off in the future is Blue Gene, a groundbreaking supercomputer project expected to be completed in 2005. The machine will be at least 15 times faster, 15 times more power efficient and will consume about 50 times less space per computation than today’s fastest supercomputers. Blue Gene is expected to operate at about 200 teraflops (200 trillion operations per second), greater than the combined computing power of the world’s 500 top supercomputers. Blue Gene will be instrumental in providing nanotechnology researchers with the computer processing power needed to run the complex algorithms required to understand matter at the nanoscale.

IBM’s total patent portfolio generated more than $1.5 billion in licensing royalties in 2001. I expect strong growth in this licensing revenue over the next few years as IBM leverages and fully exploits its IP portfolio. Also anticipate strong top line growth in services to industrial clients looking to pursue their own nanotechnology initiatives. IBM’s global service capability, which currently contributes over 30% of total revenue, will likely be extended to life sciences and nanotechnology, as clients demand domain expertise in these areas.

Nanotech Companies

As nanotechnology has the potential to affect all business sectors, several companies are pursuing nanotechnology in various ways.

IBM They were the first company to write their name with atoms. Numerous departments work on nanotechnology, and one is called The Nanoscale Science Department.

Hitachi Hitachi is developing atomic and molecular devices, single-electron transistors and more.

 Zyvex (zyvex.com) 

The first molecular nanotechnology development company. "We are creating technology for atomically precise manufacturing."

CALMEC - California Molecular Electronics Corporation (calmec.com) 

A Silicon Valley company whose business plan is structured to position the Company as a leader in the Molecular Electronics industry.

MITRE Nanosystems Group (mitre.org) 

A well organized group with big plans for small computers.