CSE301 nanotechnology essay
Many Computer Scientists along with enthusiasts understand Moore's law and how it has held up for over 35 years. Moore's Law basically states that the modern transistor will double in complexity every two years. A more recent study has shown that this could be done in a shorter amount of time, say every eighteen months. Moore's law is based on the very small scale of a very large scale technology, nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is merely the study and production of technology on an extremely small scale applying physics, chemistry, and mathematics. One nanometer is 100,000 times smaller than a single strand of hair. It is because of the amazing science behind nanotechnics that has kept Moore's Law going strong for all of this time.
First, lets look at the history of nanotechnology and how far it has come. We can take this theory all the way back to 1959 when a man named Richard P. Feynman spoke infront of the American Physical Society. Feynman introduced his ideas based on the structure of small scale manipulation. He began his report in that he wanted to write the entirety of the Encyclopedia Brittanica on the head of a pin. This seemed almost as if Feynman had seen into the future and discovered the logistics of nanotechnology. Around 1977 to 1981, K. Eric Drexler presented his findings at the Massachusettes institute of technology, and published a paper that outlined the similarities of protein behavior and that of a complex electronic device. This was a big break through for molecular machinery which can be related to the table "Table 1." that shows the comparisons between "macroscopic and microscopic components." (see Table 1.) In 1985 three men at the University of Sussex and Rice University discovered what has been nicknamed as the "BuckyBall". The buckyball, or buckytube (see fig. 1), is a formation of carbon molecules that form a cylindrical or tubular shape. The anatomy of these formations can get much more complex. Their importance lies in that we can now strand many molecular structures together to create a much more complex and efficient structure. like at the molecualr level, through nanotechnology we can strand macroscopic devices together to create a much more efficient and smaller device.
Many publications have been made over the past few decades and there are many more still to come. Nanotechnology has come a very long way since the 1970's and is one of fastest growing technologies. At the beginning of the twentieth century Japan discovered the "Carbon Nanotube", which was a strand of carbon molecules in a tubular shape. (see fig. 1) Toward the end of the twentieth century a company boomed out of the nanotech closet in Richardson, Texas called Zyvex. Zyvex is a company dedicated to the research of nanotechnological practices and expanding their findings to the better of the science. In the early twenty first century "Zyvex was awarded $25 million to further their research and production of nanoscale components".
Table 1.
| Technology | Function | Molecular example(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Struts, beams, casings | Transmit force, hold positions | Microtubules, cellulose, mineral structures |
| Cables | Transmit tension | Collagen |
| Fasteners, glue | Connect parts | Intermolecular forces |
| Solenoids, actuators | Move things | Conformation-changing proteins, actin/myosin |
| Motors | Turn shafts | Flagellar motor |
| Drive shafts | Transmit torque | Bacterial flagella |
| Bearings | Support moving parts | Sigma bonds |
| Containers | Hold fluids | Vesicles |
| Pipes | Carry fluids | Various tubular structures |
| Pumps | Move fluids | Flagella, membrane proteins |
| Conveyor belts | Move components | RNA moved by fixed ribosome (partial analog) |
| Clamps | Hold workpieces | Enzymatic binding sites |
| Tools | Modify workpieces | Metallic complexes, functional groups |
| Production lines | Construct devices | Enzyme systems, ribosomes |
| Numerical control systems | Store and read programs | Genetic system |
fig. 1
This animation of a rotating Carbon nanotube shows its 3D structure.
Now that we've looked into the history of nanotechnology, let's take a look into the present and see where nanotechnology has brought us over the years. Today there is a program called the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) which is designed to support those who study nanoscience. Recently in 2007 two gentlemen by the names of Peter Grunberg and Albert Fert were awarded nobel prizes for their research in data storage. Together they found a way to gather much more data onto hard disk space through "Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR)". On the nanoscale it is only a matter of time until hard disks are nothing more than the size of a pea.
In other recent studies, researchers at Hanyang University have created a "thin film transistor made of networked single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) on a glass substrate". What this means is we can now create very small Carbon nanotubes built on a glass surface. This would be used in the construction of LCD panel monitor screens or very large high definition television screens. With no etching involved and the use of "water plasma" the "buckytubes" can be grown at much lower temperatures then previous experiments. With this new technology great improvements can be made in the digital industry. Think of an automobile with no windows, no windshield, everything would be seen on the inside from a flat panel HD monitor. The car could be shielded more than ever before with no side effects like launching passengers through the windshield upon a head-on collision. This technology may be ahead of its time as a new transistor is being awaited. Many experiments are breaking ground for future research through nanotechnology. Some include destroying cancer cells by the destruction of implanted nanotubes within the cancer cells, using nanotubes for certain drug delivery to the human cells without side effects, and also using laser guided crystal formations to be toggled on and off by guidance of light patterns.
This brings us to perhaps one of the greatest research studies of all time, the molecular transistor. The transistor was first discovered in 1947 at Bell Labs. A simple contact between metal and a semiconductor. The breakthrough in transistor technology would change the world forever. Transistors are used in almost every piece of technology we use today, cell-phones, computers, cars, and ATM's. The introduction of the transistor was huge and if we could do it again with the molecular transistor, it may change the technological world all over again. For many years the idea of a transistor built on a nanomolecular scale had been the vision of many top scientists. Today it is becoming more of a reality as researchers at NNI are testing what they believe to be the first "single molecule transistor". To understand how this molecular transistor works, first lets look at the present transistor. A micro computer chip is built up on a silicon wafer housing hundreds upon thousands of mini transistors. Unfortunately there is a finite number of transistors that can be placed on a single silicon wafer. The more transistors placed on a wafer, the greater their proximity making the overall thermal outage much higher and resulting in overheating. The smaller the transistor the less time it takes for a single electron to pass through, resulting in a much more efficient device. Dr. Werner Hofer demonstrated at the University of Liverpool how to charge a single molecule on a silicon surface and controlling the current that passes through it. This allows the atom to act in which that of a transistor.
Through nanotechnology and great research we can conclude that Moore's law is consistent with today's findings and because of them will remain true for many years to come.
