APPLICATIONS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY

Nanotechnology (sometimes shortened to "nanotech") is the manipulation of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal of precisely manipulating atoms and molecules for fabrication of macro scale products, also now referred to as molecular nanotechnology. A more generalized description of nanotechnology was subsequently established by the National Nanotechnology Initiative, which defines nanotechnology as the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100nanometers. This definition reflects the fact that quantum mechanical effects are important at this quantumrealm scale, and so the definition shifted from a particular technological goal to a research category inclusive of all types of research and technologies that deal with the special properties of matter that occur below the given size threshold. It is therefore common to see the plural form "nanotechnologies" as well as "nanoscale technologies" to refer to the broad range of research and applications whose common trait is size. With a variety of potential applications, nanotechnologies are key for the future and governments have invested billions of dollars in their research. Through its National Nanotechnology Initiative, the USA has invested 3.7 billion dollars. The European Union has invested 1.2 billion and Japan 750 million dollars. Nanotechnology as defined by size is naturally very broad, including fields of science as diverse as surface science, organic chemistry, molecular biology, semiconductor physics, microfabrication, etc. The associated research and applications are equally diverse, ranging from extensions of conventional device physics to completely new approaches based upon molecular self-assembly, from developing new materials with dimensions on the nanoscale Nanomedicine Nanomedicine is the medical application of nanotechnology. Nanomedicine ranges from the medical applications of nanomaterials, to nanoelectronic biosensors, and even possible future applications of molecular nanotechnology. Current problems for nanomedicine involve

understanding the issues related to toxicity and environmental impact of nanoscale materials. One nanometer is one-millionth of a millimeter.Nanomedicine research is receiving funding from the US National Institutes of Health. Of note is the funding in 2005 of a five-year plan to set up four nanomedicine centers. In April 2006, the journalNature Materials estimated that 130 nanotech-based drugs and delivery systems were being developed worldwide. The biological and medical research communities have exploited the unique properties of nanomaterials for various applications (e.g., contrast agents for cell imaging and therapeutics for treating cancer). Terms such as biomedical nanotechnology, nanobiotechnology, and nanomedicine are used to describe this hybrid field. Functionalities can be added to nanomaterials by interfacing them with biological molecules or structures. The size of nanomaterials is similar to that of most biological molecules and structures; therefore, nanomaterials can be useful for both in vivo and in vitro biomedical research and applications. Thus far, the integration of nanomaterials with biology has led to the development of diagnostic devices, contrast agents, analytical tools, physical therapy applications, and drug delivery vehicles. Potential applications of carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes, a type of fullerene, have potential in fields such as nanotechnology, electronics, optics, materials science, and architecture. Over the years new applications have taken advantage of their unique electrical properties, extraordinary strength, and efficiency in heat conduction. Structural Carbon nanotubes have valuable qualities as structural materials. Potential uses include: TextilesCNT can make waterproof and/or tear-resistant fabrics Body armorMIT is working on combat jackets that use CNT fibers to stop bullets and to monitor the condition of the wearer. Cambridge University developed the fibres and licensed a company to make them.

ConcreteCNT in concrete increase its tensile strength, and halt crack propagation. PolyethyleneAdding CNT to polyethylene can increase the polymer's elastic modulus by 30%. Sports equipmentStronger and lighter tennis rackets, bicycle parts, golf balls, golf clubs, and baseball bats. Space elevatorCNT are under investigation as possible components of the tether up which a space elevator can climb. This requires tensile strengths of more than about 70 GPa. synthetic muscles: Due to their high contraction/extension ratio given an electric current, CNTs are ideal for synthetic muscle. High tensile strength fibersFibers produced with polyvinyl alcohol required 600 J/g to break. In comparison, the bullet-resistant fiber Kevlar fails at 2733 J/g. BridgesCNT may be able to replace steel in suspension and other bridges. FlywheelsThe high strength/weight ratio enables very high rotational speeds. Carbon nanotube springsSingle-walled carbon nanotubes aligned in parallel can be elastically stretched for an energy density 10 times greater than that of current lithium-ion batteries, with the additional advantages of long cycling durability, temperature insensitivity, no spontaneous discharge, and arbitrary discharge rate. Fire protectionThin layers of buckypaper can significantly improve fire resistance due to the efficient reflection of heat by the dense, compact layer of CNT or carbon fibers. Electromagnetic CNT can be fabricated as electrical conductors, insulators, and semiconductors. Applications include:

Artificial musclesCNT's have sufficient contractility to make them candidates to replace muscle tissue. BuckypaperThin nanotube sheets are 250 times stronger than steel and 10 times lighter and could be used as a heat sink for chipboards, a backlight for LCD screens or as a faraday cage to protect electrical devices/aeroplanes. Light bulb filament: alternative to tungsten filaments in incandescent lamps. MagnetsMulti-walled nanotubes (MWNT coated with magnetite can generate strong magnetic fields.) Recent advances show that MWNT decorated with maghemite nanoparticles can be oriented in a magnetic field and enhance the electrical properties of the composite material in the direction of the field. DisplaysCNTs can be used as extremely fine electron guns, which could be used as miniature cathode ray tubes in thin high-brightness, low-energy, low-weight displays. This type of display would consist of a group of many tiny CRTs, each providing the electrons to hit the phosphor of one pixel, instead of having one giant CRT whose electrons are aimed using electric and magnetic fields. These displays are known as field emission displays (FEDs). Electroacoustic LoudspeakerIn November, 2008 Tsinghua-Foxconn Nanotechnology Research Centre in Beijing announced that it had created loudspeakers from sheets of parallel CNT, generating sound similar to how lightning produces thunder. Near-term commercial uses include replacing piezoelectric speakers in greeting cards. Chemical Desalination water molecules can be separated from salt by forcing them through networks of carbon nanotubes, which require far lower pressures than conventional reverse osmosis methods Air pollution filterCNT membranes can filter carbon dioxide from power plant emissions.

Electrical circuits A nanotube formed by joining two nanotubes of different diameters end to end can act as a diode, suggesting the possibility of constructing computer circuits entirely of nanotubes. Because of their good thermal transmission properties, CNT can potentially dissipate heat from computer chips. The longest electricity conducting circuit is a fraction of an inch long. Fabrication difficulties are major hurdles for CNT. Standard IC fabrication processes use chemical vapor deposition to add layers to a wafer. CNT can so far not be mass produced using such techniques. Researchers can manipulate nanotubes one-by-one with the tip of an atomic force microscope in a time-consuming process. Using standard fabrication techniques would still require designers to position one end of the nanotube. During the deposition process, an electric field can potentially direct the growth of the nanotubes, which tend to grow along the field lines from negative to positive polarity. Another technique for self-assembly uses chemical or biological techniques to move CNT in solution to determinate places on a substrate. Transistors Semiconducting CNTs have been used to fabricate field effect transistors (CNTFETs), which show promise due to their superior electrical characteristics over silicon based MOSFETs. Since the electron mean free path in SWCNTs can exceed 1 micrometer, long channel CNTFETs exhibit near-ballistic transport characteristics, resulting in high speed devices. CNT devices are projected to operate in the frequency range of hundreds of Gigahertz. Recent work detailing the advantages and disadvantages of various forms of CNTFETs have also shown that tunneling CNTFET offers better characteristics compared to other CNTFET structures. This device has been found to be superior in terms of subthreshold slope - a very important property for low power applications. Nanotubes are usually grown on nanoparticles of magnetic metal (Fe, Co) that facilitates production of electronic (spintronic) devices. In particular control of current through a fieldeffect transistor by magnetic field has been demonstrated in such a single-tube nanostructure.

Electronic design and design automation Although CNT devices and interconnects separately have been shown to be promising in their own respects, there have been few efforts to combine them in a realistic circuit. Most CNTFET structures employ the silicon substrate as a back gate. Applying different back gate voltages might become a concern when designing large circuits out of these elements. Several top-gated structures have also been demonstrated, which can alleviate this concern. Recently, a fully integrated logic circuit built on a single nanotube was reported. This circuit employs a back-gate. Several process-related challenges need to be addressed before CNT-based devices and interconnects can enter mainstream VLSI manufacturing. Remaining problems include purification, separation, control over length, chirality and desired alignment, low thermal budget and high contact resistance. Innovative ideas have been proposed to build practical transistors out of nano-networks. Since lack of control on chirality produces a mix of metallic as well as semi-conducting CNTs from any fabrication process and it is difficult to control the growth direction of the CNTs, easily-produced random arrays of SWCNTs have been proposed to build thin film transistors. This idea can be further exploited to build practical CNT based transistors and circuits without the need for precise growth and assembly.