3 of 10

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 2

pushing technology far beyond the limits of silicon.

Satish P. Nair, Technical Insight Analyst says "The future of electronics is nano-sized, exciting nanofabrication techniques have unfolded different methods to engineer nanowires, quantum wells, and nanotubes which function as the building blocks of future nanoelectronic devices." The progress in carbon nanotube and semiconductor nanowire has provided researchers with a model against which to gauge future nanoscale devices and systems.

Adds Nair: "Molecular electronic can create devices that could be a thousand times smaller than current semiconductor-based devices. Molecular memories will also have a storage density million times that of today's best semiconductor chips."

Dramatic breakthroughs in molecular electronic by industry giant Hewlett Packard (HP) and other major developers validate these predictions. HP has created a new kind of minute circuit for computer chips using nanotechnology. The company's research laboratory also announced the development of the highest density electronically addressable memory to date.

Nair notes: "Research indicates that the time-to-market for commercial applications of Nanoelectronic-based devices is shrinking with the years. It is predicted that within the next five years, we will probably witness the first complete based-based device in the market."

Nanoelectronic areas being studied include the fabrication of atomic wires; Single Electron Tunnelling (SET) devices and atto-farad structures; and the study of spin-polarised electronics and magnetic nano-structures, all of which are likely to play an important part in future electronic devices. A study of the thermal motion of an isolated surface-trapped atom will also be carried out and its potential as a nano-scale noise thermometer investigated.

By growing nanowires that are 20 to 200 nanometers in diameter (one nanometer is one one-thousandth of a micrometer and human hair is typically 50 to 100 micrometers thick), researchers say they are closer to creating the circuitry required for nanoelectronic devices.

Research and development in nanoelectronic has been fuelled by huge investments by various national governments, as it is happing with nanotechnology in general. Countries in Europe and Asia, notably Japan and China are expecting to spend - and reportedly spending at the present - millions of dollars in the field of nanoelectronic.

Learn more about this author, Najib Altawell.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

• << previous page
• 1
• 2

Add your voice

Know something about Nanotechnology explained?
We want to hear your view. Write now!