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Computers and processors use memory to store

information and execute operations to
perform desired functions. Each bit of memory
holds a binary value, and multiple sets of bits combine
to be interpreted as a particular instruction or piece of
information. Digital devices are becoming progressively
more sophisticated and smaller, requiring more compact
components. Different types of memory devices
introduced by nanotechnology are enabling the
development of complex devices at an extremely small
size.

Nanotechnology has enabled many advances in

computer memory, increasing storage size, reducing
power consumption, and increasing speed. These three
factors will enable sophisticated computer controlled
devices in the future.

Nano-RAM (or NRAM) is a random access memory that

uses carbon nanotubes to determine the state of the
memory element, comprising an information bit. This
memory is a non-volatile device meaning that its cells
maintain their information regardless of whether or not
power is supplied to the system (the carbon nanotubes
keep their mechanical position whther or not power is
suppplied). NRAM (which is a proprietary computer
memory technology) has been projected to be of very
high density and low cost.

Ferroelectric-RAM or FRAM is a another type of non-

volatile memory that takes advantage of
nanotechnological properties. FRAM is similar to
traditional integrated circuit memory, except that the
device is fabricated using a layer of ferroelectric polymer
rather than a dielectric substrate. A material that
exhibits ferroelectricity consists of molecules that have
an innate electric polarization. Because of the natural
polarization in the ferroelectric material, replacing
traditional dielectric with ferroelectric material enable
the FRAM memory cells to
consume less power and
therefore can be designed to
smaller sizes.

A third type of memory that has

been enhanced using
nanotechnology is known as
Millipede memory. It was
designed to replace magnetic IBM scientists are using
memories such as those DNA origami to build
commonly used as hard drives. tiny circuit boards; in
The Millipede memory uses many this image, low
tiny imprints in a polymer strip to concentrations of
record the stored information. To triangular DNA origami
are binding to wide
retrieve the memory information,
lines on a
the Millipede memory uses lithographically
atomic force sensors that detect patterned surface.
the nano-indentations recorded Credit: IBM
in the film. The resulting storage capacities are typically
up to four times greater than those available with
traditional magnetic memories. The Millipede memory is
also non-volatile, and it is rewritable. In addition to its
very high capacity storage, it has been designed to read
and write in a parallel process, making its access times
low.

About Nanotechnology Email | Print

Imagine being able to observe the

motion of a red blood cell as it
moves through your vein, or being able to watch as a
type of white blood cell (called a "T-cell") destroys an
invading microbe by engulfing it. What would it be like
to observe the vibration of molecules as the temperature
rises in a pan of water? To observe sodium and chlorine
atoms as they get close enough to actually transfer
electrons and form a salt crystal? New scientific tools,
developed and improved over the last few decades,
make such observations increasingly feasible. These are
examples of the effort to view, measure and even
manipulate materials at the molecular or atomic scale -
the major focus of nanotechnology.

The prefix "nano" comes from a Greek word, νᾶνος, that

means "dwarf". This prefix is used in the International
System of Units (SI) to denote a factor of 10−9. If we
have the "nano" prefix attached to a meter (m) then 1
nm (nanometer) = 10−9 meter
(one billinoth of a meter,
according to the "short scale"
definition of a billion used in
English-speaking countries). If
the prefix is attached to a second Three dimensional view
(sec) then 1 ns =10−9 second (1 of an AFM image of a
biilionth of a second). Aluminum gate single-
wall Carbon nanotube
(SWCNT) Field Effect
Most quantities involving "nano"
Transistor (FET).
are considered "very small." Image source: MSU
Nanomanufacturing
Lab
Individual atoms are smaller than 1 nm (1 nanometer)
in diameter. It takes about 10 hydrogen atoms arranged
in a row to create a line 1 nm in length. Other atoms are
larger than hydrogen, but still have diameters less than
1 nm. A typical virus is about 100 nm in diameter and a
bacterium is about 1000 nm head to tail.

The tools that have allowed us to observe the previously

invisible world of the nanoscale objects include special
sophisticated microscopes such as the Atomic Force
Microscope and the Scanning Tunneling Microscope.

The Future of Nanotechnology

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The future of nanotechnology has

been a subject of many scientific
and nonscientific speculations,
including several doomsday
visions in popular culture that
predicted self-replicating nano particles taking part in
massive assaults on humanity and the environment. An
example of such scenario is given in Michael Crichton
popular novel Prey, where "grey goo" self-replicates and
overwhelms the world... Dire predictions have
accompanied many new technologies at their infancy
(for example robotics in the 1940s and 1950s). The
more futuristic visions of nanotechnology include on one
hand the envisioned use of nano-particles inside the
body and the blood stream (for diagnostic and
therapeutic purposes), and on the other hand – potential
development of new weapons of mass destruction
enabled by nanotechnology.

Current products of nanotechnology are much more

ordinary – reinforced plastics for the body of bicycles,
stain-resistant clothes, better cosmetics and healthcare
products, and tennis rackets
reinforced with carbon
nanotubes.

Some authors who discussed the

future of nanotechnology Scanning electron
differentiate between microscopy of Silicon
incremental nanotechnology, Carbide whiskers.
Image Credit: Katya
evolutionary nanotechnology, Vishnyakova
and radical nanotechnology. and Gleb Yushin,
Incremental nanotechnology is Drexel University
represented, for example, by
reinforcement of current materials by nano-scale devices
– leading, as one application, to development of better
 paints. Evolutionary nanotechnology involves
more sophisticated tasks such as sensing and
analysis of the environment by nano-
structures, and a role for nanotechnology in
signal processing, medical imaging, and energy
conversion. Applications include targeted drug delivery
and enhancement of components such as transistors,
solar cells, light emitting diodes, and diode lasers.
Significant improvements in the area of computing are
expected from so-called evolutionary computing,
allowing faster processing, miniaturized
architectures, and increased storage.
Many of the more daring visions of nanotechnology
emerge from the original vision of Eric Drexler in the
late 1980s (Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of
Nanotechnology). These anticipate the development of
complex structures for nano-scale fabrication, which
employ tiny robots and vehicles. Such conncepts have
been criticized sometimes for their tendency to translate
into the nano-scale architectures and structures from
other scales without paying enough attention to the
impact of scaling on the underlying physical laws – these
laws often are not manifested at the nano-scale as they
are in larger scales. Alternative approaches that were
proposed include "taking a lead from nature" – replacing
the previously envisioned “hard” components (e.g.,
nano levers and cogs) by soft materials and importing
into the field of nanotechnology biological principles
observed in cells and small organisms. Relevant ideas
include the use of “molecular motors” that are
incorporated into artificial nanostructures, and
miniaturization of existing microelectromechanical
systems (MEMS) into what has been dubbed
nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS).

An emerging field within nanotechnology is known as

bionanotechnology, which is a synthetic technology
based on the principles and
chemical pathways of living
organisms. Bionanotechnology
looks for connections between
molecular biology and
nanotechnology – guiding the
development of machinery at the
nano-scale by the structure and
function of natural nano-
Scanning electron
machines found in living cells. microscopy of wood-
derived Silicon Carbide.
As was the case with many new Image Credit: Katya
Vishnyakova and
technologies, solid predictions of Gleb Yushin, Drexel
their course of developments are University
difficult to make. If
nanotechnology were to follow the paths of other new
technologies (digital communications, the Internet) the
early predictions – for the first ten years – would tend to
overestimate the impact of the technology (much less is
achieved compared to predictions); the long-term
prediction – for the first 50-75 years – would tend to
underestimate that impact (much more is achieved
compared to predictions).