The latest news and information on nanotechnology, including carbon nanotubes, SWCNTs, self-assembly, nanowires, nanorods, nanocrystals, quantum dots and spintronics.
Harvard Group Creates Nanophotovoltaic With Macro Potential Alexander E. Braun, Senior Editor - 04/15/2008
A research team led by Charles Lieber, professor of chemistry at Harvard University, has created a ~300 nm coaxial silicon nanowire photovoltaic cell that someday could power small circuits and nanomachines. The cell has demonstrated an efficiency of 3.5% and 200 pW of power. The nanophotovoltaic cell has a coaxial configuration made up of three differently doped silicon regions. More
FEI, Imago to Collaborate, Hint at Possible Merger David Lammers, News Editor - 04/15/2008
FEI Co. (Hillsboro, Ore.) and Imago Scientific Instruments (Madison, Wis.) announced a distribution collaboration for Imago’s atom probe microscopes, which includes an option for FEI to purchase Imago.
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Race Track Runs Circles Around Flash Alexander E. Braun, Senior Editor - 04/10/2008
IBM has developed a technology that combines flash’s high performance and reliability with the hard disk drive’s low cost and high capacity. If developed, it may result in more durable solid-state devices and additional data storage in the same space.
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VLSI Technology Symposium Takes on Nanowires, FinFETs, High-k/Metal Gate Challenges David Lammers, News Editor - 04/01/2008
The 2008 VLSI Technology Symposium, planned for June 17-19 in Honolulu, includes presentations on intelligent sensors, silicon nanowires, vertical devices and high-k/metal gate stacks. The annual conference kicks off with a keynote speech by Mark Pinto, general manager of the Energy and Environmental Solutions Division of Applied Materials Inc.
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Midwest Nanoelectronics Research Center Joins NRI Network David Lammers, News Editor - 03/26/2008
The Midwest Academy for Nanoelectronics and Architectures (MANA, South Bend, Ind.) will join three existing nanoelectronics research networks set up by the Nanoelectronics Research Initiative. Centered at the University of Notre Dame, the MANA center will include researchers from Purdue and other universities.
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AFM-Based 'Etch-a-Sketch' Draws Nanoscale Features Alexander E. Braun, Senior Editor - 03/20/2008
Conducting nanoscale lines and dots can be written, erased and rewritten using an AFM-based “Etch-a-Sketch” method.
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RPI Simulations Show Nanotubes Outperform Copper Interconnects Staff - 03/17/2008
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have predicted that interconnects made of bundles of carbon nanotubes will outperform copper-based nanowires. The researchers studied the quantum mechanical properties of copper at nanoscale dimensions, concluding that heat and resistance may limit scaling.
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SRC: Nanostructures Require Monitoring at Molecular, Atomic Levels Alexander E. Braun, Senior Editor - 03/13/2008
The development of nanotechnology to its full capabilities requires the ability to cope with things like quantum effects; attaining this will require unprecedented advances in metrology.
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Dan Herr is director of Nanomanufacturing Science Research at SRC. An important part of his research focuses on nanotechnology’s demands on metrology, and he discusses his work to determine where metrology technology’s gaps are, and how to fill them.
Single-Atom Manipulation Breakthrough Boosts Nanotech Possibilities Alexander E. Braun, Senior Editor, 02/22/2008
IBM scientists at the Almaden Research Center (San Jose) have demonstrated, for the first time ever, the capability to exactly measure how much force is required to move different individual atoms....
Metrology Drives Nanotech Progress Alexander E. Braun, Senior Editor, 12/01/2007
All aspects of nanotechnology, whether working with MEMS or carbon nanotubes, require a high degree of metrology to enable manufacturing processes and device integration....
Opening Doors at the Atomic Level Ruth DeJule, Contributing Editor, 12/01/2007 45 nm technology is already seeing the addition of new materials to the process line, with the thinnest layers approaching a thickness of 3–5 atoms in high-performance devices. An atom (~2 Å in diameter) out of place can potentially cause device failure. Therefore, along with materials and integration challenges, characterization techniques must be able to locate and identify s......