Nanotechnology, shortened to "nanotech", is the study of manipulating matter on an

atomic and molecular scale. Generally nanotechnology deals with structures sized
between 1 to 100 nanometer in at least one dimension, and involves developing materials
or devices within that size. Quantum mechanical effects are very important at this scale.

Nanotechnology is very 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 to investigating whether we can directly
control matter on the atomic scale.

There is much debate on the future implications of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology may

be able to create many new materials and devices with a vast range of applications, such
as in medicine, electronics, biomaterials and energy production. On the other hand,
nanotechnology raises many of the same issues as with any introduction of new
technology, including concerns about the toxicity and environmental impact of
nanomaterials,[1] and their potential effects on global economics, as well as speculation
about various doomsday scenarios. These concerns have led to a debate among advocacy
groups and governments on whether special regulation of nanotechnology is warranted.

origin
The first use of the concepts found in 'nano-technology' was in "There's Plenty of Room
at the Bottom", a talk given by physicist Richard Feynman at an American Physical
Society meeting at Caltech on December 29, 1959. Feynman described a process by
which the ability to manipulate individual atoms and molecules might be developed,
using one set of precise tools to build and operate another proportionally smaller set, and
so on down to the needed scale. In the course of this, he noted, scaling issues would arise
from the changing magnitude of various physical phenomena: gravity would become less
important, surface tension and van der Waals attraction would become increasingly more
significant, etc. This basic idea appeared plausible, and exponential assembly enhances it
with parallelism to produce a useful quantity of end products. The term "nanotechnology"
was defined by Tokyo Science University Professor Norio Taniguchi in a 1974 paper[2] as
follows: "'Nano-technology' mainly consists of the processing of, separation,
consolidation, and deformation of materials by one atom or by one molecule." In the
1980s the basic idea of this definition was explored in much more depth by Dr. K. Eric
Drexler, who promoted the technological significance of nano-scale phenomena and
devices through speeches and the books Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of
Nanotechnology (1986) and Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and
Computation,[3] and so the term acquired its current sense Nanotechnology and
nanoscience got started in the early 1980s with two major developments; the birth of
cluster science and the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). This
development led to the discovery of fullerenes in 1985 and carbon nanotubes a few years
later. In another development, the synthesis and properties of semiconductor nanocrystals
was studied; this led to a fast increasing number of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles
and quantum dots. The atomic force microscope (AFM or SFM) was invented six years
after the STM was invented. In 2000, the United States National Nanotechnology
Initiative was founded to coordinate Federal nanotechnology research and development
and is evaluated by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Fundamental concepts
the comparative size of a nanometer to a meter is the same as that of a marble to the size
of the earth.[4] Or another way of putting it: a nanometer is the amount an average man's
beard grows in the time it takes him to raise the razor to his face.[4]

Two main approaches are used in nanotechnology. In the "bottom-up" approach,

materials and devices are built from molecular components which assemble themselves
chemically by principles of molecular recognition. In the "top-down" approach, nano-
objects are constructed from larger entities without atomic-level control.[5]

Larger to smaller: a materials perspective

Image of reconstruction on a clean Gold(100) surface, as visualized using scanning

tunneling microscopy. The positions of the individual atoms composing the surface are
visible.
Main article: Nanomaterials

A number of physical phenomena become pronounced as the size of the system

decreases. These include statistical mechanical effects, as well as quantum mechanical
effects, for example the “quantum size effect” where the electronic properties of solids
are altered with great reductions in particle size. This effect does not come into play by
going from macro to micro dimensions. However, quantum effects become dominant
when the nanometer size range is reached, typically at distances of 100 nanometers or
less, the so called quantum realm. Additionally, a number of physical (mechanical,
electrical, optical, etc.) properties change when compared to macroscopic systems..
Diffusion and reactions at nanoscale, nanostructures materials and nanodevices with fast
ion transport are generally referred to nanoionics. Mechanical properties of nanosystems
are of interest in the nanomechanics research. The catalytic activity of nanomaterials also
opens potential risks in their interaction with biomaterials.[6]
Simple to complex: a molecular perspective
Main article: Molecular self-assembly

Modern synthetic chemistry has reached the point where it is possible to prepare small
molecules to almost any structure. These methods are used today to manufacture a wide
variety of useful chemicals such as pharmaceuticals or commercial polymers. This ability
raises the question of extending this kind of control to the next-larger level, seeking
methods to assemble these single molecules into supramolecular assemblies consisting of
many molecules arranged in a well defined manner.

These approaches utilize the concepts of molecular self-assembly and/or supramolecular

chemistry to automatically arrange themselves into some useful conformation through a
bottom-up approach. The concept of molecular recognition is especially important:
molecules can be designed so that a specific configuration or arrangement is favored due
to non-covalent intermolecular forces. The Watson–Crick basepairing rules are a direct
result of this, as is the specificity of an enzyme being targeted to a single substrate, or the
specific folding of the protein itself. Thus, two or more components can be designed to be
complementary and mutually attractive so that they make a more complex and useful
whole.

Current research

Graphical representation of a rotaxane, useful as a molecular switch.

Sarfus image of a DNA biochip elaborated by bottom-up approach.

This device transfers energy from nano-thin layers of quantum wells to nanocrystals
above them, causing the nanocrystals to emit visible light.[14]

Nanomaterials

The nanomaterials field includes subfields which develop or study materials having
unique properties arising from their nanoscale dimensions.[15]

• Interface and colloid science has given rise to many materials which may be
useful in nanotechnology, such as carbon nanotubes and other fullerenes, and
various nanoparticles and nanorods. Nanomaterials with fast ion transport are
related also to nanoionics and nanoelectronics.
• Nanoscale materials can also be used for bulk applications; most present
commercial applications of nanotechnology are of this flavor.
• Progress has been made in using these materials for medical applications; see
Nanomedicine.
• Nanoscale materials are sometimes used in solar cells which combats the cost of
traditional Silicon solar cells
• Development of applications incorporating semiconductor nanoparticles to be
used in the next generation of products, such as display technology, lighting, solar
cells and biological imaging; see quantum dots.

Bottom-up approaches

These seek to arrange smaller components into more complex assemblies.

• DNA nanotechnology utilizes the specificity of Watson–Crick basepairing to

construct well-defined structures out of DNA and other nucleic acids.
 • Approaches from the field of "classical" chemical synthesis also aim at designing
molecules with well-defined shape (e.g. bis-peptides[16]).
• More generally, molecular self-assembly seeks to use concepts of supramolecular
chemistry, and molecular recognition in particular, to cause single-molecule
components to automatically arrange themselves into some useful conformation.
• Atomic force microscope tips can be used as a nanoscale "write head" to deposit a
chemical upon a surface in a desired pattern in a process called dip pen
nanolithography. This technique fits into the larger subfield of nanolithography.

Top-down approaches

These seek to create smaller devices by using larger ones to direct their assembly.

• Many technologies that descended from conventional solid-state silicon methods

for fabricating microprocessors are now capable of creating features smaller than
100 nm, falling under the definition of nanotechnology. Giant magnetoresistance-
based hard drives already on the market fit this description,[17] as do atomic layer
deposition (ALD) techniques. Peter Grünberg and Albert Fert received the Nobel
Prize in Physics in 2007 for their discovery of Giant magnetoresistance and
contributions to the field of spintronics.[18]
• Solid-state techniques can also be used to create devices known as
nanoelectromechanical systems or NEMS, which are related to
microelectromechanical systems or MEMS.
• Focused ion beams can directly remove material, or even deposit material when
suitable pre-cursor gasses are applied at the same time. For example, this
technique is used routinely to create sub-100 nm sections of material for analysis
in Transmission electron microscopy.
• Atomic force microscope tips can be used as a nanoscale "write head" to deposit a
resist, which is then followed by a etching process to remove material in a top-
down method.

Functional approaches

These seek to develop components of a desired functionality without regard to how they
might be assembled.

• Molecular electronics seeks to develop molecules with useful electronic

properties. These could then be used as single-molecule components in a
nanoelectronic device.[19] For an example see rotaxane.
• Synthetic chemical methods can also be used to create synthetic molecular
motors, such as in a so-called nanocar.
Biomimetic approaches

• Bionics or biomimicry seeks to apply biological methods and systems found in

nature, to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology.
Biomineralization is one example of the systems studied.

• Bionanotechnology the use of biomolecules for applications in nanotechnology,

including use of viruses.[20]

Tools and techniques

Typical AFM setup. A microfabricated cantilever with a sharp tip is deflected by features
on a sample surface, much like in a phonograph but on a much smaller scale. A laser
beam reflects off the backside of the cantilever into a set of photodetectors, allowing the
deflection to be measured and assembled into an image of the surface.

There are several important modern developments. The atomic force microscope (AFM)
and the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) are two early versions of scanning
probes that launched nanotechnology. There are other types of scanning probe
microscopy, all flowing from the ideas of the scanning confocal microscope developed
by Marvin Minsky in 1961 and the scanning acoustic microscope (SAM) developed by
Calvin Quate and coworkers in the 1970s, that made it possible to see structures at the
nanoscale. The tip of a scanning probe can also be used to manipulate nanostructures (a
process called positional assembly). Feature-oriented scanning-positioning methodology
suggested by Rostislav Lapshin appears to be a promising way to implement these
nanomanipulations in automatic mode. However, this is still a slow process because of
low scanning velocity of the microscope. Various techniques of nanolithography such as
optical lithography, X-ray lithography dip pen nanolithography, electron beam
lithography or nanoimprint lithography were also developed. Lithography is a top-down
fabrication technique where a bulk material is reduced in size to nanoscale pattern.

Applications
Main article: List of nanotechnology applications

As of August 21, 2008, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies estimates that over
800 manufacturer-identified nanotech products are publicly available, with new ones
hitting the market at a pace of 3–4 per week.[28] The project lists all of the products in a
publicly accessible online.[29] Most applications are limited to the use of "first generation"
passive nanomaterials which includes titanium dioxide in sunscreen, cosmetics and some
food products; Carbon allotropes used to produce gecko tape; silver in food packaging,
clothing, disinfectants and household appliances; zinc oxide in sunscreens and cosmetics,
surface coatings, paints and outdoor furniture varnishes; and cerium oxide as a fuel
catalyst.[30]

One of the major application of nanotechnology is in the area of nanoelectronics with

MOSFET's being made of small nanowires ~10 nm in length. Here is a simulation of
such a nanowire

The National Science Foundation (a major distributor for nanotechnology research in the
United States) funded researcher David Berube to study the field of nanotechnology. His
findings are published in the monograph Nano-Hype: The Truth Behind the
Nanotechnology Buzz.[31] This study concludes that much of what is sold as
“nanotechnology” is in fact a recasting of straightforward materials science, which is
leading to a “nanotech industry built solely on selling nanotubes, nanowires, and the like”
which will “end up with a few suppliers selling low margin products in huge volumes."
Further applications which require actual manipulation or arrangement of nanoscale
components await further research. Though technologies branded with the term 'nano' are
sometimes little related to and fall far short of the most ambitious and transformative
technological goals of the sort in molecular manufacturing proposals, the term still
connotes such ideas. According to Berube, there may be a danger that a "nano bubble"
will form, or is forming already, from the use of the term by scientists and entrepreneurs
to garner funding, regardless of interest in the transformative possibilities of more
ambitious and far-sighted work.[32]
Health and environmental concerns
Main articles: Health implications of nanotechnology and Environmental implications of
nanotechnology

Some of the recently developed nanoparticle products may have unintended

consequences. Researchers have discovered that silver nanoparticles used in socks only to
reduce foot odor are being released in the wash with possible negative consequences.[37]
Silver nanoparticles, which are bacteriostatic, may then destroy beneficial bacteria which
are important for breaking down organic matter in waste treatment plants or farms.[38]

A study at the University of Rochester found that when rats breathed in nanoparticles, the
particles settled in the brain and lungs, which led to significant increases in biomarkers
for inflammation and stress response.[39] A study in China indicated that nanoparticles
induce skin aging through oxidative stress in hairless mice.[40][41]

A two-year study at UCLA's School of Public Health found lab mice consuming nano-
titanium dioxide showed DNA and chromosome damage to a degree "linked to all the big
killers of man, namely cancer, heart disease, neurological disease and aging".[42]

A major study published more recently in Nature Nanotechnology suggests some forms
of carbon nanotubes – a poster child for the “nanotechnology revolution” – could be as
harmful as asbestos if inhaled in sufficient quantities. Anthony Seaton of the Institute of
Occupational Medicine in Edinburgh, Scotland, who contributed to the article on carbon
nanotubes said "We know that some of them probably have the potential to cause
mesothelioma. So those sorts of materials need to be handled very carefully."[43] In the
absence of specific nano-regulation forthcoming from governments, Paull and Lyons
(2008) have called for an exclusion of engineered nanoparticles from organic food.[44] A
newspaper article reports that workers in a paint factory developed serious lung disease
and nanoparticles were found in their lungs.[45]