When people use the term "nanotechnology" they usually refer to a bundle of new technologies capable of engineering on a scale of less than 100 nanometers. The ultimate in nanotechnology is
molecular nanotechnology: The capability of engineering on a molecular level.
The original concept was an
assembler, a molecule size robot that could construct individual molecules and eventually move up to constructing macro-scale objects, molecule by molecule. That goal has seemed a long way off; what we have today are atomic force microscopes (AFMs) that can sense the position of individual atoms and even move atoms. They are very expensive, and limited to moving atoms about in two dimensions, usually on the surface of a metal crystal.
Now, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have made a major move toward practical molecular nanotechnology.
ason Gorman of the Intelligent Systems Division at the US government's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) concedes that, "Nanoassembly is extremely challenging." Yet the rewards could be enormous with the ultimate potential of creating a technology that can construct almost any material from atoms and molecules from super-strong but incredibly lightweight construction materials to a molecular computer or even nanobots that can make other nanobots to solve global problems, such as food, water, and energy shortages.
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The NIST system consists of four Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) devices positioned around a centrally located port on a chip into which the starting materials can be placed Each nanomanipulator is composed of positioning mechanism with an attached nanoprobe. By simultaneously controlling the position of each of these nanoprobes, the team can use them to cooperatively assemble a complex structure on a very small scale. "If successful, this project will result in an on-chip nanomanufacturing system that would be the first of its kind," says Gorman.
"Our micro-scale nanoassembly system is designed for real-time imaging of the nanomanipulation procedures using a scanning electron microscope," explains Gorman, "and multiple nanoprobes can be used to grasp nanostructures in a cooperative manner to enable complex assembly operations." Importantly, once the team has optimized their design they anticipate that nanoassembly systems could be made for around $400 per chip at present costs. This is thousands of times cheaper than macro-scale systems such as the AFM.
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"The work described in the IJNM paper is somewhat preliminary and focuses on the design and characterization of the micro-scale nanomanipulator sub-components," adds Gorman, "We are currently fabricating a somewhat revised micro-scale nanoassembly system that we believe will be capable of manipulating nanoparticles by the end of the summer," Gorman says, "We will publishing those results once they are available."
The original press review is at:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/ip-ano042808.phpThere's also a discussion at the Comittee for Responsible Nanotechnology (CRNANO)
blogThe NIST press release talked about the benefits of molecular nanotechnology to address global problems such as climate change and food, water and energy shortages. The CRNANO people are very upfront about discussing both the benefits and the
dangers of nanotechnology.
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