Nanotechnology in Electronics

NANOTECHNOLOGY AND ELECTRONICS

How Can Nanotechnology Improve Electronics?

Nanotechnology holds some answers for how we might increase the capabilities of electronics devices while we reduce their weight and power consumption. Some of the areas under development, which you can explore in more detail by following the links provided in the next section, include:

Improving display screens on electronics devices. This involves reducing power consumption while decreasing the weight and thickness of the screens.
Increasing the density of memory chips. Researchers are developing a type of memory chip with a projected density of one terabyte of memory per square inch or greater.
Reducing the size of transistors used in integrated circuits. One researcher believes it may be possible to "put the power of all of today's present computers in the palm of your hand".

Electronics and Nanotechnology: Applications under Development

Researchers are looking into the following nanotechnology projects for electronics:

Using electrodes made from nanowires that would enable flat panel displays to be flexible as well as thinner than current flat panel displays.
Using MEMS techniques to control an array of probes whose tips have a radius of a few nanometers. These probes are used to write and read data onto a polymer film, with the aim of producing memory chips with a density of one terabyte per square inch or greater.
Using carbon nanotubes to direct electrons to illuminate pixels, resulting in a lightweight, millimeter thick "nanoemmissive" display panel.
Making integrated circuits with features that can be measured in nanometers (nm), such as the process that will soon allow the production of integrated circuits with 45 nm wide transistor gates.
Using nanosized magnetic rings to make Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM) which research has indicated may allow memory density of 400 GB per square inch.
Developing molecular-sized transistors which may allow us to shrink the width of transistor gates to approximately one nm which will significantly increase transistor density in integrated circuits.
Using self-aligning nanostructures to manufacture nanoscale integrated circuits.

Electronics and Nanotechnology: Company Directory

Company	Products or Projects
Motorola	Nanoemmissive displays
Freescale	Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM)
Nanochip	Memory chips that use nano-scale probe tips to read and write data
HP	Self-assembled nanostructures
IBM	Nanophotonics
Intel	Integrated circuits with nano-sized features
California Molecular Electronics Corp.	Molecule sized switches and other devices

Electronics and Nanotechnology: Resources

Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne National Lab

Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies at Sandia and Los Alamos National Labs

Nanoelectronics Research Initiative

Center for Electron Transport in Molecular Nanostructures at Columbia University