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Nanoelectronics
Technology Analyst: Robert Thomas
Phone: +33-(0)4-7604-9441
Fax: +33-(0)4-7604-9953 |
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About This Technology
Nanoelectronics is a subset of nanotechnology—itself somewhat of a catchall term—that this Technology Map defines as the ability to manipulate matter on a scale of less than 100 nanometers to create structures with useful electronic properties (1 nanometer is one-billionth of a meter). Decreasing dimensions in electronic devices has a long history of delivering cost and performance improvements. As the scale decreases to the nano level, new often-enhanced material properties arise because of quantum-size effects, interface phenomena, and very high surface-to-volume ratios. However, the top-down manufacturing processes of the semiconductor industry are only one option for producing nanoscale devices. A variety of other process techniques exist, including production of nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes or far-future concepts of using molecular machines to assemble devices. Such processes can lead to materials with properties unknown in the macro world, and when scientists learn to adapt these fledgling technologies to the production environment, devices and systems with new levels of performance will result.
Nanotechnology is such a broad science that we can forget that commercialization has already begun. Nanoparticle antistatic and antireflection coatings are already available, and one-dimensional nanostructures in the form of quantum-well lasers first saw commercialization in the 1980s and are now widespread in DVD players and telecommunications equipment. The conventional integrated-circuit industry will soon achieve 100-nanometer feature sizes, though novel quantum-effect electronic devices are still very immature; initial commercialization is likely to be in memory devices. The first wave of commercial devices to harness novel nanoscale properties includes hybrid devices such as sensors that use nanoparticles as one element in the active region, ultrasensitive magnetic heads for disk-drive storage, and solar cells in which nanoparticles can separate light-induced electronic charge. The minute sizes of quasi–naturally occurring carbon nanotubes can provide the basis of new nanomemory and field-emission displays.
Nanoelectronics will have an impact on almost every industry, because electronics itself is ubiquitous. However, information-technology and consumer-electronics industries will feel most of the early impact through enhanced storage and display devices, with nanoelectronics having the potential to revolutionize portable devices and ubiquitous computing. New nanostructured solar cells could alter radically the economics of this form of renewable energy, and new ultrasensitive sensors could affect several sectors, including medicine, automobiles, and defense. Several wild cards exist in the longer term: Futurists envision a world in which nanotechnology creates minute machines that, working in parallel, create micro and macro devices. What then is the future of human labor and current industrialization? Molecular- and DNA-computing concepts could put processing and memory building blocks beyond the limits imaginable today—and for all intents and purposes would make these building blocks both limitless and incredibly small. Consideration of the near-term potential of nanoelectronics requires a realistic assessment of this technology, given its considerable immaturity, the need for practical production techniques, media and industry hype about nanotechnology in general, and the existence of many incumbent and competing technologies.
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