Nanoscience & Nanotechnology: Overview

The invention of the Scanning Tunneling Microscope permitted us for the first time to see single atoms on a surface. Before this, using techniques based on electromagnetic radiation, it was possible to view and create images of lattices of many molecules. For example, with x-ray techniques it is possible to recreate the positions of atoms in a complex matrix or lattice. With tunneling electronic microscopes (TEM) it is possible to directly image atoms in a lattice. However, these techniques rely on the scattering of electromagnetic radiation from a collection of atoms, and thus cannot see single atoms.

Another important innovation is the laser "tweezer". By using the momentum of photons it is possible to isolate in a single location collections of several hundred molecules or atoms. Before this invention the possibility of isolating a few molecules or even a few hundred molecules was not considered possible.

Moore's law, popularized in the late 20th century, dictates that there is a relationship between the size of electronic devices such as transistors and time. This relationship has been very effective in predicting advances in the world of microelectronics for almost thirty years. However physicists are predicting that Moore's law will begin breaking down when the size of electronic devices becomes less than 100 nanometers. There is a great effort to discover new methodologies for creating electronic devices with dimensions that are less than 100 nanometers.

The storage of information is considered an essential advancement of modern civilization. At first, recording information and ideas on written paper was a great achievement; books and newspapers allowed the flow of knowledge and information throughout the world. Today information is stored digitally and transmitted electronically. Digital bits with dimensions of less than a micron are stored on magnetic disks and compact discs. There is an ever-increasing need to store and transmit information on smaller spaces and transmit information with faster methodologies.