Nanoscale manufacturing

Nanostructured Materials by Design Nanoelectronics, Photonics, Magnetit Advanced Healdicare/Therapeutics Environmental Inqirovements Energy Conversion/Storage Microcrafi and Robotics CBRE Protection/Detection Instrumentation Metrology Nanoscale Manufacturing Centers/Networks Infrastructure... 

The inherent ability of block copolymers to self-assemble into various well-ordered supramolecular structures makes them attractive for numerous technological applications. For instance, thin films self-assembled from block copolymers have been used as building blocks in nanotechnology and materials science [89-91 ]. Block copolymers have been employed directly without further manipulation as nanomaterials [92], or used as self-organized templates for the creation of nanos-tructured materials [92, 93]. Block copolymer blends demonstrated their applicability as patterning templates for the fabrication of well-ordered arrays [94], as well as for nanoscale manufacturing of more complex patterns [95]. The use of amphiphilic block copolymers for templating applications has been reviewed by FOrster [96]. 

Industrial and manufacturing engineering are very closely related areas with interlinked skills and functions. Both fields are evolving very rapidly today with a shift from macro to micro and nanoscale manufacturing. Researchers, therefore, must continue to focus on manufacturing practices that are cost-effective and efficient, at a macro level, and on new and innovative methods used to produce miCTo and nano products. In this chapter, the aitical resources for industrial and manufacturing engineering will be outUned. 

Pratsinis SE Aerosol-based technologies in nanoscale manufacturing from functional materials to devices through core chemical engineering, AICHEJ 56 3028—3035, 2010. 

Despite advances, it seems unlikely that the reductive approaches outlined above can, by themselves, teach the level of control, fiexibiUty, discrimination, and versatiUty of atomic and molecular manipulation that will be needed to manufacture the molecular and suptamoleculat nanodevices envisaged to be the products of nanotechnology. Studies of biological nanodevices (eg, proteins) suggest that under proper conditions, atoms and molecules can assemble into functional nanoscale units that can carry out all the functions of life. 

Nanomaterials can be manufactured by one of two groups of methods, one physical and one chemical. In top-down approaches, nanoscale materials are carved into shape by the use of physical nanotechnology methods such as lithography (Fig. 15.30). In bottom-up approaches, molecules are encouraged to assemble themselves into desired patterns chemically by making use of specific... 

The leading company involved in motor vehicle catalyst manufacture, Johnson Matthey, are clearly aware of the subtle chemistry revealed by nanoscale chemistry, with Golunski and Rajaram making the following observation (Cattech, 2002, 6, No.l, 30) ... 

Mixtures of properly designed chemical components can organize themselves into complex assemblies with structures from the nanoscale to the macroscale, in a fashion similar to biological assembly. Taking this methodology from the laboratory experimentation to the practical manufacturing arena could revolutionize chemical processing. 

The advent of a new class of materials systems based on nanoscale particles dispersed or suspended in carrier and/or binders has captured the attention of the microelectronics technical community. These materials provide the opportunity to use inexpensive solution processing equipment versus expensive vacuum deposition equipment commonly used in the microelectronics manufacturing industry. Experts in the microelectronics industry have suggested that over the course of the next live years, the industry will experience a paradigm shift in manufacturing and, more importantly, will enjoy revenue streams created from never-before-seen products based on printed electronics. 

Styrolux is an example of a nanostructured polymer which is used in food packaging. It is a polystyrene-polybutadiene block copolymer where polymer chains are build up of alternating polystyrene and polybutadiene blocks. These blocks appear as dark lamellae in the TEM image due to the staining of the polybutadiene with OSO4. This structured nanoscale architecture of the pol5mier, which can be controlled during manufacture, allows the optimum combination of impact resistance and transparency. 

Our communications infrastructure relies heavily on advanced materials chemistries. From the manufacturing processes used to fabricate optical fiber cables to molecular beam epitaxy techniques for the creation of nanoscale heterostructures that enable many optical devices, innovations in materials chemistry have played a role. An example of a recent technological achievement that relates to optical communications systems is the MEMS-based (microelectromechanical system) Lambda Router. The Lambda Router is an optical system developed at Lucent Technologies for switching narrowly focused... 

Another way that nanotechnology may impact solar cells is the use of quantum dots instead of silicon. Quantum dots, which are nanoscale semiconductor crystals, could significantly lower the cost of photovoltaic cells. In 2006, Victor Klimov of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico demonstrated that quantum dots have the capability to react to light and store energy more efficiently than silicon. Although scientists are years away from actually manufacturing usable quantum dot solar cells on a commercial scale, the technology has been established. 

Engines of Creation The Coming Era of Nanotechnology, which outlines the general principles involved in molecular manufacturing in terms laypeople can easily understand. Six years later, Drexler wrote a second book on molecular manufacturing, this one intended for the scientific community. In Nanosystems Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation, Drexler discussed the fundamental physical and chemical issues involved in the development of nanoscale devices. 

Given its short history, the field of nanoscale research has already produced an impressive volume of results. Research goals have ranged from the solution of immediate problems in materials science, such as the manufacture of computing devices, to the pursuit... 

In other cases, such devices are developed based on the premise that they might someday have real-world applications in the manufacture of larger nanoscale devices (such as assemblers and replicators). 

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