Introduction to Nanotechnology Module #1 Nanotechnology: What Is It, And Why Is It So “BIG” Now? Copyright 2009 The Pennsylvania State University Nanotechnology is Impacting Everything © patton brothers illustration ( Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University Last Updated: 1/6/2011

This module is one of a series designed to be used by faculty members at post-secondary institutions in workshops, courses, and overview lectures to introduce nanotechnology and its applications. There is no particular significance to the module number system The series was funded in part by: The National Science Foundation Grant # DUE and DUE and The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Grant # C and C Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

The word ”nano” originally comes from the Greek word “nanos”, meaning “dwarf”. In Roman times (2000 years ago) the word had changed to “nano” but it continued to mean “dwarf”. In modern Italian, the word is still “nano” and it still means “dwarf”. Today, in scientific usage, it is not a word but it is a prefix and it means really, really, really small or, more precisely, it means 1 / 1,000,000,000 (one billionth) of something. First of all: What does the prefix “nano” mean? Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

So What Does the Word “Nanotechnology” Mean? It means technology based on man-made things that are really, really, really small or more precisely it means technology based on man-made things whose sizes are such that at least one dimension is in the range of one billionth of a meter.meter Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

How small is 1 1,000,000,000 of a meter? Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

1 meter=3.28 feet 1 / 100 meter=1 centimeter (cm) 1 / 1000 meter=1 millimeter (mm) 1 / 1,000,000 meter=1 micrometer* (µm) *also called a micron 1 / 1,000,000,000 meter=1 nanometer (nm) 1 / 1,000,000,000,000 meter=1 picometer (pm) Where does the Nanometer fit in the length scale? Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

Another way of looking at how small a Nanometer is- ©2009 NanoHorizons Inc. Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

How Do We See Things in These Different Size Ranges? Meter Size Range These are sizes we can see with just our eyes Millimeter Size Range These are sizes we can see with an optical microscope optical microscope Micrometer Size Range Bigger objects in this range can be seen with an optical microscope. Smaller objects may need anoptical microscope electron microscope Nanometer Size Range Bigger objects can be seen with electron microscopes. Smaller objects require field emission electron orfield emission electron atomic force microscopes MACRO-SCALENANO-SCALEMICRO-SCALE Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

Let’s look at these size ranges pictorially. Let’s also get some idea of what nature makes and what man makes in these size ranges. Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

The next viewgraph may be useful for remembering how small the nano-scale size range is. As this viewgraph shows, the nano-scale range covers sizes from that of viruses down to structures with a few atoms (quantum dots).virusesquantum dots Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

Some Small Naturally Occurring and Man-Made Structures 1 mm 100 µm 10 µm 1 µm 100 nm 10 nm 1 nm 100 pm Transistor of 2007 Human hair tissue Bacterium cell Human cell Virus Transistors of Years ago Protein Individual atom Drug moleculeQuantum dot DNA Nano-scaleMicro-scaleMacro-scale Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University Stanford University © 2009 Created by Sean Nash

Also note from our pictorial representation of scales that the next size range that is smaller than the nano-scale is the pico-scale. Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

The pico-scale is the size range of the basic “legos” used to build everything else – individual atomsatoms The Periodic Table of the Elements Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

What’s After Nanotechnology – Is there a Picotechnology? No, nothing to build at the pico-scale. The elements of the universe are fixed in number (and nicely listed in the periodic table) Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

Nano-Scale Lots to build at the nano-scale. Atoms and molecules are the “legos” in the building. The creating and using of ‘things’ at the nano-scale, for the benefit of mankind, is nanotechnology. Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

“Nanotechnology is the builder’s final frontier.” Richard Smalley 1996 Nobel Laurate in Chemistry, Rice University Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science & Technology Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

Nanotechnology has actually been practiced by humans for over 2000 years. Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

We now know that a cup made by the Romans 1700 years ago used nanotechnology! (We just found out because we just learned how to see the nanoparticles they used). Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

Paul Mulvaney, Not all That’s Gold Does Glitter, MRS Bulletin, December 2001, pp The Lycurgus Cup is made from glass containing gold and silver nanoparticles. The cup is seen in: (a) transmitted lighttransmitted light and (b) reflected lightreflected light Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

We now know that the beautiful stained-glass windows made 1600 years ago by the ancient Irish also used nanotechnology. (We just found out because we just learned how to see the nano-particles they used). Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

The south window in the transept at Canterbury Cathedral.

We now know that beautiful plates made by the Renaissance Italians 500 years ago also used nanotechnology. (We just found out because we just learned how to see the nanoparticles they used also). Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

Reprinted with permission from Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 93, Issue 12, Pages 10058, 2003, American Institute of Physics. 16 th century Renaissance pottery Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

If nanotechnology has been practiced by humans for almost 2000 years, why is it taking off now? Why is it so “big” now? Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

Because we have learned what’s going on- We can now controllably and repeatedly make things in the nano-size range. And finally we can now see what we have made. Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

For example, today’s transistors are nano- scale structures. In fact, the advanced transistors in production in 2008 are 45 nm in length!transistors Today more nano-scale transistors are made in a year than there are grains of rice grown in a year—now that’s control and repeatability! We have really learned how to build at the nano-scale! We can controllably and repeatedly make things in the nano-scale range Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

We can now see what we have made! We can even routinely see atoms now! Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

The next view graph shows 48 atoms that have been dragged across a surface (itself, of course, made of atoms) and arranged into a circle (a corral). This arrangement has been given the name “Quantum Corral”. If you look closely, you can see the individual atoms of the corral, all of which are sitting on the underlying surface. If you look very closely, you also can see the atoms that make up that underlying surface. The dragging of the atoms and the imaging is done using a scanning tunneling microscope.scanning tunneling microscope Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

Quantum Corral IBM Research Division M.F. Crommie, C.P. Lutz, D.M. Eigler. Confinement of electrons to quantum corrals on a metal surface. Science 262, (1993). Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

Because of the advances that have very recently been achieved in what we can make and what we can see, nanotechnology is now manufacturable. That is, nanotechnology can now produce things in huge numbers and economically--not just a few cups, windows, and plates for the very rich, as before.manufacturable Because nanotechnology is now manufacturable, it can make products that will affect every man, woman, and child on the planet…medicine, electronics, sports, etc. etc. etc.! Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University

This module, produced by the Center for Nanotechnology Education and Utilization at The Pennsylvania State University, is one of a series developed to introduce nanotechnology and its applications to a broad audience. Each module, its component viewgraphs, and the companion glossary are copyrighted 2009 by The Pennsylvania State University. All rights reserved. Copyright April 2009 The Pennsylvania State University