Donate
Donate

Gaming the Future: The Book!

Category: Nanoscale Bulk Technologies

Tomalia pioneers dendrimers for nanotechnology

HLovy writes about the promise of dendrimers for near-term medical nanotechnology "Don Tomalia had his eureka moment back in 1979, when the Dow chemist first figured out how to make a synthetic molecule grow some scary-looking tendrils — actually, dendrites. … If I were a Hollywood casting director, I'd pick the dendrimer shape (not the neatly uniform buckyball) for my evil molecule. In reality, though, the dendrimer is far from evil. It might hold a key to fighting HIV or — and I think this is especially cool — can be set to self-destruct at the right moment for use as a targeted drug-delivery device. The full commentary can be found on The Tale of Tomalia"

Tutorial On QCA An Emerging Nanotechnology

Konrad Walus writes "For new readers we provide a basic tutorial on one of the several emerging nanotechnologies (as identified by the ITRS) called quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA). There is growing interest in this concept because of its simplicity and ability to design complex circuits even though the technology is not fully developed. There is even a free open-source design and simulation tool called QCADesigner for people wishing to give QCA design a try."

The Arrival of Nanotech Memories

Roland Piquepaille writes "After the ages of DRAM and SRAM memories, is this time for nanotech memories? ExtremeTech says that "molecular memories" as well as memories based on carbon nanotubes are emerging. With these nanotech memories, several startup companies are envisioning future chips mixing logic, memory and reconfigurable computing elements. One of these promising startups is ZettaCore, which was mentioned several times here more for its investors than for its technology. The company has built a prototype of a molecular memory designed to replace both SRAM and DRAM kinds of memories. These molecules, which are about 1 nanometer in size, are also self-assembling, meaning that they can be manufactured with existing equipment used in the semiconductor industry. This overview contains more details about the technology and includes a diagram of these molecules in a memory array."

Controlling the Architecture of Nanocrystals

Roland Piquepaille writes "Until now, the fabrication of nanocrystals implied to inject various chemicals into heated solutions. As the solution concentration changed during the reaction, the process was hard to control and the results were somewhat unexpected. But now, researchers at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) have found an easy way to control the architecture of nanocrystals. They simply use electricity to control the nanocrystals shapes in a reproducible way. This opens the door to new applications such as using ferromagnetic nanocrystals as components in ultra high-density storage media. More details and references are available in this overview. It also includes illustrations of different shapes of nanocrystals obtained by applying different voltages."

Long nanotubes fabricated

WillWare writes "Nature reports that Alan Windle and colleagues at the University of Cambridge, UK, have created unusually long nanotubes. "The team mix ethanol ó the carbon source ó with a catalyst called ferrocene and another chemical called thiophene that helps the threads to assemble. The mixture is squirted into a hot furnace in a jet of hydrogen gas. Nanotubes form as a tangled mass, rather like candyfloss, and are then wound onto a spindle to form strands… So far, the fibres aren't outstandingly strong ó they're no better than typical textile fibres. But Windle thinks that there's still plenty of scope for improving the process to make stronger fibres, for example by finding ways to make the nanotubes line up better. In Kevlar it's the good alignment of molecules that generates the high strength.""

Zyvex Making Heat Sink Compound for Intel?

JohnFaith writes "This story at EETimes describes commercialization and research efforts at Zyvex and a few other companies. Intel is researching using Zyvex's carbon nanotube compounds for dissipating heat."

Growing Silicon Nanowires Where You Want Them

Roland Piquepaille writes "Researchers from the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) have found a way to grow silicon nanowires exactly where you need them. According to this news release, this will have an important impact on semiconductor research and might lead to faster computer chips. How does this new approach work? It's surprisingly easy. Raj Solanki and his team used a technique developed decades ago by Bell Labs called vapor-liquid-solid deposition. "The addition of the electrical fields is what's new," said Solanki. He hopes this discovery will lead to gigascale integration (a billion transistors on a chip). This overview gives you more details. It also includes a photo of such silicon nanowires."

Three New Nanotechnology Discoveries

Roland Piquepaille writes "The nanotechnology research field is pretty fertile these days. Researchers at Harvard recently showed a nanowire which could be the next big diagnostic tool for doctors. Meanwhile, University of Southern California scientists have developed a 'nanosensor' that only works when noise is added. And another Harvard team has developed nanoscale fibers that are thinner than the wavelengths of light they carry which may have applications in ever-shrinking medical products and tiny photonics equipment such as nanoscale laser systems, tools for communications and sensors. This news roundup contains more details and references about these projects. You'll also find a stunning picture of a silica nanowire wrapping a beam of light around a strand of human hair."

Faster Memories Based on Self-Assembled Nanorings?

Roland Piquepaille writes "There is not a single day without some breakthrough in nanotechnology. This one comes from Purdue University and says that faster computer memories and higher density data storage could come from affordable self-assembled 'nanorings' made from cobalt. "The cobalt nanoparticles link up when they are brought close together. Normally you might expect these to form chains, but under the right conditions, the particles will assemble into rings instead," said Purdue chemist Alexander Wei. He also thinks this is a promising development towards nonvolatile memories, even if it not for tomorrow. This overview contains more details and references."

SF Chronicle interview: Jurvetson, Eigler, Alivisatos

stan_h writes "ON THE RECORD: NANOTECHNOLOGY "Unlocking the smallest secrets" SF Chronicle, Sunday, February 1, 2004" The Chronicle invited Venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson, IBM scientist Don Eigler, and UC Berkeley chemistry Professor Paul Alivisatos "to join in a freewheeling discussion and give readers an insider's view of nanotechnology's potential and possible pitfalls."

Facebook Twitter Youtube Linkedin Podcast Spotify
0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyReturn to Shop
    Continue Shopping

      Search Foresight Institute