STM triggers nanoscale self-assembly

from the those-clever-Canadians dept.
Senior Associate GinaMiller points out a report from the NRC on their breakthrough work using a scanning probe to stimulate the automatic self-assembly of organic molecules into lines on a chip surface: While much work remains to be done, they are optimistic about the prospects of nanotechnology…"The appeal of the technique is that we've limited the need for arduous atom-by-atom crafting of structures with an STM, and unleashed a spontaneous process to automatically drive nanostructure growth…" See their animation.