Introduction to Nanotechnology

March 10, 2007

bnl

manchester
 Introduction to Nanotechnology
March 10, 2007

Some things we will discuss:

• How big are nanostructures
Scaling down to the nanoscale
• How are nanostructures made?
Fabrication, synthesis, manufacturing
• How do we see them?
Imaging and property characterization
• Why do we care?
Applications to science, technology and society
 Why do we want to make
things small?
• To make products smaller, cheaper, faster and better
by "scaling" them down. (Electronics, catalysts, water
purification, solar cells, coatings, life-science, etc)

• To introduce new physical phenomena for science and

technology. (Quantum behavior and other effects.)
 Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the understanding
and control of matter at dimensions of
roughly 1 to 100 nanometers, where
unique phenomena enable novel
applications.

1 nanometer = 1 x 10-9 m

nano.gov
 How small are
nanostructures?
Single Hair

Width = 0.1 mm

= 100 micrometers
= 100,000 nanometers !

1 nanometer = one billionth (10-9 ) meter

 Smaller still
DNA
6,000 nanometers
Hair

.
Red blood cell

3 nanometers
An Early Nanotechnologist?
Excerpt from Letter of Benjamin Franklin to William Brownrigg (Nov. 7, 1773)
...At length being at Clapham, where there is, on the Common, a large
Pond ... I fetched out a Cruet of Oil, and dropt a little of it on the Water. I
saw it spread itself with surprising Swiftness upon the Surface ... the Oil
tho' not more than a Tea Spoonful ... which spread amazingly, and
extended itself gradually till it reached the Lee Side, making all that
Quarter of the Pond, perhaps half an Acre, as smooth as a Looking
Glass....
... the Oil tho' not more than a Tea Spoonful ...
... perhaps half an Acre

CHALLENGE: How thick was the film of oil?

Volume = (Area)(Thickness)
V=At

It can be determined that the

thickness is around 1 nanometer

—> ACTIVITY with Oleic Acid

A monolayer film (single layer of molecules)
Langmuir film

~1 nm thick

An Early Nanotechnologist!
Langmuir hydrophobic end

Film
e.g., steric acid
pressure

of an amphiphilic monolayer film

molecule water

hydrophilic end

QuickTimeª and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Langmuir-Blodgett Film
Must control movable
barrier to keep constant
pressure

multiple dips -
multiple layers
 "Optical Lever"

laser pointer

To determine amplification factor,

use the concept of similar triangles
 "Optical Lever"

x2

x1
y1
y2
y 2 y1
= x2
x 2 x1 y 2 = y1
x1
For example, if the laser pointer is 2" long, and the wall
is 17' (204") away,
204
y2 = y1 » 100y1 Motion amplified
2 by 100 times!
"Optical Lever" for Profilometry

laser

cantilever
.
"Optical Lever" for Profilometry

Long light path and a

laser short cantilever gives
large amplification

cantilever
.
 Scanning probe microscope
Laser Beam

Vibrating Cantilever

AFM image

Surface

PS/PEO

(large χ )
µm
AFM, STM, MFM, others
 AFM Cantilever Chip AFM Instrument Head

Quicktime

Laser Beam Path Cantilever Deflection

More on Nanotechnology
From DOE
A Few Nanostructures Made at UMass
100 nm dots 70 nm nanowires 200 nm rings 150 nm holes

18 nm pores 12 nm pores 14 nm dots

14 nm nanowires 13 nm rings 25 nm honeycomb

 "Nano"
• Nanoscale - at the 1-100 nm scale, roughly
• Nanostructure - an object that has nanoscale
features
• Nanoscience - the behavior and properties of
nanostructures
• Nanotechnology - the techniques for making and
characterizing nanostructures and putting them to
use
• Nanomanufacturing - methods for producing
nanostructures in reliable and commercially viable
ways
 Nanotechnology R&D is
interdisciplinary and impacts many industries
Physics
• • Electronics
• Chemistry
• Biology • Materials
• Materials Science • Health/Biotech
Polymer Science
•
Electrical Engineering
• Chemical
•
• Chemical Engineering • Environmental
• Mechanical Engineering • Energy
• Medicine
And others
• Aerospace
•
• Automotive
• Security
• Forest products
• And others
 Making Small Smaller
An Example: Electronics-Microprocessors

ibm.com
 Electronics Keeps On Getting Better
Moore's "Law": Number of Transistors per Microprocessor Chip

intel.com
Since the 1980's electronics has been a leading
commercial driver for nanotechnology R&D, but
other areas (materials, biotech, energy, etc) are
of significant and growing importance.

Some have been around for a very long time:

• Stained glass windows (Venice, Italy) - gold
nanoparticles
• Photographic film - silver nanoparticles
• Tires - carbon black nanoparticles
• Catalytic converters - nanoscale coatings of
platinum and palladium
 nano.gov

QuickTimeª and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

"Biggest science
initiative since the
Apollo program"
National Nanotechnology Initiative
Program Component Areas (2007 Federal Budget)
1.Fundamental Nanoscale Phenomena and Processes
2.Nanomaterials
3.Nanoscale Devices and Systems
4.Instrumentation Research, Metrology and Standards for
Nanotechnology
5.Nanomanufacturing
6.Major Research Facilities and Instrumentation Acquisition
7.Societal Dimensions
 Making Nanostructures:
Nanofabrication
• Top down versus bottom up methods

•Lithography •Chemical
•Deposition •Self-Assembly
•Etching
•Machining
 Lithography

Mark
Mark
Tuominen
Tuominen

(Using a stencil or mask)

Making a microscopic mask
Example: Electron-Beam Lithography

Electron Beam

Polymer film

Silicon crystal

Nanoscopic Mask !
 Lithography

Patterned
IBM Several
Copper Times
Wiring
On a
Computer
Chip
 NANOFABRICATION BY SELF ASSEMBLY 
One Example: Diblock Copolymers

Block “A” Block “B”

PMMA PS

~10 nm
Scale set by molecular size
Ordered Phases

10% A 30% A 50% A 70% A 90% A

CORE CONCEPT 
FOR NANOFABRICATION Deposition
Template
(physical or
electrochemical)

Etching
Mask

Remove polymer
block within cylinders
(expose and develop)
Nanoporous
Membrane

Versatile, self-assembling, nanoscale lithographic system

DEVELOPMENT OF NANOFABRICATION
TECHNIQUES FOR PLASMONIC ARRAYS 
template dots

cylinders rings holes

How do we see nanostructures?

• A light microscope? Helpful, but

cannot resolve below 1000 nm

• An electron microscope? Has a long

history of usefulness at the nanoscale

• A scanning probe microscope? A

newer tool that has advanced imaging
prelim.

Television Set
TV screen

eye

electron beam

electron
Light !
source
Scanning Electron Microscope

Electron
Beam

DETECTOR
SAMPLE
 Scanning probe microscope
Laser Beam

Vibrating Cantilever

AFM image

Surface

PS/PEO

(large χ )
µm
AFM, STM, MFM, others
STM
Image of Nickel Atoms
 Pushing Atoms Around

STM