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YEAR END REVIEW: A Look Back, a Look Ahead.

Article Excerpt
Nanoscale and nanotechnology refer to work on small-size systems approaching the molecular level. The word nanotechnology has become very popular and is used to describe many types of research where the characteristic dimensions are less than approximately 1,000 nanometers (or < 1 micrometer). For example, continued improvements in lithography have resulted in line widths that are less than 1 micron: this work is often called nanotechnology. Sub-micron lithography is clearly very valuable (modern computers have chips with sub-micron lithography), but it is equally clear that conventional lithography will not let us build semiconductor devices in which individual dopant atoms are located at specific lattice sites.

To inexpensively build computer systems with mole quantities of logic elements that are molecular in both size and precision and are interconnected in complex and highly idiosyncratic patterns, nanotechnology will be the enabling technology. Just as fabrication tools go to nanometer scales, it is clear that so too should the technologies used for non-destructively measuring and testing such nanoscale components. Here, we highlight a couple of new breaking developments that are sure to be big stimuli for the field of nanotechnology.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has designated a 13-member national consortium as the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN), creating the worlds largest and most accessible nanoscale laboratory. The consortium will enable university students and researchers, as well as scientists from corporate and government laboratories, to have open access to resources they need for studying molecular and...

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