Nanoscale Science and Technology: Building a Big Future from Small Things
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Nanoscale Science and Technology: Building a Big Future from Small Things Charles M. Lieber Abstract The following article is an edited transcript based on the MRS Medalist presentation given by Charles M. Lieber of Harvard University on December 4, 2002, at the Materials Research Society Fall Meeting in Boston. Lieber received the Medal “for controlled synthesis of nanowire and nanotube materials.” This presentation begins with an introduction to the bottom-up paradigm of nanoscience and nanotechnology. The key concepts of this paradigm are explored through studies outlining progress toward meeting the challenge of nanocomputing through the assembly of functional nanowire elements. The richness of the bottom-up paradigm and nanowire building blocks is then illustrated with the development of chemical and biological nanosensors. Finally, the uniqueness of nanowires is exemplified through discussion of the assembly of nanophotonic devices, including the demonstration of multicolor and addressable nanoscale light-emitting diodes, nanowire injection lasers, and assembled arrays of these nanophotonic sources. Challenges and goals for realizing nanotechnologies in the future are discussed in the conclusion. Keywords: assembly, nanoelectronics, nanotechnology, nanowires, photonics, sensors.
Introduction “Nano” is a nearly ubiquitous prefix used today in science and technology; moreover, it is becoming widely recognized by the general public. But what is the science that will build nanotechnologies and that may make nanotechnology a unique field of endeavor that revolutionizes many areas in the future? I focus in this presentation on what I see as unique to this field of science and engineering and where nanoscale science and technology may lead us in the future. Central to my vision for nanotechnology is the idea that by developing and following a common intellectual path—the bottom-up paradigm of nanoscale science and technology (Figure 1)1–10 —it will be possible in the future to build (or more correctly, assemble) virtually any kind of device
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or functional system, ranging from ultrasensitive medical sensors to nanocomputers. Underpinning this bottom-up paradigm is the controlled growth of nanoscale materials—the building blocks of the bottom-up approach—pursued within the disciplines of materials science and chemistry. Specifically, our goal is to control with atomic precision the morphology (e.g., nanoscale clusters versus wires), structure, composition, and size of nanoscale materials, since these will define and enable our control over the physical properties of the resulting materials. Next, understanding the physics of new nanoscale materials emerging from synthetic efforts is an important and fundamental part of the bottom-up paradigm, since such studies define properties that
may ultimately be exploited for nanotechnologies. Moreover, an intimate integration and interplay between materials growth and fundamental characterization enable us not only to expand our basic understanding, but also to make rati
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