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AFM - atomic force microscopy/microscope
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Anions - Anion consists of one or more atoms and carries a unit charge of electricity. Those that are negative ions (hydroxyl and acidic atoms or groups) are called anions (cf. cation).
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Assembler - A general-purpose device for molecular manufacturing, capable of guiding chemical reactions by positioning molecules.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Atom - smallest unit of a chemical element, about a third of a nanometre in diameter. Atoms make up molecules and solid objects.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Atomic force microscopy /microscope (AFM) - Atomic force microscopy is a technique for analysing the surface of a rigid material all the way down to the level of the atom. The atomic force microscope was invented in 1986 uses a mechanical probe to magnify surface features up to 100 000 000 times, and produces 3D images of the surface. AFM uses various forces that occur when two objects are brought within nanometres of each other. An AFM can work either when the probe is in contact with a surface, causing a repulsive force, or when it is a few nanometres away, where the force is attractive. AFM is being used to understand materials problems in many areas, including data storage, telecommunications, biomedicine, chemistry, and aerospace. AFM is derived from a related technology, called scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). The difference is that AFM does not require the sample to conduct electricity, whereas STM does. AFM also works in regular room temperatures, while STM requires special temperature and other conditions.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Accessibility - A characteristic of technology that enables people with disabilities to use it. For example, accessible Websites can be navigated by people with visual, hearing, motor, or cognitive impairments. Accessible design also benefits people with older or slower software and hardware.
Source: (Learning Circuits) |
ADL (Advanced Distributed Learning) - Initiative by the U.S. Department of Defense to achieve interoperability across computer and Internet-based learning courseware through the development of a common technical framework, which contains content in the form of reusable learning objects. See also SCORM and the ADL Website.
Source: (Learning Circuits) |
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) - A type of DSL that uses the majority of the bandwidth to transmit information to the user and a small part of the bandwidth to receive information from the user.
Source: (Learning Circuits) |
AICC (Aviation Industry Computer-Based Training Committee) - An international association of technology-based training professionals that develops training guidelines for the aviation industry. AICC has and is developing standards for interoperability of computer-based and computer-managed training products across multiple industries. See the AICC Website.
Source: (Learning Circuits) |
Amplitude - The amount of variety in a signal. Commonly thought of as the height of a wave.
Source: (Learning Circuits) |
Analog - A signal that's received in the same form in which it is transmitted, although the amplitude and frequency may vary.
Source: (Learning Circuits) |
AoD (audio on demand) - See CoD.
Source: (Learning Circuits) |
Assessment - The process used to systematically evaluate a learner s skill or knowledge level.
Source: (Learning Circuits) |
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Bar - A unit of pressure equal to one million (106) dynes, equivalent to 10 newtons, per square centimetre. This is approximately the pressure exerted by Earth's atmosphere at sea level.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
BioMEMS - Miniaturization engineering or MEMS applied to biotechnology or medicine. In BioMEMS the number of materials involved is much larger than in a comparable electronics application. Both instruments and sensors are used in BioMEMS. Applications include: forensic science (e.g. DNA); clinical diagnostics (e.g. glucose in blood); product development (e.g. new drug); and quality control (e.g. pH of swimming pools).
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Biomimetics - The concept of taking ideas from nature, operating on the nanoscale, and implementing them in a technology such as engineering, design, computing or other areas.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Bottom-up - Building organic and inorganic structures atom-by-atom, or molecule-by-molecule. Cf. topdown.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Brownian assembly - Brownian motion in a fluid brings molecules together in various position and orientations. If molecules have suitable complementary surfaces, they can bind, assembling to form a specific structure. Brownian assembly is a less paradoxical name for self-assembly.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Brownian motion - Motion of a particle in a fluid owing to thermal agitation.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Buckminsterfullerene - A sphere of sixty carbon atoms, also called a buckyball. Named after the architect Buckminster Fuller, who is famous for the geodesic dome that buckyballs resemble.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
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CAIBE - Chemically assisted ion beam etching.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Carbon black - Carbon black is a powdered form of elemental carbon. The primary use of carbon black is in rubber products, mainly tyres and other automotive products, but also in many other rubber products such as hoses, gaskets and coated fabrics. Much smaller amounts of carbon black are used in inks and paints, plastics and in the manufacture of dry-cell batteries.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Carbon nanotubes (CNT) - Two types of nanotube exist: the single-walled carbon nanotubes, so called ‘buckytubes’, and multilayer carbon nanotubes. Both consist of graphite carbon and typically have an internal diameter of 5nm and an external diameter of 10nm. Many applications are envisaged: space and aircraft manufacture, automobiles, and construction. Multilayer carbon nanotubes are in commercial use. Buckytubes are some way off commercial production.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
CARs - Chemically amplified resists.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Catalyst - A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction by reducing the activation energy, but which is left unchanged by the reaction. A catalyst works by providing a convenient surface for the reaction to occur. The reacting particles gather on the catalyst surface and either collide more frequently with each other or more of the collisions result in a reaction between particles because the catalyst can lower the activation energy for the reaction.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Catenane - The latest molecular switches are created using unique molecules, called catenanes, which consist of two tiny mechanically interlocked rings, each ring composed of atoms linked in a circle. Catenanes are an improvement over rotaxane molecules. Rotaxanes are in a solution state and are much more incoherent.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Cations - An ion consists of one or more atoms and carries a unit charge of electricity. Those that are positively electrified (hydrogen and the metals) are called cations (cf. anion).
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Cell - A small structural unit, surrounded by a membrane, making up living things.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Chemical vapour deposition (CVD) - A technique used to deposit coatings, where chemicals are first vaporized, and then applied using an inert carrier gas such as nitrogen.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Chromatography - The physical method of separation in which the components to be separated are distributed between two phases, one of which is stationary while the other moves in a definite direction. Chromatography is a widely used for the separation, identification, and determination of the chemical components in complex mixtures.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Complementary metaloxide semiconductor (CMOS) - The semiconductor technology used in the transistors that are manufactured into most of today's computer microchips.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Composites - Combinations of metals, ceramics, polymers, and biological materials that allow multifunctional behaviour. One common practice is reinforcing polymers or ceramics with ceramic fibres to increase strength while retaining light weight and avoiding the brittleness of the monolithic ceramic. Materials used in the body often combine biological and structural
functions (e.g., the encapsulation of drugs).
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Correlated electrons - The state of matter where many electrons are strongly interacting with each other, forming the liquid-, solid-, and liquid-crystal-like state of electrons. Those electronic phases can be switched by external stimuli, which cause drastic changes in magnetic, electrical, and optical properties. Such a phase switching can be as fast as one picosecond or less.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
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Dendrimer - A dendrimer is an artificially manufactured or synthesized large molecule comprised of many smaller ones linked together - built up from branched units called monomers. Technically, dendrimers are a unique class of a polymer, about the size of an average protein, with a compact, tree-like molecular structure, which provides a high degree of surface functionality and versatility. The shape of dendrimers give them vast amounts of surface area, making them useful building blocks and carrier molecules at the nanoscale and they come in a variety of forms, with different physical (including optical, electrical and chemical) properties. For example, dendrimers can act as biologically active carrier molecules in drug delivery to which can be attached therapeutic agents and as scavengers of metal ions, offering the potential for environmental clean-up operations because their size allows them to be filtered out with ultrafiltration techniques.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Diode - A diode is a specialized electronic component with two electrodes called the anode and the cathode. Most diodes are made with semiconductor materials such as silicon, germanium, or selenium. Diodes can be used as rectifiers, signal limiters, voltage regulators, switches,signal modulators, signal mixers, signal demodulators, and oscillators.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Dip pen nanolithography - A direct-write soft lithography technique that is used to create nanostructures on a substrate of interest by delivering collections of molecules via capillary transport from an AFM tip to a surface.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
DNA - DeoxyriboNucleic Acid. DNA is a code used within cells to form proteins.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
DNA chip - A purpose built microchip used to identify mutations or alterations in a gene's DNA.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
DRAM - Dynamic random access memory.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Dry nanotechnology - Derives from surface science and physical chemistry, focuses on fabrication of structures in carbon silicon, and other inorganic materials. Unlike the ‘wet’ technology, ‘dry’ techniques admit use of metals and semiconductors. The active conduction electrons of these materials make them too reactive to operate in a ‘wet’ environment, but these same electrons provide the physical properties that make ‘dry’ nanostructures promising as electronic, magnetic, and optical devices. Another objective is to develop ‘dry’ structures that possess some of the same attributes of the self-assembly that the wet ones exhibit.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
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Elastomeric stamp or mould - Key element in soft lithography usually made from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), having patterned relief structures on its surface.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Elastomers - Cross-linked high-polymer materials with elastic behaviour.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Electronic nose - Nanotechnology used to detect odours. The task of a sensor of an electronic nose is, like that of a sensory neuron in the olfactory epithelium, to convert the contact of an odorous molecule into a detectable signal.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Electrospinning - Electrospinning uses an electrical charge to form a mat of fine (nano)fibres. Electrospinning shares characteristics of both the commercial electrospray technique and the commercial spinning of fibers.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Electro scanning miroscope (ESM) - Used for the study of surface morphology and the determination of the thickness of MBE
grown films.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Embossing - Creation of a 3D design or image on paper or other material.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Enzymes - Molecular machines found in nature made of protein, which can catalyse (speed up) chemical reactions.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Epitaxy - Epitaxy or epitaxial growth is the process of depositing a thin layer (0.5 to 20 microns) of ingle crystal material over a single crystal substrate, usually through chemical vapour eposition (CVD).
Source: (Nanoposts) |
ESM - Electro scanning microscope.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Extracellular matrix (ECM) - A complex structural entity surrounding and supporting cells that are found within mammalian tissues. The ECM is often referred to as the connective tissue. The ECM is composed of three major classes of biomolecules: structural proteins (collagen and elastin) specialized proteins (e.g. fibrillin, fibronectin, and laminin); and proteoglycans: (composed of a protein core to which is attached long chains of repeating disaccharide units termed of
glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) forming extremely complex high molecular weight components
of the ECM).
Source: (Nanoposts) |
“Extreme” nanotechnology - Builds structures from the ‘bottom up’. It encompasses atomic and molecular manipulation and self-assembly, including single electron devices using electron tunnel junctions and quantum computing and cryptography.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
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FCVA - Filtered cathodic vacuum arc.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Ferrofluids - Also known as magnetic liquids, they are re stable colloidal suspensions of single domain particles of ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic materials. They have existed for more than sixty years but the concentrated fluids that are used today first appeared in 1965. Ferrofluids
consist of very small magnetic particles held in suspension in a carrier liquid by a surface
active layer. The carrier liquid is selected to meet the particular application and can be a
hydrocarbon, ester, perfluoropolyether, water, etc.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
FIB - Focussed ion beam.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Fullerene - A fullerene is a pure carbon molecule composed of at least 60 atoms of carbon. They are cage-like structures of carbon atoms; the most abundant form produced is Buckminsterfullerene (C60), with sixty carbon atoms arranged in a spherical structure. Because a fullerene takes a shape similar to a soccer ball or a geodesic dome, it is sometimes referred to as a buckyball after the inventor of the geodesic dome, Buckminster Fuller, for whom the fullerene is more formally named.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Functional nanotechnology - Applications in which nanostructures are used to produce improved optical, electronic or magnetic properties. Includes nanoelectronics based on quantum effects.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
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Gbps - Billions of bits per second. A measure of bandwidth on a digital data transmission medium such as optical fibre.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Genomics - The study of the full complement of genes that make up an organism.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
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HRTEM - High resolution transmission electron microscopy.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
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Ion - An atom or group of atoms in which the number of electrons is different from the number of protons. If the number of electrons is less than the number of protons, the particle is apositive ion, also called a cation. If the number of electrons is greater than the number of
protons, the particle is a negative ion, also called an anion.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
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Langmuir-Blodgett - The name of a nanofabrication technique used to create ultrathin films (monolayers and isolated molecular layers), the end result of which is called a Langmuir-Blodgett film.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Liquid crystal display (LCD) - Technology used for displays in notebook and other smaller computers. LCDs allow displays to be much thinner than cathode ray tube technology. LCDs consume much less power because they work on the principle of blocking light rather than emitting it.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Light emitting diode (LED) - A semiconductor device that emits visible light when an electric current passes through it. The light is not particularly bright, but in most LEDs it is monochromatic, occurring at a single wavelength. The output from an LED can range from red (at a wavelength of ~700nm) to blue-violet (~400nm).
Source: (Nanoposts) |
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Micro - The prefix meaning one-millionth.
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Magnetorheological fluids - Magnetorheological fluids are stable suspensions of magnetically polarisable micron sized particles suspended in a low volatility carrier fluid, usually a synthetic hydrocarbon.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Magnetron sputtering - Magnetron sputtering involves the creation of a plasma by the application of a large DC potential between two parallel plates. A static magnetic field is applied near a sputtering target and confines the plasma to the vicinity of the target. Ions from the high-density plasma sputter material, predominantly in the form of neutral atoms, from the target onto a substrate.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
MBE - Molecular beam epitaxy.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
MEMS - MicroElectroMechanical Systems.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Mesoporous - A mesoporous material is a material containing pores with diameters between 2 and 50 nm. They have huge surface areas, providing a vast number of sites where sorption processes can occur. These materials have numerous applications in catalysis, separation and many other fields.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) - Technology used to integrate various electro-mechanical functions onto integrated circuits. A typical MEMS device combines a sensor and logic to perform a monitoring function. Examples include sensing devices used to control the deployment of airbags in cars and switching devices used in optical telecommunications cables.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Microfluidics - Liquid streams used to separate, control, or analyze at the nanoscale.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) - Process used to make compound (multi-layer) semiconductors. Consists of depositing alternating layers of materials, layer by layer, one type after another (such as the semiconductors gallium arsenide and aluminium gallium arsenide).
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Molecular computing - Molecular computing could replace silicon-based computing by the end of the decade.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Molecular electronics - Any system with atomically precise electronic devices of nanometre dimensions, especially if made of discrete molecular parts rather than the continuous materials found in today's semiconductor devices.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Molecular (including bio-molecular) nanotechnology - Molecular sensing and molecular recognition. Much of the research is at the interface between the life and physical sciences. This includes: lab-on-a-chip and smart sensors for medical and environmental monitoring and diagnosis; tissue repair; targeted drug delivery. At the single cell level: gene therapy and screening; drug testing; design of nanomachines; replacement structures.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Molecular machines - Molecular machines are proteins that convert (electro)chemical energy generated across a membrane into external mechanical work. They are responsible for a wide variety of functions from muscle contraction to cell locomotion, copying and processing DNA, movement of chromosomes, cellular division, movement of neurotransmitter-containing vesicles, and production of ATP etc.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Molecular motors - The mechanical properties of molecular motors can be thought of in terms of rectifying thermal ratchets and impedance matching lever systems (that couple enzyme-active sites to external loads). For many of the systems it is now possible to reconstitute their function using purified proteins and to observe and measure the forces and movements that they produce during a single chemical cycle. In other words, the mechanochemical processes at the level of a single molecule can be measured. Furthermore, ‘man-made’ molecular motors are being developed based either on hybrid constructions of existing biological motors (rotary and linear) or made from man-made materials but using molecular-motor design principles.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Molecular switch - A molecular switch is a logic gate, a necessary computing component in molecular computing used to represent the binary language of digital computing. Molecular switches would be many times cheaper than traditional solid-state devices, and would allow for continued miniaturization and increases in power that silicon-based components would never be able to reach.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Molecular wire - A quasi-one-dimensional molecule that can transport charge carriers (electrons or holes) between its ends.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Molecule - Group of atoms held together by chemical bonds, a molecule is the typical unit manipulated by nanotechnology.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Mesoporous - Mesoporous materials are porous materials with regularly arranged, uniform mesopores (2-50nm in diameter). Their large surface areas make them useful as adsorbents or catalysts.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Modelling - Aims to provide the quantitative understanding of physical systems and processes. It ranges from offering a framework of understanding to quantitative predictions based on state of the art calculations. At the nanoscale, modelling can analyse and predict properties of systems, processes and other phenomena in ways that complement experiment.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Moore's Law - The observation made in 1965 by Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, that the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits had doubled every year since the integrated circuit was invented. Moore predicted that this trend would continue for the foreseeable future.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
MWNT - Multi-walled nanotubes.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Marketing, Commercial - Commercial marketing, defined as the industry‘s search of a positive answer from the side of consumers and public, concerning quality and volumes of the own products and services, with the primary, although not exclusive goal: the own profit
Source: ((c) 1994, FUTUREtec, Bergisch Gladbach) |
Marketing, Self-sustaining - Self-sustaining marketing, defined as marketing the results of research with all financial benefits constantly reinvested in further research, to benefit society
Source: ((c) 1996 FUTUREtec, Bergisch Gladbach) |
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Nanotechnology - Nanotechnology comprises the emerging application of Nanoscience. Nanoscience is dealing with functional systems either based on the use of sub-units with specific size-dependent properties or of individual or combined functionalized sub-units.
Source: (Source: G. Schmid et al. "Nanotechnology. Assessment and Perspectives", Springer 2006) |
Nanomotor(R) - The Nanomotor(R) is the smallest and most precise linear motor worldwide.
It is a linear motor with a positioning stroke of up to some Centimeters at atomic resolution. This is a bridge over eight orders of magnitude. The small version of the Nanomotor is half the size of a match stick and can lift six times its own mass or make tip crashs even into a diamond. The Nanomotor can be combined to many kinds of positioners: From scanning tunneling microscopes with atomic resolution on a normal table over positioning tables and manipulators up to microassembly stages with different kind of grippers and glue dispensers.
Source: ((R) Klocke Nanotechnik, Aachen, Germany) |
Nanotube - Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are an allotrope of carbon. They take the form of cylindrical carbon molecules and have novel properties that make them potentially useful in a wide variety of applications in nanotechnology, electronics, optics and other fields of materials science. They exhibit extraordinary strength and unique electrical properties, and are efficient conductors of heat. Inorganic nanotubes have also been synthesized.
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Nano - A prefix meaning one billionth (1/1 000 000 000).
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Nanobiotechnology - Nanotechnology integrated into the biology realm, in particular into molecular biology and cell biology. At the interface between biotechnology and nanotechnology, nanobiotechnologists carry out research on the phenomena of self-assembly or self-organisation of biomolecules such as cell membranes or virus particles, in order to adapt these principles to the technical production of nanostructures.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Nanocomposites - Polymer/inorganic nanocomposites are composed of two or more physically distinct components (e.g. metals, ceramics, polymers and biological materials) with one or more average dimensions smaller than 100nm. From the structural point of view, the role of
inorganic filler, usually as particles or fibres, is to provide intrinsic strength and stiffness while the polymer matrix can adhere to and bind the inorganic component so that forces applied to the composite are transmitted evenly to the filler. The material’s properties, e.g. hardness, transparency, porosity are altered.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Nanocrystal - Molecular-sized solids formed with a repeating, 3D pattern of atoms or molecules with an equal distance between each part. Nanocrystals are aggregates of anywhere from a few hundred to tens of thousands of atoms that combine into a crystalline form of matter known as a ‘cluster’. Typically around 10nm in diameter, nanocrystals are larger than molecules but smaller than bulk solids and therefore frequently exhibit physical and chemical properties somewhere in-between. Nanocrystals are believed to have potential in optical electronics because of their ability to change the wavelength of light.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) - Devices and machines, an extension of present-day micro machines and micro actuators into the nano domain. Protein motors, capable of linear or rotary motion. DNA and active devices such as nanowires, switches, motors and tweezers.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Nanoelectronics - Electronics on a nanometre scale, whether made by current techniques or nanotechnology; includes both molecular electronics and nanoscale devices resembling today's semiconductor devices.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Nanofabrication - Using ‘top down’ techniques for the manufacture of materials with dimensions less than 100 nm, involving lithographic techniques beyond the optical domain using electron beam and Xray lithography. Advanced manufacturing processes and instrumentation for manipulation at the nanoscale, including scanning probe techniques, focused ion beam technology and nanomanipulators.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Nanofibres - Hollow and solid carbon fibres with lengths on the order of a few microns and widths varying from tens of nanometres to around 200nm.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Nanofiltration - Nanofiltration is a pressure-driven membrane process that can separate molecules in the 200-1000 Dalton range. It can be used either to allow valuable molecules to permeate through the membrane (retaining impurities or unwanted materials) or to retain valuable materials (product, catalyst, etc.) whilst allowing the other components of the fluid to permeate through the membrane.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Nanofluidics - Controlling nanoscale amounts of fluids.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Nanolithography - Nanolithography is the art and science of etching, writing, or printing at the microscopic level, where the dimensions of characters are on the order of nanometres. This includes various methods of modifying semiconductor chips at the atomic level for the purpose of fabricating integrated circuits (ICs). Instruments used in nanolithography include the scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) and the atomic force microscope (AFM). Both allow surface viewing in fine detail without necessarily modifying it. Either the STM or the AFM can be used to etch, write, or print on a surface in single-atom dimensions.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Nanometrology - Precise measurement below 100nm and development of measurement techniques.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Nanophotonics - Nanophotonics is the nano-engineering of light-matter interactions so that new phenomena of physics can be utilized to develop novel optoelectronics devices which can be well beyond the capability of the conventional photonics and electronics.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Nano-science - Nanoscience is concerned with obtaining an understanding of fundamental phenomena, properties and functions at the nano-scale, that are not scalable outside the nanometre domain.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Nanosheets - Nanosheets are obtained by delaminating a layered host material into its elementary sheets through soft-chemical procedures.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Nanostructured materials - Where grain and composite size is less than 100nm, offering potential for stronger, more wear and corrosion resistant materials. These include carbon nanotubes, biomaterials, thin films, anticorrosion coatings, colloids and nanopowders.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
NEMS - NanoElectroMechanical Systems.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Physical vapour deposition (PVD) - Along with CVD, a group of surface treatments applied on tools and machine elements. In the area of machining and tooling PVD coatings are widely used to increase the life and productivity of production tools and therefore reducing manufacturing costs.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Nanarchist - Someone who circumvents government control to use nanotechnology, or someone who advocates this. [Eli Brandt, October 1991]
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanarchy - The use of automatic law-enforcement by nanomachines or robots, without any human control - see blue goo [Mark S. Miller].
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanite - Machines with atomic-scale components. (Popularized by the Star Trek episode "Evolution") As to their weight, a popular question: "Do you 'feel' heavier after you drink a mouthful of water? A mouthful of water, roughly 5 cm^3, would have the same mass as a ~2 terabot (2 trillion nanites) dose of 1 micron^3 nanorobots. You'll never feel it." Robert A. Freitas Jr. "Nanobot" and "Nanorobot" usually mean the same thing.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanny - A cell-repair nanite
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanoarray - an ultra-sensitve, ultra-miniaturized array for biomolecular analysis. BioForce Nanosciences' Nanoarrays utilize approximately 1/10,000th of the surface area occupied by a conventional microarray, and over 1,500 nanoarray spots can be placed in the area occupied by a single microarray domain. [BioForce Nanosciences] See The NanoPro™ System
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanoassembler - the Holy Grail of nanotechnology; once a perfected nanoassembler is availble, building anything becomes possible, with physics and the imagination the only limitation (of course each item would have to be designed first, which is another small hurdle). See Bootstrapping a Nanofactory "So how hard is it to build a nanofactory? You need to start with a working fabricator, a nanoscale device that can combine individual molecules into useful shapes. But once you have that, the rest is pretty straightforward." —CRN
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanobalance - Simply put a nanoscale balance for determining mass, small enough to weigh viruses and other sub-micron scale particles. "A mass attached at the end of a nanotube shifts its resonance frequency. If the nanotube is calibrated (i.e., its spring constant known), it is possible to measure the mass of the attached particle." A nanobalance "could be useful for determining the mass of other objects on the femtogram to picogram size range." See Weighing The Very Small
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanobarcode - SurroMed's Nanobarcode™ technology uses cylindrically-shaped colloidal metal nanoparticles, in which the metal composition can be alternated along the length and the size of each metal segment can be controlled. Intrinsic differences in reflectivity between the metal segments allow individual particles to be identified by conventional optical microscopy. See SurroMed and Penn State Publish Pioneering Work in the Journal Science Describing Nanobarcode™ Particles
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanobeads - Polymer beads with diameters of between 0.1 to 10 micrometers. Also called nanodots, nanocrystals and quantum beads. Impregnating fluorescent crystal chips into these beads allows simultaneous measurement of thousands of biological interactions, a stepping stone for breakthroughs in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. ... with the potential to accelerate drug discovery and clinical diagnostics." See Nanodots and Local Mechanical Properties of Cells
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanobubbles - tiny air bubbles on colloid surfaces. Thought to reduce drag, such as would be of benefit to swimmers wearing a suit coverd in them. See First Images of Nanobubbles
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanocatalysis - See LBL-UCB Scientists Demonstrate Nanocatalysis and Nanocluster arrays refine the catalytic process
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanochips - we are approaching the limits of standard microchip technology; thus, the "nanochip" -- a next-smaller microchip. [ed] They are also a next-gen device for mass storage, of significantly higher density, with greater speed, and much lower cost. [Tod Maffin (p)] See Getting a Line on Nanochips
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanochondria - Nanomachines existing inside living cells, participating in their biochemistry (like mitochondria) and/or assembling various structures. See also nanosome. [Ken Clements 1996]
Source: (Nanotechnologly Now) |
Nanocomputer - A computer made from components (mechanical, electronic, or otherwise) built at the nanometer scale. These computers could be many orders-of-magnititude faster than today's, which enables software to take proportional leaps.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanocones - Nonplanar graphitic structures. Carbon-based structures with five-fold symmetry that form due to disclination defects in two-dimensional graphene sheets. They have been observed as nanotube caps and as freestanding structures. [North Carolina State University] See Nanostructures Fabrication from Carbon Nanocones
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanocontainers - "Micellar nanocontainers" or "Micelles," these are nanoscale polymeric containers that could be used to selectively deliver hydrophobic drugs to specific sites within individual cells. See Nanocontainers deliver on drugs.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nano Cubic Technology - an ultra-thin layer coating that results in higher resolution for recording digital data, ultra-low noise and high signal-to-noise ratios that are ideal for magneto-resistive (MR) heads. It is capable of catapulting data cartridge and digital videotape to one-terabyte native (uncompressed) capacities and floppy disk capacities to three gigabytes. To help visualize the potential, 1TB can store up to 200 two-hour movies. [Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc.]
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanodefenses - any of the "good" goo's, such a Blue Goo. Protectors against Grey Goo, destructive nanoswarms, and the like.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanodisaster - See the various 'goo' scenerios that have potentially negative outcomes.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanofacture - The fabrication of goods using nanotechnology [Geoff Dale 1995]. See Nanofabrication
Nanogate: A device that precisely meters the flow of tiny amounts of fluid. Precise control of the flow restriction is accomplished by deflecting a highly polished cantilevered plate. The opening is adjustable on a sub-nanometer scale, limited by the roughness of the polished plates. Thus, the Nanogate is an Ultra Surface Finish Effect Mechanism (USFEM). The Nanogate can be fabricated on a macro-, meso- or micro- (MEMs) scale. [James R. White]
See Nanogate: A Fundamental New Device for Nanofluidics
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanoguitar - "Made for fun to illustrate the technology -- the world's smallest guitar is 10 micrometers long -- about the size of a single cell -- with six strings each about 50 nanometers, or 100 atoms, wide. Just one of several structures that Cornell researchers believe are the world's smallest silicon mechanical devices. Researchers made these devices at the Cornell Nanofabrication Facility, bringing microelectromechanical devices, or MEMS, to a new, even smaller scale -- the nano-sized world." See World's smallest silicon mechanical devices are made at Cornell
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanogypsy - someone who travels form place to place, spreading the "nano" word. Usually a person who takes the most optimistic viewpoint, and is enthusitic. [uhf]
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanohacking - describes what MNT is all about -- "hacking" at the molecular level.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanohorns - One of the SWNT (single walled carbon nanotube) types, with an irregular horn-like shape, which may be a critical component of a new generation of fuel cells. "The main characteristic of the carbon nanohorns is that when many of the nanohorns group together an aggregate (a secondary particle) of about 100 nanometers is created. The advantage being, that when used as an electrode for a fuel cell, not only is the surface area extremely large, but also, it is easy for the gas and liquid to permeate to the inside. In addition, compared with normal nanotubes, because the nanohorns are easily prepared with high purity it is expected to become a low-cost raw material." See NEC uses Carbon Nanotubes to Develop a Tiny Fuel Cell for Mobile Applications and here is a TEM image.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanoimprinting - Sometimes called soft lithography. A technique that is very simple in concept, and totally analogous to traditional mould- or form-based printing technology, but that uses moulds (masters) with nanoscale features. As with the printing press, the potential for mass production is clear. There are two forms of nanoimprinting, one that uses pressure to make indentations in the form of the mould on a surface, the other, more akin to the printing press, that relies on the application of "ink" applied to the mould to stamp a pattern on a surface. Other techniques such as etching may then follow. [CMP]
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanoimprint Machine - a form of soft lithography
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanoindentation - Nanoindentation is similar to conventional hardness testing performed on a much smaller scale. The force required to press a sharp diamond indenter into a material is measured as a function of indentation depth. As depth resolution is on the scale of nanometers (hence the name of the instrument), it is possible to conduct indentation experiments even on thin films. Two quantities which can be readily extracted from nanoindentation experiments are the material's modulus, or stiffness, and its hardness, which can be correlated to yield strength. Investegators have also used nanoindentation to study creep, plastic flow, and fracture of materials. [Nix Research Group, Materials Science & Engineering, Stanford University]
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanomachine - An artificial molecular machine of the sort made by molecular manufacturing. [FS]
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanomachining - like traditional machining, where portions of the structure are removed or modified, nanomachining involves changing the structure of nano-scale materials or molecules.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
NanoManipulator - uses virtual reality (VR) goggles and a force feedback probe as an interface to a scanning probe microscope, providing researchers with a new way to interact with the atomic world. Researchers can travel over genes, tickle viruses, push bacteria around, and tap on molecules - the nanoManipulator simplifies the process and allows researchers to play with their atoms. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH)
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanomanufacturing - Same as molecular manufacturing.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanomaterials - can be subdivided into nanoparticles, nanofilms and nanocomposites. The focus of nanomaterials is a bottom up approach to structures and functional effects whereby the building blocks of materials are designed and assembled in controlled ways. [Oxonica]
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nano-Optics: - Interaction of light and matter on the nanoscale. See University of Rochester - Institute of Optics - NANO-OPTICS GROUP
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanopens & Nanopencils - (AKA: Atomic Pencil) "Analogous to using a quill pen but on a billionth the scale", and may transform dip-pen nanolithography. Allows for drawing electronic circuits a thousand times smaller than current ones. The "pen" is an atomic force microscope (AFM). See Nanopipettes and Nanoplotter for further details.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
NanoPGM - nanometer-scale patterned granular motion - The goal of NanoPGM is to generate millions of ìnanofingers,î finger-like structures each only a few nanometers long, that might someday perform precise, massively parallel manipulation of molecules and directed assembly of other nanometer-scale objects. This ability answers one of the biggest technical challenges facing builders of nanocomputers: how to arrange as many as a trillion molecular computing components in an area only a few millimeters square. [MITRE / Alex Wissner-Gross]
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanopharmaceuticals - nanoscale particles used to modulate drug transport for drug uptake and delivery applications.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanophase Carbon Materials - (carbon nanotubes, nanodiamond, nanocomposite]--A form of matter in which small clusters of atoms form the building blocks of a larger structure. These structures differ from those of naturally occurring crystals, in which individual atoms arrange themselves into a lattice.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanopipettes - "Cantilevered/Straight Nanopipettes can be used as nanopens for controlled chemical delivery or removal from regions as small as 100 nanometers. They can also be used as vessels for containing molecules whose optical properties change in response to their chemical environment." Other uses include "controlled chemical etching with the precision of atomic force microscopy; chemical imaging of surfaces; delivering femtosecond laser pulses; and performing NSOM/SNOM imaging using a UV excimer laser." See Cantilevered/Straight Nanopipettes Modifying the nanopipette yields other nanotools, such as Nanotweezers and Nanoheaters. See Nanotools.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanoplotter - A multi-tip nanopen. "A device that can draw patterns of tiny lines just 30 molecules thick and a single molecule high. ... produces eight identical patterns at once and extends ... dip-pen nanolithography towards mass producing nanoscale devices and circuits by converting what was a serial process to a parallel one. May be use to "... miniaturize electronic circuits, pattern precise arrays of organic and biomolecules such as DNA and put thousands of different medical sensors on an area much tinier than the head of a pin." See Plotting Chemicals and Nanoplotter with Parallel Writing Capabilities (PDF).
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanopores - Involves squeezing a DNA sequence between two oppositely charged fluid reservoirs, separated by an extremely small channel. Essentially itty bitty tiny holes. Nanoscopic pores found in purpose-built filters, sensors, or diffraction gratings to make them function better. See Influencing structure in the heart of nanoland. As activated carbon, they may also be used as an alternative fuel storage medium, due to their massive internal surface area. "Scientists believe nanopores, tiny holes that allow DNA to pass through one strand at a time, will make DNA sequencing more efficient." See Understanding Nanodevices -- Nanopores. In biology, they are "complex protein assemblies that span cell membranes and allow ionic transport across the otherwise impermeable lipid bilayer. Nanopores are important because while some pores help maintain cell homeostasis, others disrupt cell function." See Towards Fabrication of Solid-State Mimics of Biological Nanopores. "A nanopore can be a protein channel in a lipid bilayer or an extremely small isolated 'hole' in a thin, solid-state membrane" such that "DNA and RNA, can be registered and characterized singly ..." See Developing Nanopores as Probes and The Nanopore Project.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanoprobe - Nanoscale machines used to diagnose, image, report on, and treat disease within the body. See "Cell Repair Machine", "Nanites", "Nanobots", and "Nanomachine". Also: tips for scanning probe microscopes.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanoreplicators - A set of nanomachines capable of exponential replication. [ZY]
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanorods - or Carbon Nanorods. Formed from multi-wall carbon nanotubes. Another nanoscale material with unique and promising physical properties, such that may yield improvements in high-density data storage, and allow for cheaper flexible solar cells. See Three Element Nanorods and Flexible and Inexpensive Solar Cells Based on Inorganic Nanorods..
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanoropes - nanotubes connected and strung together.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanoscale - 1 - 100 nanometer range.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanoscopic Scale - same as nanoscale.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanosensors - nanoscale sensors.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanoshells - Nanoscale metal spheres, which can absorb or scatter light at virtually any wavelength. "The nanoshells act as an amazingly versatile optical component on the nanometer scale: they may provide a whole new approach to optical materials and components," Professor Naomi Halas. See Nanoshells May Be Key To Next Wave Of Light-Based Technology and Physics of Nanoshells
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanosome - Nanodevices existing symbiotically inside biological cells, doing mechanosynthesis and disassembly for it and replicating with the cell. Similar to nanochondria. [AS January 1998]
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanosources - sources that emit light from nanometre-scale volumes. [See Tears of brilliance Nature reg. req'd]
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanosprings - A nanowire wrapped into a helix. Speculation is that they "may someday make highly sensitive magnetic field detectors, perhaps finding application in hard drive read heads. Alternatively, nanosprings could serve as positioners, or even as tiny conventional springs, for nanomachines of the future." See Spiraling in on Nanosprings and Nanosprings jump into place
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanosurgery - A generic term including molecular repair and cell surgery. [FS] See Voyage of the Nano-Surgeons
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanoswarm - UFog and Goo
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanotechism - the religion of nanotech, as opposed to the science of nanotech
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanoterrorism - using MNT derived nanites to do damage to people or places.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nano-test-tubes - CNT's opened and filled with materials, and used to carry out chemical reactions. See The Opening and Filling of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWTs) and The Opening and Filling of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWTs).
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanowetting - how wetting behavior depends on nanoscale topography on a substrate. [BNL]
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanowires - "Semiconductor nanowires are one-dimensional structures, with unique electrical and optical properties, that are used as building blocks in nanoscale devices." See Nanowires within nanowires and Learning how to Fabricate Nanowire. "Striped or 'superlatticed' nanowires can function as transistors, LEDs (light-emitting diodes) and other optoelectronic devices, biochemical sensors, heat-pumping thermoelectric devices, or all of the above, along the same length of wire." See Nanowires Get Their Stripes.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
NBIC - Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information Technology and Cognitive Science. See Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
NE3LS - Nanotechnology's Ethical, Environmental, Economic, Legal, and Social Implications.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
nm - Abbreviation for Nanometer.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
NRAM™ - Nanotube-based/Nonvolatile RAM, developed by Nantero, using proprietary concepts and methods derived from leading-edge research in nanotechnology.
Source: (Nanotechnology Now) |
Nanofinger(R) - The Nanofinger(R) is a registered Trademark from Klocke Nanotechnik, Aachen, Germany. It describes a new tool that can sense objects with single Nanometer resolution and operates as nano-actuator with high forces, e.g. to make imprints into hard materials like ruby. The "3D-Nanofinger" is a nanorobotics system sold by Klocke Nanotechnik. It uses the Nanofinger as tool to form an instrument covering the features of profilometers and coordinate measuring machines.
Source: ((R) Klocke Nanotechnik, Aachen, Germany) |
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organic LED - An LED made from carbon-based molecules, not semiconductors.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
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Photolithography - The technique used to produce the silicon chips that make up modern-day computers. The traditional process involves shining light through a mask onto a photosensitive polymer (photoresist) on a silicon surface, then subsequently removing the exposed areas.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Photonics - Electronics using light (photons) instead of electrons to manage data.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Polymers - Tiny molecules strung in long repeating chains form polymers. DNA is a polymer as are the proteins and starches in foods and the tyres on bikes and cars. Polymers are generally recyclable. In nanotechnology examples include organic-based materials that emit light when an electric current is applied to them and vice versa, and use in computing and energy conversion.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Proteomics - Refers to all the proteins expressed by a genome, and thus proteomics involves the identification of proteins in the body and the determination of their role in physiological and pathophysiological functions.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
PVD - Physical vapour deposition.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
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Quantum computer - A computer that takes advantage of quantum mechanical properties such as superposition and entanglement resulting from nanoscale, molecular, atomic and subatomic components.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Quantum dot - Fluorescent nanoparticles that are invisible until ‘lit up’ by ultraviolet light. A nanoscale crystalline structure that can transform the colour of light. The quantum dot is considered to have greater flexibility than other fluorescent materials, which makes it suited to use in building nanoscale computing applications where light is used to process information. They are made from a variety of different compounds, such as cadmium selenide that produce different colours of light. Quantum dots have potential applications in telecommunications and optics.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Quantum wire - Another form of quantum dot, but unlike the single-dimension ‘dot’, a quantum wire is confined only in two dimensions - that is it has ‘length’, and allows the electrons to propagate in a ‘particle-like’ fashion. Constructed typically on a semiconductor base.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
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Robot - A machine that can automatically do tasks normally controlled by humans and mostly is used to perform repetitive tasks on an assembly line.
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Robotics - The development of reprogrammable, multiformation manipulators that can be programmed to do several differing tasks without human assistance.
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Reactive ion etching (RIE) - This is a key aspect in integrated circuit engineering and serves to transfer a pre-defined pattern into the required substrate anisotropically through an interplay between the chemical reactive radicals and physical ion bombardment in the plasma. In the semiconductor industry, this technology is used in the fabrication of advanced devices for high-speed electronics and optoelectronics.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
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Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) - Utilized in medical science and biology and in such diverse fields as materials development, metallic materials, ceramics, and semiconductors. SEM involves the manipulation of an ebeam that is scanned across the surface of specially prepared specimens to obtain a greatly enlarged, high-resolution image of the specimen's exposed structure. Specimens are scanned with a very fine probe (‘tip’) and the strength of interaction between the tip and surface us monitored. The specimen can be observed whole for assessing external structure or freeze-fracture techniques can be used to image internal structures. STM led to the development of a related technology, atomic force microscopy.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Scanning force - A SFM works by detecting the vertical position of a probe while horizontally scanning the microscope (SFM) probe or the sample relative to the other. The probe is in physical contact with the sample and its vertical position is detected by detecting the position of a reflected laser beam with a photo diode that consists of two or four segments. scanning near field optical microscopy (SNOM) The operational principle behind near-field optical imaging involves illuminating a specimen through a sub-wavelength sized aperture whilst keeping the specimen within the near-field regime of the source. Broadly speaking, if the aperture-specimen separation is kept roughly less than half the diameter of the aperture, the source does not have the opportunity to diffract before it interacts with the sample and the resolution of the system is determined by the aperture diameter as oppose to the wavelength of light used. An image is built up by raster-scanning the aperture across the sample and recording the optical response of the specimen through a conventional far-field microscope objective. (As opposed to conventional optical microscopy or ‘far-field optical microscopy’).
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Scanning probe microscope (SPM) - In SPM a nanoscopic probe is maintained at a constant height over a bed of atoms. The probe can be positioned so close to individual atoms that the electrons of the probe-tip and atom begin to interact. These interactions can be strong enough to ‘lift’ the atom and move it to another place.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Scanning Probe Microscopy - Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) has revolutionised our ability to characterise the surface morphologies of complex and difficult materials. Since the earliest scanning tunnelling microscopy images revealed the arrangements of atoms in semiconductor surfaces, the capability of SPM for the visualisation of surface structures has been clear
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) - A device that obtains images of the atoms on the surfaces of materials - important for understanding the topographical and electrical properties of materials and the behaviour of microelectronic devices. The STM is not an optical microscope; instead it works by detecting electrical forces with a probe that tapers down to a point only a single atom across. The probe in the STM sweeps across the surface of which an image is to be obtained. The electron shells, or clouds, surrounding the atoms on the surface produce irregularities that are detected by the probe and mapped by a computer into an image. Because of the quantum mechanical effect called ‘tunnelling’ electrons can hop between the tip and the surface. The resolution of the image is in the order of 1nm or less.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Self-assembling monolayers (SAMs) - Organic or inorganic substances spontaneously form a layer one molecule thick on a surface. Additional layers can be added, leading to laminates where each layer is just one molecule in depth. There is a wide range of applications, based on properties ranging from being chemically active to being wear resistant.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Self-assembly - Refers to the use in materials processing or fabrication of the tendency of some materials to organize themselves into ordered arrays (e.g., colloidal suspensions). This provides a means to achieve structured materials "from the bottom up" as opposed to using manufacturing or fabrication methods such as lithography, which is limited by the measurement and instrumentation capabilities of the day. For example, organic polymers have been tagged with dye molecules to form arrays with lattice spacing in the visible optical wavelength range and that can be changed through chemical means. This provides a material that fluoresces and changes colour to indicate the presence of chemical species.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
SEM - Scanning electron microscope.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Semiconductor - A substance, usually a solid chemical element or compound, that can conduct electricity under some conditions but not others, making it a good medium for the control of electrical current. Its conductance varies depending on the current or voltage applied to a control electrode, or on the intensity of irradiation by infrared (IR), visible light, ultraviolet (UV), or X rays.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
SFM - Scanning force microscope.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Smart materials - Reactive materials that combine sensors and actuators, and possibly computers, to enable a response to environmental conditions and changes to those conditions. Applications include uniforms or aircraft skins fabricated from radar-absorbing materials that incorporate avionic links and the ability to modify shape in response to airflow.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
SNOM - Scanning near field optical microscopy.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Sol-gels - Sol–gel methods involve a set of chemical reactions which irreversibly convert a
homogeneous solution of molecular reactant precursors (a sol) into an infinite molecular
weight three-dimensional polymer (a gel) forming an elastic solid filling the same volume as
the solution. Typically this involves a hydrolysis reaction followed by condensation
polymerization.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Spintronics - Electronics that exploits the spin of an electron in some way, rather than just its charge.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
SPM - Scanning probe microscope
Source: (Nanoposts) |
STM - Scanning tunnelling microscope.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Superparamagnetic - Superparamagnetism is a phenomenon by which magnetic materials may exhibit a behaviour similar to paramagnetism even when at temperatures below the Curie or the Néel temperature. This is a small length-scale phenomena, where the energy required to change the direction of the magnetic moment of a particle is comparable to the ambient thermal energy. At this point, the rate at which the particles will randomly reverse direction becomes significant
Source: (Nanoposts) |
SWNT - Single walled nanotubes
Source: (Nanoposts) |
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Thin films - Thin films are atomically engineered layers of a wide variety of materials including metals, insulators and semiconductors. The major applications of thin films are in modification of the surface properties of solids. Individual films may be electrically conductive or non-conducting, hard or soft, thermally conducting or insulating, optically transparent, or opaque. A thin film coating can transform the electrical, mechanical and/or optical properties of a solid base material in a cost-effective way. Common examples are scratch-resistant coatings for spectacles, anti-reflection coatings for lenses, transparent conducting coatings for flat-panel displays, and low-friction coatings for bearings. Hard coatings can significantly enhance the lifetime of cutting, drilling, and forming tools. Oxygen and moisture barrier films are in widespread use in the packaging of foodstuffs, contributing to the long shelf life of many convenience foods. Thin film coatings also have unique properties that may be exploited in the polarization, reflection, transmission and absorption of light. Complex coatings can be used to provide eye-protection from lasers without significant reduction in overall transmission and other high-performance films are in use for the multiplexing of telecommunication laser signals. Other inherent properties of thin films are used in microelectronics, magnetic recording and optical recording media.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Tomography - Imaging by sections or sectioning
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Top-down - Refers to making nanoscale structures by machining and etching techniques. cf. bottom-up.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
Tribology - The science and technology of friction, lubrication, and wear, derived from the Greek tribo meaning "I rub".
Source: (Nanoposts) |
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Wet nanotechnology - The study of biological systems that exist primarily in a water environment. The functional nanometre-scale structures of interest here are genetic material, membranes, enzymes and other cellular components. The success of this nanotechnology is amply demonstrated by the existence of living organisms whose form, function, and evolution are governed by the interactions of nanometre-scale structures
Source: (Nanoposts) |
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Zeolite - Any one of a family of hydrous aluminum silicate minerals, whose molecules enclose cations of sodium, potassium, calcium, strontium, or barium, or a corresponding synthetic compound, used chiefly as molecular filters and ion-exchange agents. Zeolite nanocrystals can act as hosts for supramolecular organization of molecules, complexes and clusters, thus
encouraging the design of precise functionalities. The main role of the zeolite framework is to provide the desired geometrical properties for arranging and stabilizing the incorporated
species.
Source: (Nanoposts) |
The Project
Glossary
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