Nanotechnology uses benefits challenges

Nanotechnology uses benefits and challenges

        Since the early 1990s, the term nanotechnology - created to describe technologies that can develop structured objects in the nanometer (10-9 m billionth of a meter) - invaded newspapers, books (including novels), television, and even the field of advertising and ethical debate. Beyond a fad certain, since this scale artifacts around us for a long time that we have not always aware, remarkable progress has been made in this area since the

early 1980s. Include, for example, new or improved measurement methods that allow to observe matter at the scale of the atom, the new technology development of materials on the nanometer scale, the discovery of new properties at this scale, which is beneficial in many cases. Finally, major interests are at stake, whether the competitiveness of industries of tomorrow, or respond to the many challenges facing our societies (energy, environment, health).

1. What is Nanotechnology?

       here are almost as many definitions of nanotechnology as actors. That given by the U.S. program covers the field well and its implications: it is the research and technological development (R & D) on a scale between approximately 1 and 100 nanometers (nm), on the one hand, constitute a body of knowledge of phenomena and materials at this scale, and, secondly, to create and use structures, systems and components which, because of their small size, have properties and new functionalities. These appear at this level for several reasons: quantum effects, granular nature of electricity, wave nature of light confinement effects, effects based on the importance of the exchange surfaces, predominance of surface area to volume ratios, etc..

         As we wish to take advantage of these nanoscale objects in our world scale, it is necessary to transfer the macroscopic properties of these objects. Therefore include nanotechnology, next to the manufacture and manipulation of objects, their integration in materials, systems and larger structures, it is often obtained through a hierarchy of architectures, from the microscopic scale at the macroscopic scale, the image of many processes encountered in living beings.

       Generate and use nanotechnology development of nanoscience, which explore the phenomena that appear at the nanoscale. Nanosciences and nanotechnologies are thus interested in the same scale and, therefore, share and develop common tools. They have nevertheless different purposes. Indeed, nanoscience require the manipulation and control of matter to develop laboratory objects to the highlighted and the study of new phenomena. Nanotechnology, in turn, seek to formalize concepts and know-how for an application identified. They are therefore concerned implementation for mass production and the impact on the market.

    By applying the methods of production collectives microelectronics various systems (accelerometers that trigger car airbags, micromirrors multiple systems for video projection, etc..), We obtain microsystems, ranging in size from a centimeter to the ten micrometers, which greatly reduces the cost and often increases the performance.

  Linkages between nanotechnologies and microsystems are numerous. In many cases, this is a microsystem that will link between nanotechnology and the macroscopic world as in the case of the read head of hard drives. Microsystems are also often preferred tools of nanotechnology studies (scanning probe microscopes). Of course, there will in the future emergence of nanosystems, which are the fruit of the alliance between nanotechnology and microsystems, including Millipede or HDD today are good precursors.