Nanostructured surfaces can be broadly defined as substrates in which the typical features have dimensions in the range 1–100 nm (although the upper limit of 100 nm may be relaxed to greater sizes in some cases, depending on the material and the specific property being investigated). The recent surge of interest in these systems stems from the remarkable effects that may arise from the critical size reduction. Interesting novel properties (catalytic, magnetic, ferroelectric, mechanical, optical and electronic) occur as we reduce the dimensions from a practically infinite (and periodic) solid crystal to a system composed of a relatively small number of atoms. So far, nanostructured materials or nanomaterials are perhaps the only sub-field of nanoscience that has made the transition from fundamental science to real world applications, thus becoming a technology (a good example of this are nanostructured surface coatings)
Nanostructured Holograms:
Nanostructured Holograms for Broadband Manipulation of Vector Beams. Nanostructured device controls the intensity, phase, and polarization of light for wide applications in optics.Applied physicists at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have demonstrated that they can change the intensity, phase, and polarization of light rays using a hologram-like design decorated with nanoscale structures.
As a proof of principle, the researchers have used it to create an unusual state of light called a radially polarized beam, which—because it can be focused very tightly—is important for applications like high-resolution lithography and for trapping and manipulating tiny particles like viruses.This is the first time a single, simple device has been designed to control these three major properties of light at once.
Nanostructured Holograms:
Nanostructured Holograms for Broadband Manipulation of Vector Beams. Nanostructured device controls the intensity, phase, and polarization of light for wide applications in optics.Applied physicists at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have demonstrated that they can change the intensity, phase, and polarization of light rays using a hologram-like design decorated with nanoscale structures.
As a proof of principle, the researchers have used it to create an unusual state of light called a radially polarized beam, which—because it can be focused very tightly—is important for applications like high-resolution lithography and for trapping and manipulating tiny particles like viruses.This is the first time a single, simple device has been designed to control these three major properties of light at once.
Nanostructured carbon materials:
Irradiating solids with energetic particles is usually thought to introduce disorder, normally an undesirable phenomenon. But recent experiments on electron or ion irradiation of various nanostructures demonstrate that it can have beneficial effects and that electron or ion beams may be used to tailor the structure and properties of nanosystems with high precision. Moreover, in many cases irradiation can lead to self-organization or self-assembly in nanostructures. In this review we survey recent advances in the rapidly evolving area of irradiation effects in nanostructured materials, with particular emphasis on carbon systems because of their technological importance and the unique ability of graphitic networks to reconstruct under irradiation. We dwell not only on the physics behind irradiation of nanostructures but also on the technical applicability of irradiation for nanoengineering of carbon and other systems.
Irradiating solids with energetic particles is usually thought to introduce disorder, normally an undesirable phenomenon. But recent experiments on electron or ion irradiation of various nanostructures demonstrate that it can have beneficial effects and that electron or ion beams may be used to tailor the structure and properties of nanosystems with high precision. Moreover, in many cases irradiation can lead to self-organization or self-assembly in nanostructures. In this review we survey recent advances in the rapidly evolving area of irradiation effects in nanostructured materials, with particular emphasis on carbon systems because of their technological importance and the unique ability of graphitic networks to reconstruct under irradiation. We dwell not only on the physics behind irradiation of nanostructures but also on the technical applicability of irradiation for nanoengineering of carbon and other systems.