NANOTECH INNOVATIONS

Introduction

Ever since the origin of life, communication in one form or the other was there in the history. Even the minute form of life such as bacterium and fungi are communicating, though the mechanism is different. There was an earlier saying that history cannot be changed. But the technology especially nanotechnology makes the revolutions in the history. There is no present and future, the development was such like a dream come true when one gets up from the sleep. In communication sector always the major factor was the medium.

The change was so rapid that no one realized when the pigeon has become electrons. It is really thought provoking that how nanotechnology brings out revolutions in telecommunication as well as computing and networking industries.Forthcoming developments in nanotechnology through which the impossible can be made possible are nanomaterials with novel optical, electrical, and magnetic properties, compact as well as fast non-silicon based chipsets for processors, quantum computing and DNA computing, development of telecom switches which are fast and reliable, micro-electro-mechanical systems and above all the development of imaging and microscopic systems with high resolution. So for these reasons it is not futile to examine the broad range of nanotechnology and the revolutions made by it in the field of telecommunications. Hence a detailed account of the types of communications and the recent development in this field is essential.Electronic communication and informaticsElectronic communication can be defined as a communication by means of guided or unguided electromagnetic energy or both. Or it is a general term describing all forms of communication via electronic means such as internet, facsimile, satellite, cable, television, computers, networks, etc.

A coherent technology will be required to continue the performance improvements in communication and informatics. Nanotechnology interphased with biological, physical and chemical sciences can bring much faster and powerful information handling equipments. The sudden leap to the nano regime will result in single-molecule and single-electron based transistors. And special devices can be made out of these kinds of transistors. Informatics is primarily concerned with the structure, creation, management, storage, retrieval, dissemination and the transfer of information. Informatics mainly has a processor which translates one programme to another which can be accessed and used. Hence it is the backbone of the communication sector. Each processor will contain definite number of transistors with specific functions associated with it.

The first micro processor only had 22 hundred transistors.Now we are looking for the processors with a billion transistors so that the flexibility of designingdevices will be enormous. The present communication systems are based fully on the silicon technology. In 1965, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore saw the future and he predicted that the number of transistors on a chip doubles about every two years. His prediction is popularly known as Moore’s law. Moore’s Law is coming to an end now, since microelectronics has so far not only sustained this pace but it has crossed the limit of the prediction.

Recently Intel has introduced 65 nm generation logic technology which helps in improving performance and reducing power. They introduced sleep transistors which conserve power by allowing transistors to sleep when not in use, similar to the human brain. Intel strained silicon enables faster transistors by physically stretching the lattice structure of silicon atoms, allowing electrons to flow faster with less resistance. As can be seen, the silicon technology is entering into a near molecular regime as the current size has gone down to 25 nm.

This scenario can even slowdown or even curtail the progress of silicon microelectronics where not only the manufacturing technology but also the fundamental science changes. Intel developed a new, ultra-fast, yet very low power 85 nm prototype transistor using indium antimonide (InSb) that could form the basis of microprocessors and other logic products beginning in the second half of the next decade. The prototype transistor is much faster and consumes less power than previously announced transistors. If it is possible to manipulate light at small scales, photonic technologies will takeover silicon technology. Smart molecules can be integrated into devices for specific applications such as protein based transistors. Novel nano electronic properties of carbon nano tubes are also found suitable for developing an alternate technology.

Introduction
Metal nanomaterials have received considerable attention in the last decade in science and technology. The nature and behavior of the metal nanomaterials are different from that of the bulk material. Metal nano particles find wide application in various fields. Metals are unique in their physical and chemical properties as compared to other compound materials such as metal oxides, sulphides and nitrides. Metals have ductility, malleability, luster, high density, fewer defects and are generally crystalline in nature. Though the metal nanoparticles were synthesized and used from the ancient days even in the era of the Alchemists, lack of enough characterization techniques such as electron microscopes has left the nanoscience unexplored till recently.

In ancient days, the only characterization of metal nanoparticles is naked eye. The colouring nature of Au and Ag nanoparticles was fundamental identification for their nanoparticle colloid formation. Making use of this, they have been used as coloring agents in decorative glasses and clothing. This is due to light-absorbing nature of the surface of Au and Ag nanoparticles because of the surface plasmon resonance. Pt nanoparticles are catalytically active for oxidation and reduction reactions. As a result, these nanomaterials find applications for catalytic use. Since Au, Ag and Pt nano particles have considerable stability as compared to other metals, they have gained importance.

However, in the near future, all metals will be possibly shaped in nanosize by using suitable stabilizing agents and medium. In this chapter nature and applications of the nanomaterial of chosen metals are described. However, closer to each other in the periodic table, the physical properties of the nanosize materials of these metals vary drastically. To begin with, it is essential to comprehend fundamental properties of these (Ag, Au and Pt) metals.

The impact of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) over the past 20 years has been dramatic: its invention was, for example recently rated the second most important advance in materials science of the past 50 years.

The impact of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) over the past 20 years has been dramatic: its invention was, for example recently rated the second most important advance in materials science of the past 50 years. SPM techniques share a common feature, the use of a probe to detect a spatially localized signal. In most cases it is the probe that limits the spatial resolution of the technique.

The most common form of SPM is atomic force microscopy (AFM), where the probe is a sharp tip, usually mounted on a microscale cantilever that acts to transduce the tip–sample force (the localized signal). A map of surface topography is constructed by scanning the tip across the substrate. The resultant image is a convolution of the tip geometry with the surface topography. Commercial AFMs can have sub-Ångström noise levels, but the realizable lateral spatial resolution is limited by the tip geometry and is typically around two orders of magnitude larger.

For an ideal AFM tip, the exact tip geometry and chemistry should be known, the tip dimensions should be as small as possible without sacrificing rigidity, and the probe should be capable of imaging over a long lifetime, while aintaining a constant geometry.Attempts have been made to create ‘ideal’ tips using methodologies such as focused ion-beam structuring of the tip apex. However, the above requirements are perhaps best met by carbon nanotubes: cylindrical shells of graphene with diameters as small as 1 nm. Indeed, carbon nanotubes show great promise as AFM tips despite the substantial challenges involved in their fabrication. [Wilson and Macpherson doi: 10.1038/nnano.2009.154 ]present a review article that looks at the progress in the production and application of carbon nanotube AFM tips since their arrival onthe SPM scene in 1996.A readily available source of nanotube tips would further open up the AFM imaging world, increasing tip longevity, reducing tip imaging artefacts, increasing resolution and decreasing tip–surface forces.

It would also have a significant impact in key research areas such as structural biology, biotechnology, metrology and nanoelectronics.The question then remains, why are nanotube tips not being used routinely for AFM imaging and characterization? The answer lies in the fabrication. Progress in this area is being made, but obstacles still remain. However, the significant rewards waiting will ensure that this remains an active area for the foreseeable future.