DIGITAL ASSIGNMENT-3

NANOELECTRONICS-OVERVIEW

SUBMITTED BY-ANANYA
REGISTRATION NO.-20BEC0202
 INTRODUCTION

Traditional materials can only go so far before they reach a point where they can’t get
any smaller. This is where nanotechnology comes in and has enabled the field of
nanoelectronics to emerge―which is when electronic components created using
nanomaterials and are a fraction of the size of components made from conventional
‘bulk’ materials. One example of a nanoelectronic device is a graphene-based battery.
This is a bulk device that uses nanomaterials, but compared to lithium ion (Li-ion)
batteries, it can possess up to 5-6 times the energy density and still be smaller than
their Li-ion equivalents. Another example―focusing purely on nanosized electronic
components―are transistors made out of carbon nanotubes. Such small transistors
push beyond the limits of conventional technology and because they are so small (yet
efficient enough to function well) more transistors can be fitted onto circuits and
computer chips, increasing the speed of devices.

The use of nanomaterials―i.e., materials which are between 1 and 100 nanometers in
size―has many advantages. Not only are nanomaterials inherently small (often very
thin), which can help to make the components of a device smaller (which can help to
reduce the size of the device itself), they are usually very efficient. Because of their
small size, they have a very high relative surface area, which in many cases is very
active―with the best example of an active surface being graphene. Graphene’s
surface interacts very strongly with its surroundings, be it through the conduction of
electrons between surfaces or the interaction with environmental stimulus/molecules
in sensing mechanisms, among others.

Aside from the property benefits, the way nanomaterials are fabricated enables the
development of smaller components. Most non-nanomaterial components have to be
fabricated using a top-down approach, which is when a larger material is broken down
into smaller structures. But there are limits to how small you can go if the structural
accuracy is to be maintained, especially if it is a complex architecture. Nanomaterials
can also be made in this way, but if you want to have nanomaterials that are
structurally accurate, pure, and very small, then they can be made using a bottom-up
approach, which is the process of creating nanomaterials atom by atom. It is a more
controlled approach that enables the size of the components to be reduced, while the
active nanomaterials are pure and architecturally designed to fit their specific
application. In many cases, both methods can be used together, to first create the thin
nanoelectronics components through a bottom-up approach, followed by patterning it
with a top-down etching or lithography approach.
 NANOELECTRONIC DEVICES

COMPUTERS
Nanoelectronics holds the promise of making computer processors more powerful
than are possible with conventional semiconductor fabrication techniques. A number
of approaches are currently being researched, including new forms
of nanolithography, as well as the use of nanomaterials such as nanowires or small
molecules in place of traditional CMOS components. Field effect transistors have been
made using both semiconducting carbon nanotubes and with heterostructured
semiconductor nanowires (SiNWs).

MEMORY STORAGE
Electronic memory designs in the past have largely relied on the formation of transistors.
However, research into crossbar switch based electronics have offered an alternative
using reconfigurable interconnections between vertical and horizontal wiring arrays to
create ultra high density memories. Two leaders in this area are Nantero which has
developed a carbon nanotube based crossbar memory called Nano-RAM and Hewlett-
Packard which has proposed the use of memristor material as a future replacement of
Flash memory.

An example of such novel devices is based on spintronics. The dependence of the

resistance of a material (due to the spin of the electrons) on an external field is
called magnetoresistance. This effect can be significantly amplified (GMR - Giant Magneto-
Resistance) for nanosized objects, for example when two ferromagnetic layers are
separated by a nonmagnetic layer, which is several nanometers thick (e.g. Co-Cu-Co). The
GMR effect has led to a strong increase in the data storage density of hard disks and
made the gigabyte range possible. The so-called tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) is
very similar to GMR and based on the spin dependent tunneling of electrons through
adjacent ferromagnetic layers.
NOVEL OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES
In the modern communication technology traditional analog electrical devices are
increasingly replaced by optical or optoelectronic devices due to their enormous
bandwidth and capacity, respectively. Two promising examples are photonic
crystals and quantum dots. Photonic crystals are materials with a periodic variation in the
refractive index with a lattice constant that is half the wavelength of the light used. They
offer a selectable band gap for the propagation of a certain wavelength, thus they
resemble a semiconductor, but for light or photons instead of electrons. Quantum dots are
nanoscaled objects, which can be used, among many other things, for the construction of
lasers. The advantage of a quantum dot laser over the traditional semiconductor laser is
that their emitted wavelength depends on the diameter of the dot. Quantum dot lasers are
cheaper and offer a higher beam quality than conventional laser diodes.

DISPLAYS
The production of displays with low energy consumption might be accomplished
using carbon nanotubes (CNT) and/or Silicon nanowires. Such nanostructures are
electrically conductive and due to their small diameter of several nanometers, they can be
used as field emitters with extremely high efficiency for field emission displays (FED). The
principle of operation resembles that of the cathode ray tube, but on a much smaller
length scale.
RADIOS
A nanoradio (also called carbon nanotube radio) is a nanotechnology acting as a radio
transmitter and receiver by using carbon nanotubes. One of the first nanoradios was
constructed in 2007 by researchers under Alex Zettl at the University of California,
Berkeley where they successfully transmitted an audio signal. Due to the small size,
nanoradios can have several possible applications such as radio function in the
bloodstream. The small size, roughly 10 nanometers wide and hundreds of nanometers
long, and composition of nanoradios provide several distinct properties. The small size of
nanoradios enables electrons to pass through without much friction, making nanoradios
efficient conductors. Nanoradios can also come in different sizes; they can be double-
walled, tripled-walled and multi-walled. Aside from the different sizes, nanoradios can also
take different shapes such as bent, straight or toroidal. Common among all nanoradios is
how relatively strong they are. The resistance can be attributed to the strength of the
bonds between carbon atoms.

ENERGY PRODUCTION
Research is ongoing to use nanowires and other nanostructured materials with the hope to create
cheaper and more efficient solar cells than are possible with conventional planar silicon solar cells. It is
believed that the invention of more efficient solar energy would have a great effect on satisfying global
energy needs.

There is also research into energy production for devices that would operate in vivo, called bio-nano
generators. A bio-nano generator is a nanoscale electrochemical device, like a fuel cell or galvanic cell,
but drawing power from blood glucose in a living body, much the same as how the body
generates energy from food. To achieve the effect, an enzyme is used that is capable of stripping glucose
of its electrons, freeing them for use in electrical devices. The average person's body could, theoretically,
generate 100 watts of electricity (about 2000 food calories per day) using a bio-nano
generator.[30] However, this estimate is only true if all food was converted to electricity, and the human
body needs some energy consistently, so possible power generated is likely much lower. The electricity
generated by such a device could power devices embedded in the body (such as pacemakers), or sugar-
fed nanorobots. Much of the research done on bio-nano generators is still experimental, with Panasonic's
Nanotechnology Research Laboratory among those at the forefront.
MEDICAL DIAGNOSTICS

Devices based on nanowires provide powerful general platforms for the ultrasensitive direct electrical
detection of biological and chemical species 3. Nanowires may be laid down across a microfluidic
channel , and as particles flow through the microfluidic channel, the nanowire sensors pick up the
molecular signatures of these particles and relay the information to a signal analyzer. Such systems can
detect the presence of altered genes associated with the disease and can help researchers pinpoint the
position of these genetic changes . Zheng et al. reported the preparation of a silicon nanowire (SiNW)
biosensor array for the simultaneous detection of multiple cancer biomarkers in a single versatile
detection platform . The real-time detection of three cancer markers (prostate-specific antigen,
carcinoembryonic antigen, and mucin-1) using SiNW biosensors functionalized with three cognate
antibodies was demonstrated . The simultaneous high-sensitivity analysis of multiple biomarkers could
further facilitate the early detection of cancer . This study described the synthesis of aligned ZnO
nanowire arrays using a vapor–solid process, as shown in the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image
below. The growth of aligned arrays of nanowires plays an important role in nanobiotechnology and can
be used for biosensing, cellular manipulation, and the conversion of mechanical energy into electricity for
powering nanodevices. A silicon (Si) nanowire field-effect device was developed in which distinct
nanowires and surface receptors were incorporated into arrays . The capacities of Si-nanowire probes for
the multiplexed real-time monitoring of protein markers in clinically relevant samples with high
sensitivity and selectivity offers the potential for the diagnosis and treatment of cancers . Single-walled
carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) exhibit distinctive electrical and spectroscopic properties, including near-
infrared photoluminescence and strong resonant Raman scattering, that may be useful in biological
detection and imaging applications.
 REFERENCES

1) https://www.nanowerk.com/nanoelectronics.php

2) https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/nano
electronics

3) https://www.mouser.in/blog/introduction-to-
nanoelectronics