Micro- and Nanotechnology

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 The Sizes of Things
MACRO

MICRO

NANO

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 The Macro to Nano World
Things Natural
(Carbon Chemistry)
Human hair
~ 70-100m wide

Fly ash Dust mite

DNA 200 m Ant
~2-1/2 nm diameter ~ 10-20m ~ 5 mm

Nanoworld Microworld Macroworld

10-10 m 10 m
-9
10 m
-8
10 m
-7
10 m
-6
10 m
-5
10 m
-4
10-3 m 10-2 m
Polla dimension slide

Soft x-ray Ultraviolet Visible Infrared Microwave

1 nanometer (nm) 1 micrometer (m) 1 millimeter (mm)

Transistor gate
60 nm
MicroElectroMechanical devices
10 -100 m wide

Head of a pin
1-2 mm
Atoms of silicon Carbon Nanotube
spacing ~tenths of nm ~2 nm diameter

Quantum corral of 48 iron atoms on copper surface

positioned one at a time with an STM tip
Corral diameter 14 nm Things Manmade
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 C60 -- Buckeyball

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 HP STM AFM

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 HP computer

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 Will Device Size Keep Shrinking?
Carbon nanotubes

10000 Optical Lithography

Transistor Size (nm)

1000
Extreme UV DNA

100

? Nanowires
10
DNA

1
1980 2000 2020 2040
Year
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 Early MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems)
structures and devices

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Early micromachined device: Ink-jet nozzle –
A thin-film heater behind each nozzle
vaporizes the ink and ejects a droplet of ink

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 Micro-guitar from Cornell University
(the strings actually vibrate when plucked)

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 Early micromachine (with dead mite)

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 Laser scanning micromachine
with electrostatic motors, gears, and mirror

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Micromachine: Safety lock for nuclear bomb

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Digital Light Projector (Texas Instruments)

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16-micron-square tilting mirrors built over CMOS drive circuit

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 5. MEMS Are Reliable

The physical fatigue and failure mechanisms

that govern mechanical behavior in macro-
scale materials don’t seem to be as prominent
in MEMS devices. Some of these
devices have been cycled up and down 1016
times without failure.

DLP™ projection systems display an

original-quality picture time and time
again with zero hassle and minimal
maintenance. With more than 5
million systems shipped to more than
75 manufacturers since 1996, DLP™
technology has a proven track record
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for outstanding dependability.
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 Microstructures etched in Teflon
-- useful in BioMEMS applications

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 Size Benefits of MEMS
Quartz
Quartz Inductors RF
RFFilter
Filter
Crystal Inductors (ceramic)
Transistor Crystal Capacitors
Capacitors IF
IFFilter
Filter (ceramic)
Transistor Resistors (SAW)
Chips
Chips Resistors (SAW)

IF
IFFilter
Filter
(SAW)
(SAW)

Reference
MEMS Resonator
Technology RF Switch

Inductor

IF Filter Single-Chip
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Filter Transceiver 19
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 Where Do We Go From Here?
Nanoelectromechanical Systems (NEMS)

NEMS are like MEMS, only one or more key enabling

components or structures has a physical dimension
of less than 1 micrometer in size and can be
integrated with another dissimilar components.

NEMS is the integration of sensors, actuators,

electronics, photonics, energy, fluidics, chemistry,
and biology into a meaningful system enabled by
sub-micrometer science and engineering precision.
We are now beginning the Age of NEMS.
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