MICROSYSTEMSAND

NANOTECHNOLOGY

Jon Zickermann GE1000 sec 2

What is Microsystems and Nanotechnology? Microsystems (MS): The study of products

at the micrometer (1 millionth of a meter) scale

Nanotechnology (NT): The science, engineering and application of materials and objects at the sub-100 nm scale.One nanometer = 1 Billionth of a meter

Microsystems Examples:

Micro Electric Mechanical Systems (MEMS): Post Actuator

For sake of comparison,

Microsystems Examples:

The dust mite is 420µm long

Example:

Nanotechology

Carbon Nanotubes under a microscope

3d CAD Model:

Nanotechology

Applications

Microtechology:Accelerometers

○ Air bag deployment in cars○ “Wiimote” motion sensitivity

Micromirror arrays○ DLP Technology for HDTVs

DNA manipulation

Applications - Nanotech

Carbon Nanotubes: Potential Applications include:Higher speed flywheelsArtificial musclesSuperconductorsUltracapacitorsSmaller Transistors Smaller Circuits

WHY AM I INTERESTED

IN MS/NT?

Why Am I Interested?

Microtechnology:At the sub µm scale, the laws of physics are

applied differently, eg, the effect of gravity is negligible

Although the technology has been around for years, the costs for fabrication are still high

Laws of Physics at certain levels

Example

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Physicsdomains.svg

Why Am I Interested?

Nanotechology:The increasing need for smaller, more

efficient chips will eventually drive semiconductor fabricators to find new technologies, as currently transistors will not be able to handle the effects of fabrication at 22 nm (the half-

Future of CPU Mfg. Processes

45 nm(Now)

32 nmLate 2010

22 nm2012

16 nm ~2013

11 nm~2016

Real Life Example: Intel’s Roadmap

Future of CPU Mfg. Processes

Future of CPU Mfg. Processes Currently, most CPUs use silicon based

CMOS technology However, around 10nm, the effects of

quantum tunneling set in, especially between tiny gaps in the processor

This leaves out traditional fabrication such as lithography and etching methods

Future of CPU Mfg. Processes In addition, the power of a transistor will

scale down faster than the surface area, thus the effects of friction will be too much for the transistor to be useful

What will we do??

Possible Solutions

NanoelectronicsUse of nanowires and nanotubes to replace

CMOS and Single molecular devices

There are more possible solutions. It will take some time and research before the deadline of 2015-2016 approaches

ANY QUESTIONS?Thanks!