Nano-Plotters May Reduce Circuit Size

osm writes: "Using nanoplotter pens dipped into organic molecules, this device has drawn structures with lines 15 nanometers wide. This could be used to produce circuits several orders of magnitude smaller than what is currently possible. Full story is on latimes.com." Understanding the fundamental processes of electron and ion transport and chemical reactions that occur within such films is vital to the development of new molecule-based chemical sensors, opti- cal switches, electrocatalysts, nanofabrication technology, and other electronic and photonic devices," says the Web site of Dr. Chad Mirkin, head of the team involved in this research.

Comments

Going 3D

[Paul Johnson]

The next big issue for computer circuitry is going to be 3d layout. At present we have 2.5d: you can layer some circuitry on top of other circuitry, but no more.

Full 3d is going to require nano-fabrication techniques: no form of lithography will cut the mustard. While painting of this kind is not the full solution, its definitely a step in the right direction.

There are of course many other challenges in 3d circuitry, cooling not least.

ISTR some work done by IBM with tiny balls that had a few hundred devices on the surface of each and were packed into a cubic array. Does anyone know where that went?

Paul.

It's the interconnects...

[ghutchis]

Sigh. Another molecular electronics thread...

OK, so several other people have mentioned the main point--you can't think of these as continuing normal electronics. It's a whole different world because you're not using bulk properties anymore. Current silicon transistors would break down around 5 atoms or so (there are a number of papers pointing towards this barrier and I think a few have been posted to /.).

So you're now thinking about charge carried through a molecule. But here's the problem with trying to make circuits out of these. How do you connect your wires?

It's the interconnects that's the real problem.

People like Dekker have shown that you can get conduction across carbon nanotubes or DNA or other single molecules. But the trick is getting the "wires" to stick together so you can actually do something useful.

Yes, Mirkin's nanoplotter research is interesting. But you can't use it to lay out circuits until you get good molecular wires and good interconnects.

My gut feeling is that self-assembly, perhaps in combination with something like a nanoplotter, is the best way to do an interconnect. But hey, I'm only a grad student... What do I know. >:-)

-Geoff

Re:Limited use in producing small circuits

[Jon Erikson]

This technology will probably have limited use in producing circuits that are ever finer, as this takes you well into the realm of unpredictable quantum effects, where circuits can no longer be guaranteed to behave in a predictable way.

I'm going to have to disagree with that last statement. Sure, at the scales we're talking about here quantum effects come into play, but they're hardly unpredictable. Unless we're talking about individual quantum processes, the outcome of which is indeed probabalistic then we can statistically predict what will happen with a large number of quantum processes, which is what will be taking place at this level.

So I doubt that quantum mechanics will really form that much of a barrier to the size of circuitry. It'll require a new methodology and new techniques to be sure, but it's hardly like it'll be impossible to make some analog of electronic circuits at very small scales.

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Jon E. Erikson