The future of IT is nanotechnology

Just imagine hard drive capable of holding 1000 times as much data than those used in computers today. No, this is not something straight out of any science fiction. It is the future of electronics and computing supported by nanotechnology. The advances in nanosciences may one day shrink modern day desktop PCs to the size of wrist watches. It's not just the size that is going to matter, the nano-revolution is going to give a big boost to power sources, chip technology and semi-conductors...
What is nanotechnology? Nanoscience is the science that deals with substances in which one dimension is less than 100 nanometre (nm). A nanometre is one billionth of a metre and the diameter of human hair is about 50,000 nm. Nanotechnology is the technology of designing, fabricating and applying nanosystems. A nanosysytem is a system that is synthesised to a nanometre scale (a nanometre is a billionth of a metre and spans approximately 10 atomic metres). A nanocomputer is a computer whose fundamental components measure only a few nanometres, usually less than 100 nm. This need to be compared with the size of the smallest integrated circuit that is used in today's computers, this comes to around 350 nm.
What's the kind of advances going on in the field of nanoelectronics? There has been a plethora of revolutionary inventions in the last century that virtually changed the face of the world. This includes trains, planes, automobiles, telegraph and Internet. All these applications saw real money, in huge volumes, being made by those who were adventurous to explore the new possibilities. Nanotechnology may be said to be at a point that the Internet was in the pre-boom period. ie, the early 90's. Nanoelectronics means working at smaller and smaller levels which means more power, more speed, and more applications in almost all the electronic applications. Almost all the pioneers of infotech business are into serious work on nanoelectronics. In semiconductors, Intel and Advanced Micro Devices are working on 65 nm chips and beyond. Intel promises commercially available products by 2005 and AMD by 2006. Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, Samsung, and Texas Instruments are all working on chip designs for sub-100 nm chips. IBM, with reportedly 700 nanotech-related patents, is working on millipede data storage, as well as, ultimately, the molecular computer. Motorola and Silicon Storage Technology are developing what they call superflash memory chips working at the 65 nm level. This, one day could be supplementing the advent of Magnetic RAM (MRAM). IBM is also trying to bring this breakthrough to market. MRAM promises the much-awaited ability to switch on your computer as you do your TV and receive immediate pictures. The next generation of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is already entering the marketplace with organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) being featured in digital cameras being sold by Eastman Kodak. The biggest and most novel application of OLED technology is going to be the 'anywhere, anytime television. The company Cambridge Display Technology promises to deliver these screens, which made its fictional, screen debut in Spielberg film Minority Report .
What are the areas other than nanoelectronics that are finding exciting application of nanotechnology? Nanomaterials: Nanomaterials includes carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, nano-oxides, nanocrystals and nanopowders. The market for carbon nanotubes and fullerenes has an annual growth forecast of 173%. Nanomaterials is projected to grow at 30.6% per annum. Carbon Nanotechnologies, DuPont, Dow Chemical, Nanosys are some of the companies involved in serious research and development of nanomaterials. Japanese industrial giants, Mitsui, Mitsubishi and Hyperion Catalysis are all perfecting production processes to produce hundreds of tons of nanomaterials per annum. Nanobiotechnology: Novavax has been working for nine years on its proprietary micellar nanoparticle drug-delivery platform, a topical emulsion of oil, water, and lipids capable of being absorbed through the skin. Drugs developed on this platform is used for treatment of hot flashes in menopausal women. American Pharmaceutical Partners has received fast-track status for its novel nanoparticle-based drug, Abraxane, on the back of favorable phase 3 results for use in treating metastatic breast cancer. Skyepharma estimates treatment for 40% of drug candidates is abandoned at an early stage due to the body's inability to absorb the drug. The company's nanoparticulate drug-delivery technology promises to remove a lot of these barriers. Flamel Technologies, a Motley Fool Hidden Gems pick, has a nanoparticle delivery technology that improves the delivery of drugs without side effects. In another area of drug discovery, Advanced Magnetics is working on receiving final FDA approval for Combidex, an MRI agent that will aid in diagnosing cancerous lymph nodes vs. nodes that are simply inflamed or enlarged.
What is going to be the commercial future of nanoelectronics? The global nanosensor market will grow to $17.2 billion by 2012, according to research firm NanoMarkets, but it must overcome technical barriers to connect to other sensor networks. Market for biomedical nanosensors to reach approximately $800 million in 2008 and $1.2 billion in 2012. Nanosensors will be used to detect the presence of biotoxins, such as anthrax and smallpox, as well as radioactive materials. He projects such uses to make a market of $827 million in 2008 and $3.9 billion in 2012. Semiconductors provide the enabling technology for virtually all computation and communications systems. The Nanoelectronics Research Initiative over the next 15 years will create devices with features less than 10 nanometers -- or billionths of a meter -- in size, roughly 10 times smaller than in current state-of-the-art chips. NanoMarkets expects that the aerospace segment of the nanosensors market will reach $214 million in 2008 and $2.1 billion in 2012 and that the automotive segment will grow from $133 million to $1.5 billion over the same period.
PRADEEP KURUP