Nanotechnology - envisageable developments and related enabling technologies

FOREWORD

The great challenge of the 21-st century to our science and technology is the research and development effort for understanding matter, energy and information on the nanoscale level and for reaching the ability of manipulating matter on that level. Indeed, reaching such ability would mean a real breakthrough in our thinking about the world we live in, in our ways and tools for manufacturing, computing and communicating, in sociobiological behavior, ecological management, in the criteria and tools of medical care and control of the very basic life processes. Much of this effort towards the ultimate goals which have been addressed by Feynman's remark that "there's plenty of room at the bottom" and by Drexlerian thinking of nanotechnology as a molecular manufacturing ability leading to so-called "eutactic" materials, i.e. materials structured with atomic accuracy as a result of man-controlled processes starting from the atomic or the molecular level through the so-called (nanoscale) assemblers, is far as yet on the way to the full attainment of such ambitious manipulation capabilities. Indeed, the recent successes in production of carbon nanotubes and their nanomechanical and nanoelectronic applications, just as those in molecular electronics, suffer from the fact of not being suitable for mass production. Like the first nanoscale transistor, which was realized in the laboratory as early as 1992, they are justљ laboratory devices unfit for mass-manufacturing.

However, many basic theoretical and practical steps forward have been taken since the time when such ambitious goals and the related theoretical concepts were formulated; and the number of scientists devoted to such effort has been ever increasing since the earlier 90's when the first international meetings were organized in the Bay Area (San Francisco, California), where I was one of the few scientists, just ten or fifteen in all, coming mainly from the States,љ and some from England and Russia, who gathered to evaluate and discuss the first principles of that new approach to the study of Nature. This progress, that along the lines of thought starting from molecular mechanics, molecular electronics and nanoscale biology has led to the emergence of novel sensing, information processing and actuating nanoscale systems and quite recently to Nanomedicine, is basicly founded on three kinds of research: 1) that devoted to the so-called "enabling technologies", whose further development would lead to proper nanotechnological components, devices and systems, 2) that devoted to the understanding of the basic principles and the formulation of experimental procedures leading to bottom-up (i.e. from the micro or the nanoscale to the macroscale) processes, and 3) that trying and refining the already known macro-level operations for their extension down to the nanoscale level. Along such top-down line of experimenting (operating from the macroscale down to the nanoscale), quite recently the (seemingly insurmountable) limit of 50 nm has been attained in silicon-based electronics, so that a solid-state nanoelecronics can be now envisaged even for mass production.

Nanophotonics is one of the most promising extensions to the nanoscale among the sciences and technologies conceived for the macroscopic level. To the enabling technologies furthering the progress in Nanophotonics belong the first three experimental papers (M.Piasecki, S.Tkaczyk, P.Bragiel, I.V.Kityk, K.Ozga, M.G.Brik, V.Kapustyanyk. "Absorption peculiarities for DEA-CuCl₄ nanoparticles into the polymer matrices"; I.V.Kityk, K.Ozga, M.Frumar, C.Wagner. "Optical and dc-electric treatment of GeS₂-Ga₂S₃-AgCl chalcohalide glasses"; M.G.Brik, A.Majchrowsky, I.V.Kityk, M.Piasecki, T.Łukasiewicz. "Optics of Ca₄GdO(BO₃)₃ (GdCOB):Pr³⁺ single crystals"), devoted to research about optical properties of single crystals and nanocrystals. The main promise of Nanophotonics, beyond its present successes and its application to Biophotonics, is the realization of the envisaged practical, mass-manufacturable molecular computers, where memory unit and computing unit would be just one and the same thing so mimicking the living structure-function undividable nanoscale units (the subcellular members) up to the holistic sensing - information processing - actuating solidary unity of the living being.

S.Santoli's paper "Nanobiosystem optimal adaptive simulation through anticipation and evolution" tackles the problem of describing on physical bases the evolutionary behavior of the cell, or, stated otherwise, of setting forth the physical meaning of Darwinian evolution, whose characterization was established on the basis of biological observational principles. Solving this problem is a real "must" after the recent experimental results discussed in the book by L.H.Caporale according to which there is an evident anticipatory behavior in genome evolution. This possibility of some degree of self-organized control on its own evolution on the part of a genome as opposed to the basic role of chance in Darwinian views asks for a revisitation of our description of evolution based on Darwinian criteria only; and first of all it asks for an answer to the question "Is Darwinian evolution a mere epiphenomenon, or a real physical agency?" љI could have entitled that paper "Logic in the eyes of biomacromolecules - an inquiry into chance and physical laws ", as an effort to analyze molecular behavior beyond a merely anthropomorphic logic, so as to understand how evolution would favor the prepared genome.

V.Kardashov and Sh.Einav's paper "Novel nonlinear models for microvascular tree of heart tissue" shows how micro- and nanoscale sensing devices could be applied to a biomedical engineering apparatus operating on strongly nonlinear systems. This paper is quite emblematic with respect to the field of applications of Nanotechnology to the design of novel bioengineering systems dealing with nonlinear chemical processes, like diffusion and reaction-diffusion systems, for which the application of so-called smart nanosensors together with classical devices would lead to what is the main objective of the present effort toward novel medical devices, i.e., high efficiency joined with non-invasiveness.

It's my deep wish to give Prof. Lyudmila Kuzmina, Editor, my best thanks for inviting me to act as the Guest Editor of this special dedicated issue on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology of the international journal "Problems of Non-Linear Analysis in Engineering Systems". And, according to the editorial philosophy of this journal published under the aegis of International Federation of Non-Linear Analysts and Academy of Non-Linear Sciences together with Kazan State Technical University (Kazan Aviation Institute) it is also my wish to stress here the fact that any problem in Nanoscience which will lead us to any novel fundamental understanding of Nature - I mean matter, energy and information - will necessarilyљ involve the nonlinear field; indeed, as pointed out by Albert Einstein, any fundamental law must be nonlinear. Nanoscience and Nanotechnology are at the present time the best ways leading us to the very frontier of human thought of the 21st century: the "no-man's land" of research on the very roots of life and biological intelligence. A land where different scientific approaches to Nature, and Philosophy itself, are increasingly going to merge into novel, "crossroad sciences" which will take us perhaps to a fundamental nonlinear physics of the Universe underlying such features of reality.

 

 

Salvatore Santoli

Guest Co-Editor

Director of the INT - International Nanobiological Testbed Ltd.,

a London-based Company (UK), and is one of the first scientists

who formulated the principles of Nanotechnology (1987) and Nanobiology (1992).

Italy

 

 

Nanotechnologies are a new and rather promising sphere of science and engineering. They can assist in obtaining innovation techniques since this possibility is already built into the very fact of essential change of material's properties at transition to nanoparticle level. The first results in nanotechnologies gained at laboratory experiments gave hope of solving the most pressing problems (including artificial intelligence, synthesis of DNA with specified structure). During the first 10-15 years of development nanotechnology endured an active period associated with researchers' desire aimed at immediate production of essentially new materials and effects and subsequent marketing. However, lack of advanced fundamental base led applied nanotechnology to necessity of coping with fundamental problems at every step and dramatically restricted the scope of phenomena and laws only ascertained at simple possible experiments. At present this problem is the most important factor requiring profound research. Only the countries in which fundamental research financing in this sphere will be timely and large-scale can possibly score the greatest success in this area. Nowadays nanotechnology approaches the stage of conscious investigations. The first and rather successive attempts of qualitative and quantitative models' construction are observed. In particular, one can note the first trials of development of special methods for calculation of vibration and electronic spectra of nanoparticles, their diffractive structural analysis, solving the problems of nanoobjects' self-organization, etc. The scope of considered objects has been defined: these are clusters and fullerenes, nanopins, nanotubes and thin coatings; nanobiotechnology objects constitute a separate class. Experimental methods for nanoparticles research can be divided into two groups: research methods for single particles and research methods for three-dimensional samples consisting of nanoparticles (nanomaterials). In this case in the first group priority will undoubtedly belong to electronic microscopy including microdiffraction of electrons and X-ray microspectrometry analysis. One can also note electron spectroscopy and modifications of scanning probe microscopy. It would seem that one can apply any "classical" research method for investigation of three-dimensional samples of nanoparticles. Whereas having plenty of publications devoted for example to various spectroscopic researches of nanotubes, we lack information on their diffraction structural analysis. Application of a number of research methods is restrained by absence of special theoretical base for their results interpretation.

The hottest subjects, problems and prospects of researches in some spheres are considered in papers presented in this special issue including nanoelectronics and development of nanotechnologies with methods for research of new nanomaterials (I.B.Axyenov, K.V.Alyekhin. "Morphological analysis and recognition of nanostructures fragments"; V.V.Afanasyev, M.P.Danilaev, Yu.E.Polsky. "Modes, fluctuations, structures"; Yu.K.Evdokimov, E.S.Denisov. SQUID-devices as a tool for measurement of ultraweak signals of the nanosystems"; Z.Ya.Khalitov. Nanotubes structure and its research by diffractional methods"; I.K.Nasyrov, E.A.Semyonov, Z.Ya.Khalitov. "Radiation diffraction in a hollow of a nanotube").

Studies in the sphere of nanoelectronics: synthesis of nanoelectronics elements on the basis of dielectric and complex nanotubes, design and development of nanoelectronic devices based on them; automation of nanoelectronic technologies on the basis of pattern recognition programs; structural analysis of cylindrical crystals; wave processes in internal hollows of nanotubes. Nanotubes (or cylindrical crystals) are among the main technological objects in this sphere. Alternatively, instead of extensively studied carbon nanotubes the dielectric magnesium silicate nanotubes are proposed to be used. Dielectric nanotubes allow combinations of conducting, semiconducting and dielectric structures within a single cylindrical nanoparticle forming nanotubes like "metal-dielectric", "semiconductor-dielectric", "metal-dielectric-semiconductor", etc. which are of essential importance for development of the main electronic devices (transistor, condenser, power supply device, etc.). Implementation of separate and mobile nanoelectronic devices non-connected with any relatively bulky substrate opens up possibilities both for future industrial nanotechnologies and for architecture of nanoelectronic devices. Such an approach implies denial of template production technologies for nanoelectronic devices. However, production of nanoelectronic devices on the basis of their elementwise assembly can be effective only having been automated. Automation on the basis of pattern recognition programs in the space of electronic microscope is considered to be the most important element of future nanoelectronic industrial technologies. Our research of wave processes in nanotubes demonstrates a possibility to implement a number of effects associated with wave scattering into internal hollow of nanotubes which is in principle impossible in common crystals. Research results open up the prospects of developing optoelectronic devices in X-ray range.

In the framework of another research direction new nanomaterials are being developed covering classical set of nanoparticles: zero-dimensional objects (quantum points) - one-dimensional objects (nanotubes) - two-dimensional objects (nanocoatings) - objects and range of problems in nanobiotechnologies. Nanomaterials are studied simultaneously and often together with development of corresponding methods of their atomic and energy structure research in general interpretation of the term. Among the studies devoted to the problems of zero-dimensional objects there are: development of new types of composite materials on the basis of nanoparticles-clusters, polymeric nanomaterials, nanomaterials and nanocomposites on the basis of heteroorganic epoxides; and fundamental-methodical works, in particular, method for estimation of nanopoints' sizes on the basis of anti-Stokes luminescence and visualization technique of nanoparticles' motion in dispersion medium by ultrasound nanoscopy.

In the field of quasi-one-dimensional structures there are: studies of nanotubes, development of methods for estimation of structural parameters of a substance condensed in internal hollow of a nanotube and based on so-called "radial" lattices, computing methods of diffraction patterns from different types of layered and radial nanotubes, development of criteria for their identification and methods for variation of their geometrical and structural parameters; researches devoted to the problems of quasi-one-dimensional objects (including objects with fractional dimensions); studies on simulation of heterostructures on the basis of superionic conductors with fractal dimensions.

Nanotechnological developments associated with the third type of nanostructures (nanocoatings) possess more complex fundamental base (e.g. study of nanolayers formation processes on the steel surfaces, surfaces of titanium and hard alloys, technologies for obtaining new materials and coatings by magnetron approach, studies in the field of superconducting and magnetic properties of nanostructures obtained by alternation of ferromagnetic and superconducting layers).

Works relating to all the main types of nanoparticles are the following: development of methods and devices to provide high accuracy of measurements in nanotechnological systems, study of increase of potential interference immunity and capacity of systems and devices used in nanotechnology; problems relating to electric noises of nanosystems in nanoinformational technologies; research of identification techniques and recognition of nanoobjects' fragments by X-clusters method; in the area of nanobiology - application of nanoeffects from nanolevel intensity fields influence; chaos in bionanostructures; methods for control and stabilization of their behavior, growth and organization.

Paper called "Near-field Raman-spectroscopy of carbon nanotubes and fullerenes" presented in the special issue by M.Kh.Salakhov and S.S.Kharintsev considers development of spectral research methods directly determining the energy structure of a substance with "their modernization similar to nanoobjects" which is the most pressing problem. Proposed method of dramatic increase of spatial resolution of objects' near-field Raman-spectroscopy is simple and novel and can constitute a basis for widely used method of nanoparticle phonon spectrum investigation.

Critical nanobiotechnological problem associated with prosthetics of nerve fibers of a living organism is discussed in the framework of comprehensive approach to its solution in the paper "Nanotechnologies for neuroregeneration" by M.Kh.Salakhov, N.I.Silkin, V.D.Skirda, G.A.Fomina, Yu.A.Chelyshev, V.G.Shtyrlin.

Fundamentals of a new scientific trend "On fractal theory in radio engineering, micro- and nanoelectronics" are presented in A.A.Potapov's review. It discusses theoretical and applied aspects in the framework of new technologies on the basis of author's fractal methods developing ideas of B.Mandelbrot, the founder of fractal geometry.

Development problems of nanoscience and nanotechnology relate directly to development of scientific research, development of higher education system in interdisciplinary trend of "Nanotechnology". This scientific (scientific-educational) subject is rather extensive and ranges from nanoparticle structure investigation to nanoelectronics and nanobiotechnologies including both fundamental and applied aspects.

 

	Ilgiz Kutdusovich Nasyrov Guest Co-Editor Vice-rector (KSTU-KAI), Director of Nanotechnologies and Nanomaterials Research Institute. Russia		Myakzyum Khalimullovich Salakhov Guest Co-Editor Rector of Kazan State University Academician of Tatarstan Academy of Sciences. Russia тПУУЙС