What is Nanotechnology?

Nanotechnology is the ability to control or manipulate materials on the atomic scale to create structures that have novel properties and functions because of their size, shape or composition. These structures are typically less than 100 nanometers in size. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter, which is approximately 100,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair and is up to 100 times smaller than geometries typically used in commercial semiconductor manufacturing today. By organizing atoms into structures of different shapes and sizes on a nanoscale, important properties including electrical, optical and physical, can be controlled. At the nanoscale, these properties can be fundamentally different than the properties of the same materials at a larger, traditional scale. When nanostructures are engineered into end user products, these products benefit from the unique properties exhibited by the nanostructures.

The size scale of "nano".

Nanosys' Core Technology

At Nanosys, we are developing core technology, which is based on a proprietary class of inorganic nanostructures, to engineer and integrate the physical, functional and performance characteristics of nanostructures for the purpose of creating products. Unlike traditional materials which are used to fabricate devices, each nanostructure can incorporate device functionality. These nanostructures, which can be made with features as small as a few nanometers, are synthesized atom by atom in a controlled chemical environment, creating precisely defined functional nanostructures. To design products for different application areas, our nanostructure fabrication process enables us to define and control many of the important chemical and physical parameters of our nanostructures, such as composition, shape, size and surface chemistry.

• Composition: Our core technology allows us to fabricate nanostructures from one or more inorganic materials, including silicon, silicon germanium, cadmium selenide, gallium arsenide, gallium nitride and indium phosphide. Different inorganic materials can manifest different properties or perform different functions. For example, traditional integrated circuits are made from silicon, while light emitting diodes, or LEDs, are often made from gallium nitride. We can also incorporate two or more materials into each individual nanostructure, forming functional interfaces between the different materials that can provide unique electrical, optoelectronic or physical properties. Whether we are developing a solar cell, an LED or a memory device, the composition of the nanostructures can be selected to suit the application.

Example inorganic materials that Nanosys can use to form nanostructures

• Size: Our core technology allows us to control the size of the nanostructures. While the composition of a nanostructure largely defines its overall function, we can adjust the desired functional properties by controlling the size of the nanostructure. This feature allows us to further change the performance characteristics of our products in a way that is not possible using traditional technology. For example, when using a nanostructure to form a light emitting structure, we can tailor the size of the nanostructure to select the precise color of the emitted light.

Nanostructures designed for different color emission as a function of increasing size.

• Shape: We can form nanostructures in a variety of shapes, including spheres, rods and wires, as well as more complex shapes. By controlling the shape, we can create additional functionality in our individual nanostructures and increase their performance, as well as, we believe, reduce the manufacturing complexity and cost of the products

Example nanostructure shapes used to address functionality.

• Surface chemistry: While functionality results from the nanostructures’ composition, size and shape, processability arises from the material filling the space between individual nanostructures. The interface between the nanostructures and the filling materials is formed through a surface chemistry that acts as a physical and functional connection between the nanostructures and the other components in the end user product. By controlling the surface chemistry independent of the composition, size and shape of the nanostructures, we can separately define and optimize functional and manufacturing characteristics

Nanosys' Development Approach

Our development approach consist of several core competencies that act as fundamental building blocks for developing applications from concept to product. Our core competencies include: synthesis, assembly, nano to macro interfaces, application specific formats and computer modeling and simulation. Developing our nanotechnology-enabled products requires the consistent synthesis, characterization and control of the nanostructures, which then gets assembled in a directed fashion to achieve a desired function. We then provide the required nano to macro interface to integrate our nanotechnology-enabled product into the end user product. In addition, the nanostructures must be incorporated into an application specific format that is compatible with the end user product. To direct nanostructure and product development throughout this process, we use computer modeling and simulation at multiple levels of the design, from the individual nanostructures to the end user application. As we develop products, we expect the resulting advances will expand and enhance our fundamental building blocks, which in turn, can provide us with more application and collaboration opportunities.

Nanosys' Development Building Block Approach.




Example of Nanosys' Building Block Enabled Applications.





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