NanoBlog

A new version of NanoTCAD ViDES is available. This tool simulates nanodevices and materials at the atomic scale and using Non-Equilibrium Greens Functions (NEGF) to solve the Schroedinger's wave equations. There are modules to to help simulated carbon nanotubes, graphene nanoribbons, 2D graphene FETs, and 2D bilayer graphene FETs. A module for zincblend crystals for materials like silicon, germanium, and III-V is now being develop and should be available soon. The simulator is open source and uses the Python scripting language to define models. In his blog, Professor Giuseppe Iannaccone describes the tool and some of its features.

Regional, State, & Local 2012 nanotechnology workshop to be held in Portland on Arp 30-May 2, 2012. The workshop covers the following topics:

• Current landscape of U.S. RSL nanotechnology initiatives and their health
• Current Federal resources available for RSLs
• RSL best practices, business models, and opportunities for partnering
• Role of nanotechnology RSLs in future U.S. economic growth and job creation

A European report advises lengthening & extending GMO chronic toxicology tests to two years. Can't believe anyone thinks 90 days of testing is enough to determine if GMO crops are safe. I like the idea of hearty plants to feed people, but these GMO's produce a pesticide to fight off pests.

I've been watching professor Lundstrom's ECE 656: Electronic Transport in Semiconductors (Fall 2011) lectures on the nanoHUB, which are extremely good. As result, I started to reading his book Fundamentals of Carrier Transport. Quantum confinement is common in many devices today and even in silicon MOSFETs. Professor Lundstrom makes the following analogy about the nature of the confined electrons that I have not seen anywhere else, but find very helpful (see page 39).

The wave functions of confined electrons are qualitatively different from the plane waves that describe three-dimensional bulk electrons. There is a close analogy between confined electrons and electromagnetic waves in a waveguide. The various subbands are analogous to waveguide modes; occupied subbands correspond to propagating modes, unoccupied subbands to evanescent modes. This analogy can even be exploited to build electron devices analogous to optical or microwave devices.

Researchers at Stanford were able to construct new substance with a honeycomb or hexagonal structure that looks like graphene atom-by-atom from carbon monoxide atoms on a clean sheet of copper using a Scanning Tunneling Microscope. The molecular graphene has electron transport properties that are similar to graphene. The technique should allow the fabrication of new materials with designer electronic properties that would provide better performance than natural materials like a designer copper with higher electrical conductivity, for example.

Quantum Wise has an atomic simulator that is available for a free download good for 14 days without a key. You can then request a key to extend the evaluation period. It's available for Windows and Linux. The tool kit caught my attention because it claims to allow you to study the electron transport properties and IV characteristics of nanoelectronic devices. I hope to have some time to try it out.

Aviation Week and Space Technology has posted an article on some current research on anti-icing technology. The first uses a soy based paint containing carbon nanotubes that is applied over the painted surface of the wing and driven by a current. The carbon nanotube based paint is more efficient at heating the leading edge due its better conductivity. The second effort studies the impact of water droplets on superhydrophobic surfaces. This research is being done at GE and they have posted some very cool high speed videos of water drops impacting the superhydrophobic surface.

The NIST Standard Reference Materials catalog is now accessible from your favorite mobile devices.

There turns out to be quite a few videos on nanotechnology on the web, and here are a few of them.

• Kavli Foundation: Introduction to Nanoscience narrated by Alan Alda.
• Nano In My Life series of videos on nano by TCD Nanoscience.
• The strange new world of Nanoscience, narrated by Stephen Fry.
• NanoTV videos by the European Research Media Center.
• Nano, the next dimension a film produced for European Commission.

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences has posted a new solicitation for user-initiated nanoscience research using the facility. The deadline for submission is Wednesday, May 2, 2012. Winners will have access beginning August 1, 2012.