Page 216 - Science at the nanoscale

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Future Trends
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STM images of organic molecules self-assembled on sur-
Figure 9.3.
faces, an important topic of study in surface and nanoscale science (from
author’s lab).
Head: A giant leap for IBM Research. To some people, 10 years = a
decade. To IBM Research, 10 years = a revolution.”
The 2007 Nobel prize for Chemistry was awarded to Gerhard
Ertl “for his studies of chemical processes on solid surfaces”.
Using the powerful tools of nanoscale surface science (such as
STM, see Fig. 9.3), he pioneered groundbreaking studies in surface
chemistry, which help us to understand processes such as cor-
rosion, catalysis and even semiconductor fabrication. Surface
chemical reactions on catalytic surfaces play a vital role in many
industrial operations, such as the production of artificial fertiliz-
ers, a vital ingredient in feeding the world’s population.
The 2007 Nobel prizes in Physics and Chemistry highlight the
importance and multidisciplinary nature of nanoscience and nan-
otechnology. Indeed, one could argue that these were both discov-
eries in surface and interface science, the nanoscale component
in both cases being in one dimension, normal to the surface or ch09
interface. GMR was a discovery in fundamental solid state physics
that was realized to be useful, and quickly commercialised. The
chemistry prize, on the other hand, rewarded the achievements
of surface science used to better understand processes that are
already technologically important. This knowledge can in turn
be used to improve these processes, or to develop new ones.
9.4 CARBON ELECTRONICS
The idea of using carbon or organics in electronics goes back sev-
eral decades. We have mentioned that silicon CMOS technology