Editor's Page

The postlithographic era

The terms molecular manufacturing and nanotechnology conjure up futuristic visions of cubic-micron-sized computers with the power of a mainframe and tiny robotic devices producing structures that are precise to the atomic level. Each atom will be positioned exactly, with the added benefit of manufacturing costs that do not exceed—at least not by much—the costs of the needed raw energy and materials. Another benefit of these mighty micromachines will be that they are self-replicating manufacturing systems; in other words, they will make copies of themselves as well as produce utilitarian goods.

A visionary of these emerging technologies is Eric Drexler, author of the groundbreaking 1986 book, Engines of Creation. He is also the cofounder of the Foresight Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the dissemination of information, both to researchers and the general public, about the possible impacts of nanotechnology. The institute is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and during the decade since its inception, technological breakthroughs have quickened the pace of development of molecular manufacturing.

One familiar family of tools central to the nascent development of nanotechnology are the proximal probes, such as scanning tunneling microscopes (STMs) and atomic force microscopes (AFMs). In addition to the instruments' unparalleled ability to scrutinize wafer surfaces for haze, microroughness, and other anomalies, scientists are using them for the basic manipulation of atoms. For example, scientists at IBM-Almaden have found a way to round up electrons in nanometer-scale artificial structures, which they call "quantum corrals."

I can recommend several Web sites on the subject, including Foresight's own, http://www.foresight.org, and NASA's "Small is Beautiful" resource listing, http:/www.nas.gov. NAS/Education/nanotech. Ralph Merkle's excellent Xerox PARC site, at http://www.nano.xerox.com, is loaded with links to other locations on the Web, so it might be the best place to start.

Although submicron chipmaking is pushing computer performance to amazing levels, lithography-based technology is going to hit the wall in a decade or two. Some may say it's pie in the sky, but Drexler believes no new fundamental science is needed, that nanotechnology will be based on engineering advances. I have confidence in the brilliance of the technological community to solve the inherent problems and to make the vision of a "postlithographic" factory, where the heart of the fab line may be seen through a microscope, become a reality.

Tom Cheyney

Editor

tom.cheyney@cancom.com

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