Plunkett Research Cites 10 Prominent Trends within the Nanotechnology and MEMS Industry
Houston, TX. June 12, 2009 –
Plunkett Research reports 10 major trends happening in the Nanotechnology and MEMS industry. Nanotech is a cutting-edge technology that is slowly beginning to revolutionize many sectors of manufacturing. The U.S. government alone budgeted more than $1.6 billion in nanotech research grants and projects for 2009, up from $464 million in 2001. This and more is available in Plunkett’s Nanotechnology and MEMS Industry Almanac, 2009 edition.
"Investment in nanotechnology research and the market for nanotech products have expanded steadily", says Jack Plunkett, CEO and Editor of Plunkett Research. "It is estimated that global funding of nanotechnology research by governments will total $9.75 billion in 2009."
Nanotechnology is generally defined as the science of designing, building or utilizing unique structures that are smaller than 100 nanometers in size (a nanometer is one billionth of a meter). MEMS refers to the very exciting field of the miniaturization of electronics. Specifically, we define MEMS as "Micro Electro Mechanical Systems," micron-scale structures that transduce signals between electronic and mechanical forms. The result of these advanced technologies will be new ways to solve problems and create products, based on the use of micro components.
Plunkett’s 10 major trends Impacting the nanotech and MEMS industry:
1) Self-Assembly and Fabrication on the Atomic Level Enable Nanomanipulation - Nanomanipulation can be divided into two categories: self-assembly and fabrication. Self-Assembly is the most promising technique for industrial and commercial purposes. Self-assembly relies on chemical processes or other natural forces to automate the construction of atomic structures, similar to the replication of DNA in the human body. Fabrication is the construction of things on the atomic or near-atomic level. Many of the tools that scientists have developed to manipulate atomic structures were based on the tools they originally used to scan such structures. Tiny scanning arms can be used to push, pull or lift and move atoms around like miniature bulldozers or cranes. Atomic force microscopes (AFMs) and electron bombardment tools can be used to “write” on atomic surfaces. Of course, many of these techniques have proven far too cumbersome for commercial or industrial. Instead, scientists have developed other techniques more useful for large-scale operations.
2) Nanotechnology & MEMS Applications in Optics and Displays Lead to a Breakthrough in Wireless Device Screens – Optics is one of the hottest fields in technology in general, with uses in a wide variety of applications including manufacturing, display systems, bar code readers and networks. Nanotechnology promises to bring a completely new line of optical tools and instruments to the field. Most of the research thus far into nano-optics has been in two areas: lasers and displays. One of the most promising early uses of MEMS is in state-of-the-art displays for cell phones, GPS, PDAs and other mobile devices. A leader is the iMoD technology, originally created by two MIT researchers who founded a startup called Iridigm Display Corporation. Another cutting edge technology on the horizon utilizes zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires to easily manufacture light emitting diodes (LEDs), which are used to light displays in cell phones and a wide variety of other equipment, as well as imaging and chemical sensing. ZnO emits light well, making it a better choice for LEDs than gallium nitride which has been used in LEDs since the 1990s.
3) Nanotechnology Will Create Powerful Semiconductors in the Near Future - Silicon, the traditional material for semiconductors, is running out of gas. For years, the process of making faster semiconductors has required a complicated and expensive streamlining of manufacturing techniques for traditional silicon-based chips, with semiconductors becoming faster and faster while manufacturing facilities become more and more expensive. Nanotechnology, using carbon tubes to create semiconductors, promises to solve these problems, making it possible to construct components for computer circuitry atom by atom, creating the ultimate in miniaturization. In 2008, a team of researchers at HP Labs announced the development of a switching memristor, a fourth basic element in integrated circuits that theoretically could enable the development of computers that power on and off like an electric light. Memristor is slang for memory resistor, a concept that opens the door to energy efficient computing systems with memories that continue to hold data even after the system powers down. As of 2009, Samsung, Micron Technology and Unity Semiconductor were also working on memristor technologies.
4) Nanotechnology Holds the Key to the Ultradense Digital Memory of the Future -“Universal memory” is a phrase used to describe future-generation digital memory storage systems that would be ultra-dense and run on extremely low power needs. Potentially, universal memory could replace today's flash memory, RAM and many other types of memory. The technology is based on the use of vast numbers of tiny carbon nanotubes or nanowires, resulting in the storage of trillions of bits of data per square centimeter. Early potential uses may include memory for cell phones, digital cameras and MP3 players. Such molecular memory technology should eventually lead to the replacement of hard drives with such chips and to the development of computers and other devices that have nearly instant boot up. Zettacore www.zettacore.com and Nantero www.nantero.com are among the firms that have made strides in this field.
5) Nanotechnology Sees Applications in Fuel Cells and Solar Power/Micro Fuel Cells to Power Mobile Devices - Potential methods of generating energy with nanotechnology are nearly boundless. However, the most immediately promising possibilities are for solar power and fuel cell power. Michael Graetzel, a Swiss scientist, invented a novel kind of solar cell that uses dye molecules and titanium dioxide. This enables manufacturers to place highly efficient and versatile solar cells in flexible plastic sheets, rather than the traditional glass and silicon cells. Another way that nanotechnology may impact solar cells is the use of quantum dots instead of silicon. Quantum dots, which are nanoscale semiconductor crystals, could significantly lower the cost of photovoltaic cells. Although scientists are years away from actually manufacturing usable quantum dot solar cells on a commercial scale, the technology has been established.
6) Government and Private Nanotechnology Funding is Strong - It is estimated that global funding of nanotechnology research by governments will total $9.75 billion in 2009. Nanotechnology research and development in the U.S. now exceeds $2 billion yearly from both government and private funds. For fiscal 2009, federal dollars proposed for this research totaled $1.53 billion. Most of this money is filtered through the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy, while programs are coordinated by the National Nanotechnology Initiative, for applications in aerospace, defense, intelligence, energy production and distribution and computing. This funding is in stark contrast to the mere $116 million provided in 1997. Japan most likely leads the U.S. in yearly funding for nanotech research. The EU investment is about on par with the U.S., and Asian nations are investing heavily, particularly on nanotech research for corporate use.
7) High-Tech, Nanotech and Smart Fabrics Proliferate - With the advent of Rayon in the 1920s, high-tech fabrics were born. A surprising material found in some apparel is silver. In 2006, Samsung Electronics launched a washer that utilizes silver ions to sanitize laundry without using hot water. A company called NanoHorizons, Inc., www.nanohorizons.com, is furthering the cause of silver for use in apparel by developing an engineering process that disperses silver pellets uniformly through the materials used for textile applications. The process, which is marketed under the SmartSilver brand, prolongs the silver’s presence in fabric even through repeated washings.
8) Nanochemicals Hold Promise for Advanced Coatings and Specialty Chemicals - The micro-scale science of nanotechnology may be in its infancy, but it offers great promise in the chemicals and coatings sector nonetheless. Nanotech advances will eventually affect everything from LEDs, where brighter monitors and displays may be possible, to slicker, denser paints for industrial, marine and architectural applications. Watch for rapid changes within the chemicals sector, as many factors with the potential for driving the industry in new directions are at work. These include a growing use of biotechnology to create biochemical products such as enzymes and solvents; consolidation, mergers and acquisitions on a worldwide basis; high raw components costs; increased environmental regulations and concerns; rapid growth in demand for plastics and other chemical products; the rise of nanotechnology in such chemicals sectors as composites, coatings and exotic materials; technological breakthroughs in such areas as ceramics; and the rapid rise of China as both a producer and consumer of chemicals and chemical products.
9) Nanotechnology Makes Breakthroughs in Health Care - Nanotech research and development in the health care sector is being used in a variety of diagnostics and treatments. For example, Nanosphere (www.nanosphere.us) has developed a diagnostic device that can detect protein concentrations in blood samples that can indicate cardiac problems or Alzheimer’s disease that would otherwise go undetected. On the treatment side, there are exciting developments using nanotechnology that may aid cancer treatment by delivering agents that enhance images of tumors or helping deliver cancer drugs directly to tumor sites. Research scientist Rutledge Ellis-Behnke at MIT is developing a clear gel made of nanoscale peptides that stops bleeding almost instantly. The gel forms a protective seal over wounds that provides protection from the air and supplies amino-acid building blocks that promote cell growth and repair. The human body breaks down the peptides within a few weeks so there is no need to remove the gel once the wound has healed.
10) Nanotechnology Converges with Biotech- Because of their small size, nanoscale devices can readily interact with biomolecules on both the surface and the inside of cells. By gaining access to so many areas of the body, they have the potential to detect disease and deliver treatment in unique ways. Nanotechnology will create "smart drugs" that are more targeted and have fewer side effects than traditional drugs. Current applications of nanotechnology in health care include immunosuppressants, hormone therapies, drugs for cholesterol control, and drugs for appetite enhancement, as well as advances in imaging, diagnostics and bone replacement. At the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Dr. James Baker is working with molecules known as dendrimers to create new cancer diagnostics and therapies, thanks to grants from the National Institutes of Health and other funds. This is part of a major effort named the Michigan Nanotechnology Institute for Medicine and Biological Sciences.
Additional information is available in "Plunkett’s Nanotechnology & MEMS Industry Almanac 2009," as well as on our web site, www.PlunkettResearch.com.
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