Implications of Emerging Micro- and Nanotechnologies (2002) / Chapter Skim
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1. Introduction
1. Introduction
Pages 20-29
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From page 20... ...
From an applications perspective, the combination of microtechnologies and nanotechnologies offers a particularly powerful combination for future Air Force missions and deserves careful consideration. Two particularly pervasive themes of microtechnology, now extending into nanotechnology, have been miniaturization of electronic systems and the resulting increase in information density.
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From page 21... ...
The growth in magnetic information storage in recent years has been even more rapid than growth in electronic information processing.3 Advances in magnetic memory storage range from new giant magnetoresistive nanoscale layered materials to read heads flying 10 nanometers over the surface of magnetic discs moving at speeds of 20 meters/second. To appreciate the challenge in control of tolerances for this technology, scaling to the macro world by the relative lengths of a magnetic read head and an F-18 jet fighter would correspond to flying the F-18 only 100 micrometers above the ground, which has been polished to a smoothness of 10 micrometers and staying on course within an accuracy of 100 micrometers.
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From page 22... ...
Review the current Air Force and Department of Defense (DoD) investment strategies and the Air Force plan of execution in micro- and nanotechnologies for adequacy; recommend directions for accelerating the operational success of these technologies in Air Force missions.
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From page 23... ...
Microtechnology is characterized by a top-down fabrication paradigm, where the starting point is macroscopic and material is added or taken away in processes such as lithography to define patterns on surfaces, etching to remove material, and deposition to add material and thus allow complex structures to be made. The integrated circuit is an example of this paradigm.
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From page 24... ...
in the late 1950s by Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments and Bob Noyce at Intel, the integrated circuit was a response to the difficulty of reliably packaging together numbers of transistors, resistors, capacitors, and other circuit elements to make large-scale circuits. The technology was known initially as "the monolithic solution."4 MEMS devices, which now cover a very broad range of application, from accelerometers and angular rate sensors to switches to infrared halometer focal plane arrays, are further examples of what we are calling micro.
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From page 25... ...
Consider a baby crawling. A person walking goes about 10 times as fast, a car traveling at 60 mph is 100 times faster, and a jet fighter at the speed of sound is 1,000 times faster than the crawling baby.
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From page 26... ...
Many tools now exist for investigating structure and properties at the nanoscale, including scanning tunneling probes, electron microscopies, and various diffraction techniques. An important development in nanoscale tools occurred in 1981 with the introduction of the scanning tunneling microscope for imaging individual atoms on surfaces.
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From page 27... ...
Chapter 3, "Major Areas of Opportunity," addresses advances in microand nanotechnology areas most relevant to the Air Force. The committee included sections on information technology, sensors, biologically inspired materials and systems, structural materials, aerodynamics, and propulsion and power.
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From page 28... ...
, requiring relatively large and costly spacecraft. During the 1 980s, integrated circuit and radio frequency communications technology advanced to the point where microsatellites in LEO could provide competitive communications and data relay support, including the support of military forces in the field.
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From page 29... ...
Chapter 6, "Opportunities in Microand Nanotechnologies," focuses on the systems implications of micro- and nanotechnologies and suggests areas for further consideration. Such mission considerations provide a methodology to focus on and prioritize investments for those technologies discussed in Chapters 3 and 4 that are most critical to the Air Force.
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