Google Answers Logo
View Question
 
Q: Nanotechnology and Yale ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   0 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Nanotechnology and Yale
Category: Science > Technology
Asked by: travelnut-ga
List Price: $100.00
Posted: 22 Jan 2003 07:14 PST
Expires: 21 Feb 2003 07:14 PST
Question ID: 146940
I need detailed information on Yale University and its involvement
with Nanotechnology.  This may include many departments within the
University (e.g. Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, etc.).

Goal of this research project is to identify key technologies, key
people, company spin-offs, key labs, venture capital, affiliations,
contact information, etc.

This is a very important project and information accuracy is a MUST.
Answer  
Subject: Re: Nanotechnology and Yale
Answered By: websearcher-ga on 22 Jan 2003 12:27 PST
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
Hi travelnut:

Thanks for the fascinating question. And thanks as well for laying out
your requirements so precisely - that is a great help to us
researchers. As you have requested, I have put information accuracy
foremost in my compilation of the following information for you. 
While the information below is lengthy, much of it can be expanded on,
if you wish. (See the end of the answer for "next steps".)


Nanotechnology and Yale University
****************************

Any discussion of research into nanotechnology at Yale must start with
the "Mark A. Reed Research Group" - the leading nanotechnology lab at
Yale and, in fact, one of the finest such labs anywhere.

Mark A. Reed Research Group
http://www.eng.yale.edu/reedlab/index.htm

As you can see from both the above URL and the homepage itself, this
research group is part of Yale's Faculty of Engineering and, in
particular, its Electrical Engineering Department

Yale Engineering
http://www.eng.yale.edu/index.html

Yale Electrical Engineering
http://www.eng.yale.edu/electrical/index.html

Research In Electrical Engineering
http://www.eng.yale.edu/electrical/research.html

This group can be located at:

Becton Center, Room 020
Street address: 
15 Prospect St. 
New Haven, CT 06520
Phone: (203) 432-7808
Map: http://www.eng.yale.edu/reedlab/to-becton.htm


According to The Institute of Nanotechnology
(http://www.nano.org.uk/whatisit.htm):

"Nanotechnology can best be considered as a 'catch-all' description of
activities at the level of atoms and molecules that have applications
in the real world. A nanometre is a billionth of a metre, that is,
about 1/80,000 of the diameter of a human hair, or 10 times the
diameter of a hydrogen atom."

The Mark A. Reed Research Group performs research in several areas
that can rightly be termed "nanotechnology", including:

* quantum electron devices
* transport phenomena in semiconductor heterojunction and
nanostructured systems
* reduced dimensionality effects
* resonant tunneling transistors and circuits
* novel heterojunction devices
* molecular electronics
* MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems)
* bioMEMS (biomedical MEMS)
* other nanotechnology

No discussion of nanotechnology at Yale would be complete without a
look at the researchers themselves. I have listed all the current
research members (doctorate or higher) below with their contact
information, areas of specialty, and CVs. Additional graduate students
and summer workers can be found at:

Group Members
http://www.eng.yale.edu/reedlab/members.htm

Prof. Mark Reed
Specialties: Nanostructures, Molecular Electronics
Biography: http://www.eng.yale.edu/reedlab/members/reed/1pgbionew.pdf
CV: http://www.eng.yale.edu/reedlab/members/reed/Reed-CV.pdf
Contact Info:
P. O. Box 208284, 
New Haven, CT 06520-8284
tel: (203) 432-4306, 
fax: (203)432-6420, 
email: mark.reed@yale.edu. 
url: www.eng.yale.edu/reedlab

Dr. Glenn Martin
Specialties: microwave characterization of molecular devices,
microwave semiconductors devices
CV: http://www.eng.yale.edu/reedlab/members/glenn_martin-cv.doc
Contact Info:
PO Box 209168, 
New Haven, CT  06520-9168
Tel: (203) 432-2385
email: Glenn.Martin@yale.edu

Dr. James Klemic
Specialties: molecular and biological nanostructures, MEMS
CV: not accessible
Contact Info:
email: james.klemic@yale.edu
Tel: (203) 432-7565

Dr. Takhee Lee
Specialties: molecular electronic devices, SPM
CV: http://www.eng.yale.edu/reedlab/members/takhee_lee-cv.pdf
Contact Info: 
Department of Electrical Engineering
Yale University, PO BOX 208284
New Haven, CT 06520
Phone: (203) 432-4234 
FAX: (203) 432-6420
email: takhee.lee@yale.edu
webpage: http://pantheon.yale.edu/~tl94/

Dr. Menno de Jong
Specialties: molecular electronic devices, chemical analysis
CV: http://www.eng.yale.edu/reedlab/members/menno_deJong-cv.htm
Contact Info:
Department of Electrical Engineering
Yale University, 
15 Prospect St., PO Box 208284, 
New Haven, CT 06520-8284
Phone: (203) 432 3261, 
FAX: (203) 432 6420, 
Email: menno.dejong@yale.edu

Dr. Ilona Kretzschmar
Specialties: molecular electronic devices, structural characterization
CV: http://www.eng.yale.edu/reedlab/members/ilona_kretzschmar-cv.pdf
Contact Info:
Department of Electrical Engineering
Yale University,
15 Prospect Street
New Haven, CT 06520, USA
Tel: (203) 432-4088
email: ilona.kretzschmar@yale.edu
Webpage: http://pantheon.yale.edu/~ik63/

If you look about a third of the way down the page at
http://www.eng.yale.edu/reedlab/members.htm, you'll see a list of
former members who have moved on to the "real world". The list of
companies they work for include IBM, Intel and Motorola - all of whom
are likely experimenting in nanotechnology - benifitting from Yale's
work in this field.

The Reed Group also has quite impressive facilities, which can be read
about at:

Facilities
http://www.eng.yale.edu/reedlab/facilities.htm

An excellent recap of this group's news exposure can be found at:

Our Group In the News
http://www.eng.yale.edu/reedlab/inthenews.htm

Of special interest are the following article:

BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR: Molecules Get Wired
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/294/5551/2442


Funding:

The Reed Group gets funding from Yale itself, but also from:

* The Department of Defense ($3,000,000)
http://www.yale.edu/opa/v29.n30/story4a.html


Other departments (physics, chemistry, etc.) information on
nanotechnology seems to be woefully out-of-date, so I suspect that it
is no longer accurate. It looks like most (if not all) of Yale's
research into nanotechnology has been centered around The Reed Group.


Spin-offs and Venture Capital:

Molecular Electronics Corp. 
One of the founders of this spin-off is Mark Reed .
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/business/634600
http://www.molecularelectronics.com/

Protometrix: 
Dr. James Klemic is a consultant to this company which is spinning off
the Yale lab's work.
http://www.innovation-summit.com/bios/klemic.asp
http://www.protometrix.com/

Angel Investor News writes about a investor summit that the Yale
Entrepreneurial Society held on nanotechnology:

Nanotechnology: Catch the Wave That Will Revolutionize High-Tech
Business
http://www.angel-investor-news.com/ART_nanotech.htm


Other Interesting Stuff:

See this Yale Working Group's work on the philosophy and moral
implications behind nanotechnology:

AI, NANOTECH, AND TRANSHUMANISM: ETHICS, TECHNOLOGY, AND UTOPIAN
VISIONS
http://www.transhumanism.org/resources/Syllabi/YalePlanning.htm


Next Steps:

I understand that this information may not be enough for your purposes
- but I need more direction from you to proceed. If you could read
through what I have compiled thus far and let me know where you want
me to focus future research (if any), I will be happy to continue
working on this for you. Some questions for you to consider:

* Are you interested in undergraduate/graduate courses taught at Yale
that might be related to nanotechnology?
* Do you want more technical information on the various technologies
involved?

Thanks for your patience and cooperation. Together we will equip you
with all the information you require.

websearcher-ga


Search Strategy (on Google):

nanotechnology
nanotechnology yale
nanotechnology yale physics
nanotechnology yale chemistry
nanotechnology yale biology
nanotechnology yale funding
Molecular Electronics Corp
protometrix
mems
biomems

Request for Answer Clarification by travelnut-ga on 22 Jan 2003 14:17 PST
websearcher, this is excellent work!  in regards to your question, "
Do you want more technical information on the various technologies
involved?"---yes.  please provide specific examples, application of
products/developments, etc.  we will then be complete with this
research.

thank you.

travelnut

Clarification of Answer by websearcher-ga on 22 Jan 2003 14:30 PST
Hi travelnut:

Thanks for the clarification request! I will work on a synopsis of the
various technologies mentioned and hopefully post it for you either
tinight or tomorrow.

websearcher-ga

Request for Answer Clarification by travelnut-ga on 22 Jan 2003 14:30 PST
In addition, some information on the graduate courses taught at Yale
(regarding Nanotechnology) would be helpful as well.  Please include a
list of professor who teach these classes.  Thats it!  Thanks again.

Travelnut

Clarification of Answer by websearcher-ga on 22 Jan 2003 17:50 PST
Hello travelnut:

I did some further searching and was able to come up with the
following descriptions/applications of various types of
nanotechnology. I have presented quotes from various excellent
websites. I suggest that you read the complete pages/sites if you
require further introduction.

websearcher-ga


Different Areas in Nanotechnology
*********************************


Quantum Mechanical Devices:

"QUANTUM mechanical (QM) mechanisms have played a significant role
primarily in compound semiconductor devices, such as resonant
tunneling diode functioning as a switch and quantum well lasers for
optoelectronic applications. However, due to the ever shrinking
feature size of CMOS devices (toward tens nanometers in gate length),
the QM effects manifest themselves even in the conventional silicon
devices such as CMOS. In addition, small structures bring forth
effects such as single electron tunneling, which might lead to new
types of devices."
From: Circuit/Device Modeling at the Quantum Level,
http://www-tcad.stanford.edu/tcad/pubs/device/ed00_yu.pdf

"Quantum effects are unavoidable in devices with dimensions smaller
than 100 nanometers. But we reserve the name 'quantum device' for
those devices that actually rely on quantum effects for their
operation."
From: Quantam Electron Devices,
http://www.aip.org/web2/aiphome/pt/vol-55/iss-5/pdf/vol43no2p74-77part1.pdf

"Today's advanced nanoscale fabrication technology can produce
extremely small heterostructures. As a result of their small
dimensions, these semiconductor devices exhibit enormous quantal, in
particular, tunneling effects. A few practical devices, such as the
resonant tunneling diode and the quantum interface transistor have
been manufactured. However, the temperature range within which these
quantum electron devices can be operated is extremely narrow, because
phonon scattering rapidly destroys quantum coherence at relatively low
temperatures."
From: Chi H. Mak THEORETICAL CHEMISTRY, http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~cmak/


Reduced Dimensionality Effects:

"Optically-generated electron spins in semiconductors show remarkable
resilience against environmental decoherence, making it possible to
envision a new class of magnetoelectronics based on the coherent
superposition of quantum spin states."
From: Ferromagnetic Imprinting of Nuclear Spins in Semiconductors,
http://www.eps.org/aps/meet/MAR02/baps/abs/S30.html

"Karsten's primary research interest is in the area of experimental
condensed matter physics and material science and, in particular, in
reduced dimensionality where he is studying self-organization of
nanoscale structures at surfaces and interfaces. Specific techniques
utilized in his research have included photoelectron spectroscopy
utilizing synchrotron radiation sources, high resolution inelastic
electron scattering, low energy electron diffraction and, more
recently, scanning tunneling microscopy."
From: Karsten Pohl, http://www.physics.unh.edu/people/profiles/pohl.html


Resonant Tunneling: 

"The resonant tunnelling diode (or RTD) consists of an emitter and
collector region, and a double tunnel barrier structure which contains
a quantum well (as shown in the energy band diagrams of figure 2.1).
This quantum well is so narrow (5-10 nm) that it can only contain a
single, so called resonant, energy level. The principle of this device
is that electrons wishing to travel from the emitter to the collector
can only do so if they are lined up with this resonant energy level."
From: The Resonant Tunnelling Transistor,
http://ipga.phys.ucl.ac.uk/research/arrays/rtt-paper.html

"The RTD, as developed by the Texas Instruments (TI) team, consists of
a set of three ultra-thin layers. Those layers, a 'well' of silicon
sandwiched between two barrier layers of silicon dioxide with
electrical contacts on the top and bottom, permit operation in several
electrical states (as many as 19 different current steps). By
contrast, the ordinary transistor has one operating step - from on to
off or vice versa. The electrical flexibility of an RTD enables it to
represent several logic states, thereby doing the work of several
conventional traditional transistors. This leads to more complex logic
units with fewer electronic parts. Such electronic systems are
smaller, need less power, and are easier to harden in the harsh
environments of space and modern warfare. Equally important, the
fabrication of this new hybrid electronic technology is compatible
with the traditional silicon circuitry."
From: Resonant Tunneling Diode Research,
http://www.afrlhorizons.com/Briefs/0006/OSR0001.html

"Multiple resonant tunneling devices offer significant advantages for
realizing ultra-dense, ultra-high performance multivalued logic
arithmetic integrated circuits."
From: US5789940: Reduced complexity multiple resonant tunneling
circuits for positive digit multivalued logic operations ,
http://www.delphion.com/details?pn10=US05789940


Molecular Electronics:

"The field of molecular electronics seeks to use individual molecules
to perform functions in electronic circuitry now performed by
semiconductor devices. Individual molecules are hundreds of times
smaller than the smallest features conceivably attainable by
semiconductor technology. Because it is the area taken up by each
electronic element that matters, electronic devices constructed from
molecules will be hundreds of times smaller than their
semiconductor-based counterparts. Moreover, individual molecules are
easily made exactly the same by the billions and trillions. The
dramatic reduction in size, and the sheer enormity of numbers in
manufacture, are the principle benefits offered by the field of
molecular electronics."
From: Molecular Electronics, http://www.calmec.com/molecula1.htm

"Molecules have fundamental properties such as orbital structures
rather than band structures. The orbital structures can serve a viable
method to preserve electronic functionality at the nanometer scale.
Thus molecules could pave the way for generating hundreds or even
thousands more devices per unit area than with other devices limited
by size constraints.
From: Science of Molecular Electronics,
http://www.molecularelectronics.com/science.html


MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) :

"Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) is the integration of
mechanical elements, sensors, actuators, and electronics on a common
silicon substrate through microfabrication technology. While the
electronics are fabricated using integrated circuit (IC) process
sequences (e.g., CMOS, Bipolar, or BICMOS processes), the
micromechanical components are fabricated using compatible
'micromachining' processes that selectively etch away parts of the
silicon wafer or add new structural layers to form the mechanical and
electromechanical devices."
From: What is MEMS Technology?,
http://www.memsnet.org/mems/what-is.html

"There are numerous possible applications for MEMS. As a breakthrough
technology, allowing unparalleled synergy between previously unrelated
fields such as biology and microelectronics, many new MEMS
applications will emerge, expanding beyond that which is currently
identified or known. Here are a few applications of current interest:"
[[Read further]]
From: MEMS Applications, http://www.memsnet.org/mems/applications.html

"MEMS are the microscopic structures integrated onto silicon that
combine mechanical, optical and fluidic elements with electronics.
Typically no bigger than a grain of sand, these MEMS devices are
complex machines that enable chips to become intelligent. These
devices act as the most direct links between digital electronics and
the physical world, allowing the integration of electronics and
mechanical systems on a single chipset."
From: What is MEMS?, http://www.allaboutmems.com/whatismems.html


BioMEMS:

"MEMS technology is currently enjoying a moment of formidable
expansion in synergy with the health sciences, giving rise to the
notion of MEMS for biomedical applications - BioMEMS."
From: BioMEMS, http://www.lerner.ccf.org/bme/biomems/

"BioMEMS is targeted to have the fastest growth rate within the MEMS
market, particularly for drug discovery and delivery, diagnostics,
biotelemetry, and genomics. However, manufacturing of BioMEMS devices
differs from IC manufacture because the market requires a diversity of
materials, physical structures, input/output methods, products, and
initially lower volumes per product. This creates an obvious need for
modular, non-silicon approaches to building inexpensive disposable
chemical and biological sensors and systems."
From: Conference: Novel Microfabrication Options for BioMEMS
Technologies & Commercialization Strategies,
http://www.knowledgefoundation.com/biomems.html


Search  Strategy (on Google):

"quantum electron" devices
"reduced dimensionality"
"resonant tunneling" transistors OR circuits 
"molecular electronics"
"what is MEMS"
bioMEMS applications

Clarification of Answer by websearcher-ga on 22 Jan 2003 18:08 PST
Hi travelnut:

The following graduate courses at Yale appear to deal with
nanotechnology (in part or whole):

ENAS 863b, Introduction to Superconductivity.
Prof: Daniel Prober.

ENAS 875a, Introduction to VLSI System Design
Prof: Daniel Prober.

ENAS 917bu, Optical Properties of Semiconductors. 
Prof: Richard Chang.

ENAS 919b, Advanced Heterojunction Devices. 
Prof: Jerry Woodall.

Other information on Graduate Studies in Engineering at Yale:
http://www.eng.yale.edu/graduate/index.html

I hope this helps!

websearcher-ga
travelnut-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars and gave an additional tip of: $1.00
Thank you, Websearcher!  Your research was fantastic!  This is top
notch research on your part.  Please be on the look out for more
projects.

Travelnut

Comments  
There are no comments at this time.

Important Disclaimer: Answers and comments provided on Google Answers are general information, and are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. Google does not endorse, and expressly disclaims liability for any product, manufacturer, distributor, service or service provider mentioned or any opinion expressed in answers or comments. Please read carefully the Google Answers Terms of Service.

If you feel that you have found inappropriate content, please let us know by emailing us at answers-support@google.com with the question ID listed above. Thank you.
Search Google Answers for
Google Answers  


Google Home - Answers FAQ - Terms of Service - Privacy Policy