Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Nanoscience, the behavior of physical systems when confined to near atomic, nanoscale (< 100 nm) dimensions together with the physical phenomena that occur at the nanoscale, is currently one of the most dynamic and rapidly developing areas of interdisciplinary research in applied physics. This is in large part because nanotechnology, the use of these properties and phenomena, is believed to have the potential to revolutionize a wide range of scientific and technological fields. 

Applied Physics faculty research groups have played central roles in establishing and advancing the state of the art of nanofabrication and applying the resultant tools and capabilities in a wide range of nanoscience and nanotechnology research efforts. Today, Cornell Applied Physics investigators continue to lead innovative world-class research efforts in a broad range of areas concerned with understanding, manipulating, and applying materials and phenomena at the nanoscale. Because nanoscale science and technology are at the cutting edge of so much of today’s applied physics research, there is considerable overlap between these activities and others discussed here. 

The electronic properties of nanoscale structures-and the development of nanoscale devices based on these properties-is a major theme. Current projects include a range of research efforts on both Si- and carbon-based nanoelectronic systems that have the prospect of extending and augmenting the capabilities of current electronic technologies as the conventional scaling of Si CMOS electronics begins to come to an end.  

Nanomagnetics, the study and use of nanoscaled magnetic materials, is another area of inquiry. The recent discovery that the electron-spin polarized current flowing to or from a thin-film ferromagnet can reversibly switch the magnetic orientation of another nearby nanomagnet by a "spin-transfer" process is opening up the prospect of a new means for ultra-high-density information storage. It also could lead to the development of new nanoscale components for high-frequency electronics. Research concerned with the injection and manipulation of electron spin in normal metal and semiconductor nanostructures could lead to the development of quantum computer elements as well as to a number of other "spintronics" applications. 

As discussed below, the control and use of the optical properties of materials at the nanoscale is a key aspect of efforts by Applied Physics faculty to develop new devices and systems for future photonics and optical communication applications. 

Nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) research is seeking to apply our rapidly advancing ability to fabricate ultra-small electromechanical devices to the development of powerful and versatile nanoscale sensors and systems for a broad range of electronic, optical, and biological applications. These efforts include work on single biomolecule detection with a nanofabricated "lab-on-a-chip" and the development of very high frequency NEMS mechanical oscillators for sensor and optical switching applications. 

An essential aspect of the nanoscience and nanotechnology program is a broad array of research activities that seek to develop new tools and techniques for the characterization and study of materials at the nanoscale and for the fabrication and processing of nanoscale devices and systems. These enabling nanoscale sciences and technologies include, in addition to the development of innovative approaches for ultra-high-resolution nanolithography and materials processing, the development of powerful, new scanned probe instruments for the measurement of electronic and magnetic properties at the nanoscale. Nanocharacterization research includes the development and application of analytical scanning transmission electronic microscopy techniques for determining the electronic structure of interfaces of heterogeneous materials with atomic resolution. 

These nanoscience and nanotechnology research programs benefit from access to the Cornell Nanofabrication Facility and from the resources and support provided by the CornellCenter for Materials Research, the Center for Nanoscale Systems, and the NanobiotechnologyCenter.