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Taking a break from gee-whiz science and lab experiments, a number of products incorporating nanotechnology and work at the nanoscale hit the market this week.

Applied Nanotech Inc.
ANI, which has been working with carbon nanotubes for use in next-generation displays, introduced a pair of new products during the week. The company's carbon nanotube gated electron sources have an integrated gate in order to modulate the electron emission characteristics with voltages of approximately 400 volts. ANI currently supplies on a commercial basis diode mode (without gate) electron sources based on carbon nanotechnology for X-ray spectrometers and miniature X-ray tubes. The new triode mode structures will lower the control voltages to less than 100 volts, thereby reducing the cost and extending the lifetime of the devices.

ANI is also introducing colloidal solutions of silicon nanocrystals (quantum dots) to its product list. In late 2001, the company announced it succeeded in developing a method to produce robust and highly crystalline passivated silicon nanocrystals. The crystals rely on quantum confinement, in which the silicon particles become smaller (in the range of 1 to 4 nm), and enables the use of silicon for visible light optoelectronics. As a result, new markets for silicon extend to the imaging industry, biotechnology, visible nanoLEDs (light-emitting diodes) and nanolasers. ANI can deliver quantities of silicon nanocrystals in colloidal solutions at a price of $100/milligram.

NanoInk
Chicago-based NanoInk says its initial product, DPN System 1, has been released. The product revolves around NanoInk's Dip Pen Nanolithography (DPN) process, which enables the building of nano-scale structures using virtually any material, from metals to DNA.

DPN System 1 was created as a research and development tool with initial applications in life sciences and microelectronics. It includes the DPNWrite software package that uses computer aided design to create precise nano-scale patterns using an atomic force microscope. The software employs a layering process, similar to programs for integrated circuit design, to design and draw DPN patterns for use with different molecular inks.

Applied Materials
Applied Materials, which provides equipment to semiconductor chip makers, used Semicon West 2002 as the backdrop for announcing new products for the production of chips with features on the nano scale.

The Reflexion Fixed-Abrasive Web chemical mechanical planarization system is used to form the shallow trench isolation structures in sub-100 nm devices. Instead of using a polishing pad and slurry to planarize the wafer, the system employs a roll of fabric-like material that contains the polishing abrasive. This effectively eliminates dishing, or the removal of material from low areas on the wafer caused by "free" abrasive particles.

The Endura iCuB/S Integrated Cu Barrier/Seed system combines atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology with an advanced physical vapor deposition (PVD) process to enable copper wiring structures for the 65-nm chip generation and beyond that are also compatible with emerging low (kappa) dielectric materials. It is the third product from Applied Materials that features ALD technology, in which single layers of atoms are used to build the chip. This technology can help chipmakers achieve geometries 50 percent smaller than today's (130 nm) devices and fabricate more powerful chips containing potentially 20 times the number of transistors delivering five times the speed.