A Billion Bytes ... In A Box A Micron wide

I got my 1st Philips Audio Tape Recorder in 1961. & In 1961, I have my 1st Philips Transistor Radio. But both were destroyed by my gyougest brother.

I have witness the change of the Technology from

Electrical
Electronics Vacuum Tube
Electronics Transistor's
Transistor Logics
Integrated Circuits
Highly Integrated Circuits
Programmable Logic Arrays
Microprocessors
Multi-Microprocessors

And now the Nano-Technology....

I can see that perhaps after I am gone the Pico-Technology would be taking over the Nano-Tech era.

Now looking back those Electric-Mechanical base Data Storage Tapes.. then it was bigger then double the size of shoe box.

The Nano-Technology Mechanical Data Storage would at least billions times faster than the present electronic memory as well.

A Billion Bytes ... In A Box A Micron Wide* ... If two different side groups on a polyethylene-like polymer are used to represent the ones and zeros of binary code, then the polymer can serve as a data storage tape.

If one were to use, say, fluorine and hydrogen as the two side groups, and to allow considerable room for tape reading, writing, and handling mechanisms, then a half cubic micron would store about a billion bytes.

Access times can be kept in the microsecond range because the tapes can be made very short.

A mechanical random-access memory scheme allows storage of only about 10 million bytes in the same volume, though this can probably be bettered.

For a more detailed discussion, see "Molecular Machinery and Molecular Electronic Devices," by K. Eric Drexler, in Molecular Electronic Devices II, edited by Forrest L. Carter (New York: Marcel Dekker, 1986).

Engines of Creation - K. Eric Drexler : References

Engines of Creation - Nano Computer

The following article is adapted from:


Foresight Institute.

I would agreed with the statement that 1/1,000,000 of the mechannical space. The NanoMechanical Computer would work faster than the electronic computer of today!!

I also foresees that the Electronics NanoComputers would work atleast 1,000,000 times faster then today Microprocessor based computer.

These Nano Computers would use perhaps less than1/100,000 of the power consumption of the current PC power. Thus reduce the usage of energy to operate them.

Nanocomputers

Assemblers will bring one breakthrough of obvious and basic importance: engineers will use them to shrink the size and cost of computer circuits and speed their operation by enormous factors.

With today's bulk technology, engineers make patterns on silicon chips by throwing atoms and photons at them, but the patterns remain flat and molecular-scale flaws are unavoidable. With assemblers, however, engineers will build circuits in three dimensions, and build to atomic precision. The exact limits of electronic technology today remain uncertain because the quantum behavior of electrons in complex networks of tiny structures presents complex problems, some of them resulting directly from the uncertainty principle. Whatever the limits are, though, they will be reached with the help of assemblers.

The fastest computers will use electronic effects, but the smallest may not. This may seem odd, yet the essence of computation has nothing to do with electronics. A digital computer is a collection of switches able to turn one another on and off. Its switches start in one pattern (perhaps representing 2 + 2), then switch one another into a new pattern (representing 4), and so on. Such patterns can represent almost anything. Engineers build computers from tiny electrical switches connected by wires simply because mechanical switches connected by rods or strings would be big, slow, unreliable, and expensive, today.

The idea of a purely mechanical computer is scarcely new. In England during the mid-1800s, Charles Babbage invented a mechanical computer built of brass gears; his co-worker Augusta Ada, the Countess of Lovelace, invented computer programming. Babbage's endless redesigning of the machine, problems with accurate manufacturing, and opposition from budget-watching critics (some doubting the usefulness of computers!), combined to prevent its completion.

In this tradition, Danny Hillis and Brian Silverman of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory built a special-purpose mechanical computer able to play tic-tac-toe. Yards on a side, full of rotating shafts and movable frames that represent the state of the board and the strategy of the game, it now stands in the Computer Museum in Boston. It looks much like a large ball-and-stick molecular model, for it is built of Tinkertoys.

Brass gears and Tinkertoys make for big, slow computers. With components a few atoms wide, though, a simple mechanical computer would fit within 1/100 of a cubic micron, many billions of times more compact than today's so-called microelectronics. Even with a billion bytes of storage, a nanomechanical computer could fit in a box a micron wide, about the size of a bacterium. And it would be fast. Although mechanical signals move about 100,000 times slower than the electrical signals in today's machines, they will need to travel only 1/1,000,000 as far, and thus will face less delay. So a mere mechanical computer will work faster than the electronic whirl-winds of today.

Electronic nanocomputers will likely be thousands of times faster than electronic microcomputers - perhaps hundreds of thousands of times faster, if a scheme proposed by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman works out. Increased speed through decreased size is an old story in electronics.



Engines of Creation - K. Eric Drexler : Chapter 1

Philips claims nano-technology memory breakthrough

In 1989 at the Nagoya, Technology for The Future. I have told the attendees that within 10 years, technology break through would make the present high power demand, 1st it would move from the 3V to 1V supply.

I also sees that by end of year 2000, the processor switching speed would reach Nano sec. & the chip would be in the sub-Micron level.

When I looking into the Bio-Chip level. I can foresee that the Switching Theory of Protein can be control using Bio-Signal.. then that is possible to make solid state Memory obsolute. But for the moment.. it is certain that Nano Tech Memory is going to be the key future.

The frontier is Bio-Memory. As no technologyt today can replace the Natural Memory cell of our boby. Perhaps the Stem Cell technology is the only means to be able to do the duplications process.

Philips Claims Nano-technology memory breakthrough
Smaller, faster, better - claim

By: Paul Hales Monday 21 March 2005, 07:53
BOFFINS AT PHILIPS RESEARCH say they are set to publish details of an "innovative" phase-change memory for future low voltage, low power deep sub-micron silicon chips.

The researchers from Eindhoven say that unlike current Flash memories, the performance of its proposed memory format "improves in virtually every respect, the smaller you make it".

The secret of Philips' memory cell, they say, lies in the structure and materials used. Previous memory cells based on phase-change materials have to apply a relatively high voltage to the phase-change material in its high-resistance amorphous state, in order to drive enough current through. For silicon chips produced in advanced CMOS process technologies these voltages are not practical, says Philips.

To overcome this problem, the company developed a doped Antimony/Tellurium phase-change material in which threshold switching between the amorphous and crystalline phases occurs at a low electric field strength of around 14V/μm.

Philips' new solid-state memory cell employs similar phase-change materials as current rewriteable DVDs, it says. The materials are deposited as an ultra-thin film on the surface of a silicon chip, and use an electric current to switch between phases and to detect the resultant change in its electrical resistance.

The company claims its new 'line-cell' phase-change memory has the potential to meet both the performance and scaling requirements of future nano-electronic silicon chips.

In a statement, Dr. Karen Attenborough, project leader of the Scalable Unified Memory project at Philips Research said: "The holy grail of the embedded memory industry is a so-called unified memory that replaces all other types, which combines the speed of SRAM with the memory density of DRAM and the non-volatility of Flash. Philips' new phase-change line-cell technology is a significant step towards this goal."

Philips will publish its research in the April edition of Nature Materials. µ

Philips claims nano-technology memory breakthrough

India Would Become leader In Nano-Tech In 5 Years

When I research into history, I found that both India & China shares a lots of common in Mathematics & Sciences; Technology development back to 5,000 to 6,000 years ago.

The reason that why these Sciences & Technogies are not advance is mainly due to the oppression of the Emperor Court system. As well as the life philosophies & emphasis on art.

With the recent years of open up, I am sure India would certainly make it to their success in Nano Technology.


India would become leader in nano-technology in 5 yrs
Monday, March 14, 2005 14:18:51 IST

Bio-chips developed through this technology could be used for retina correction, dental implants and also to activate the neurons in brain

S.P. Chaudhary, Executive Director-Retail, HPCL, exchanging agreements with Sania Mirza, while S. Roy Choudhury, Director-Marketing, HPCL and P.T. Suresh, DGM-Allied Retail Business look on.COIMBATORE (PTI): With bio-info-nano technologies expected to be the base for the future development, India is making efforts to come out with devices using nano-technology, including health and industrial applications, a senior scientist in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said last week.

India, for that matter, DRDO, which has realised carbon nano tube, has drawn up an action plan and making efforts to develop various applications, under the guidance of President, A. P.J. Abdul Kalam, DRDO chief controller (R and D) Dr.A. Sivathanu Pillai told reporters here.
Thirtytwo specialised institutions across the country were being involved in the research in the field, he said adding DRDO was working out on the investment requirement to enter into device making in a big way, by which India would become one of the leaders in the field within five years. Defence Research Development Establishment at Gwalior has developed a kit, by which one can identify typhoid within three minute, the fastest in the World, Pillai said, adding talks were on for its largescale commercial production.

Similarly, Defence Metallurgy Laborataries at Hyderabad has developed a stent (for dilation of arteries) at a cost of Rs.10,000, resulting in sudden reduction in the cost of the imported stent from Rs.1 lakh to Rs.30,000, Pillai said. The stent has already been used in 7,000 patients. It would be brought out in different types, with special coatings, he said.As a spinoff of missile technology, the organisation has developed calipers, weighing about 300 gms at a cost of Rs.250, Pillai said. This device was distributed among 6,000 children through nine nodal agencies across the country, with the help of Dr. Sethi, inventor of the Jaipur foot.Citing an incident of 12-year old Bheemappa of Belgaum in Karnataka, who had lost both his legs, Pillai said that using special calipers, he was able to walk and had received Kalam, who had specially visited the town to see him.

The lab in Hyderabad is presently engaged in stem cell research, which was in advanced stage, he said. Bio-chips developed through nano-technology could be used for retina correction, dental implants and also to activate the neurons in brain of those having mental problem. "We are heading towards a nano-bio revolution," he said adding through this technology a shoe can also be developed, by which one can walk with a speed of 40 km per hour.Pillai, also the managing director of Brahmos, the joint venture with Russia, said that the Air Force variant of the missile would be ready for testfiring within two years.

Cybernoon.com

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UCSD medical/bioengineering reseachers show titanium debris satobtage artificial joints

I can forsees that Nano Tech can not only improve our joints wear & tear, it would also help us to Live Longer & for our wellness & reverse the aging process, especially for the baby bloomer generation & beyond.

Look Young, Feel Young, Be Young in The Nano Tech era!!!!!

UCSD medical/bioengineering reseachers show titanium debris satobtage artificial joints
08 Mar 2005

Microscopic titanium particles weaken the bonding of hip, knee, and other joint replacements, according to research published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine and the Jacobs School of Engineering. The team demonstrated that titanium implants are safe in large blocks, but at the microscopic level, wear and tear can generate micrometer-sized particles.

"As replacement joints are becoming increasingly common in aging populations, our results explain how such devices fail and suggest that improvements should be made in artificial joint design," said the study's senior author K.L. Paul Sung, Ph.D., UCSD professor of orthopedic surgery and adjunct professor of cellular bioengineering.

The team measured how titanium particles affected the bonding strength of pins implanted in rat thighs. The pins were shown to come out more easily when the titanium particles were present, with the smallest and largest particles causing the greatest weakening. The researchers demonstrated how different-sized titanium particles affected bone-building cells called osteoblasts and bone-destroying cells called osteoclasts. Microscopic studies revealed osteoblasts did not form proper adhesions, with small- and medium-sized titanium particles concentrated inside cells. Increased production of the protein RANKL by osteoblasts recruited and activated osteoclasts at the insertion sites, further weakening the bone. Larger titanium particles also activated metalloproteinases, which chop up the extracellular matrix that holds cells together.

Currently, Sung is leading a team in using nano-technology to improve implant material which has three to five times higher wear resistance and fatigue properties to reduce particle generation from implants.

In addition to Sung, additional authors were first author Moon G. Choi, M.D., UCSD Department of Orthopedic Surgery; and Hae S. Koh, M.D., UCSD Department of Orthopedic Surgery; Daniel Kluess, M.S. and Daniel O'Connor, M.A., UCSD Department of Bioengineering; Anshu Mathur, Ph.D., George Truskey, Ph.D., Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University; Janet Rubin, M.D., Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine and Veterans Administration Medical Center, Atlanta; and David X.F. Zhou, Ph.D., UCSD Department of Bioengineering.

The study was supported by a Bristol Meyers/Zimmer Award for Excellence in Orthopaedic Research and the National Institutes of Health.

Contact: Sue Pondrom
spondrom@ucsd.edu
619-543-6163

University of California - San Diego
http://www.ucsd.edu

UCSD medical/bioengineering reseachers show titanium debris satobtage artificial joints

Fujitsu Touts Carbon Nano Tubes For Chip Wiring - Form Factor Reduce By 1/3!!

This certainly a great breakthrough for the electronics industries.....

Copper wire not only have been high loses for transmitions of current in the chips or PCB, it also generate heat as well. In the past the PCB & chips form factors is limited by the lithography techniques for drawing the PCB real estate & the Chips Real Estate, with the Nono Tubes which is achieving the size of 1/3 of the size of Copper Tube.

Then, we can see that the the form factors of the VChips & PCB would reduce further by a 1/3.

Fujitsu touts carbon nanotubes for chip wiring
Paul Kallender, IDG News Service 02/03/2005 09:14:16

Fujitsu believes it has the answer to a major technology problem that will confront chip makers in the future -- using carbon nanotubes to replace copper wires in chip circuits.

For chips scheduled to be made around 2010, connecting wires made of copper will become so thin and their volume so small that the electrons will tend to migrate and leak out of the wires, said Yuji Awano, a research fellow at Fujitsu Laboratories' Nanotechnology Research Center, in an interview at the Japan Nano Tech 2005 exhibition held in Tokyo Feb. 23 to Feb. 25.

Because copper transmits electrons relatively inefficiently, the wires heat up and will become unusable as the electrons get pushed out of the tiny copper threads, according to Awano. Such problems will only worsen for the more advanced chips with even smaller circuits planned after 2010, he said.

Carbon nanotubes will become essential to replace copper in chips that are expected to be about a third of the size of those today, according to Awano.

Fujitsu, he said, is the first manufacturer to commit to using carbon nanotubes in place of copper wires in chips.

Carbon nanotubes are made when carbon atoms form hollow, open-ended cylinders. They have diameters between about 0.4 nanometers and 1.8 nanometers and can vary in length up to several hundred nanometers long, depending on how they are made. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter.

"If you make a smaller chip, you need thinner wiring," Awano said. "We have to solve the electron migration issue, and to do this we need thicker wiring -- but we can't make thicker wiring because the chip size will become bigger."

Carbon nanotubes can carry about 1,000 times the current density, or the current per unit area, compared to copper, according to Awano. In addition, they transmit electrons about 10 times faster and dissipate heat much more readily -- characteristics that allow them to replace copper, he said.

Many of today's advanced chips are made on a 90-nanometer process. The measure refers to the average size of features on a chip built using that process.

Around 2010, chips will be made on a 45-nanometer process and around 2013, on a 32-nanometer process, according to the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, a trade group that helps set standards for the chip industry.

Fujitsu will use the carbon nanotubes on some of its 45-nanometer process chips and most or all of its 32-nanometer chips, Awano said.

The manufacturer is already making carbon nanotubes to standard lengths that conduct electricity in the required way. It should be able to mass-produce them and develop the technology to put them in complex chips by the end of the decade, Awano said.

Fujitsu has already made test chips in which it has connected two layers of circuitry with about 1,000 connections using the carbon nanotubes as wires, he said.

"This is real, and it's a real challenge," said Makoto Okada, a manager at the company's public and investor relations division.

In addition to Fujitsu, several major technology companies, including NEC and IBM have announced breakthroughs in chip production processes and in their understanding of how carbon nanotubes work.

IBM, which pioneered the use of copper for connections in chips in the late 1990s, has yet to announce its plans, said Glen Brandow, a company spokesman.

Intel did not respond to questions on the subject.

NEC is also considering carbon nanotubes, but has not yet committed to the technology, said Toshio Baba, senior manager of NEC's Fundamental and Environmental Laboratories.

PC World