These cutting-edge nano technologies are only a sampling of what you’ll find in the May issue of Nanotech Briefs:

Moving Electrons at the Molecular and Nanometer Scales

Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratories are trying to develop models to understand the interactions in molecular systems, where complex molecules with arbitrary shapes communicate electronically over long distances. Learning how to control the movement of electrons on the molecular and nanometer scales could help scientists devise small-scale circuits for a wide variety of applications, including more efficient ways of storing and using solar energy.

Sampling Small Atmospheres in MEMS Devices

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed an advanced sampling procedure that requires only picoliters of gas to evaluate the contents of the small atmospheres of MEMS devices. The method involves a small commercial valve that comes down like a trash compactor and crushes a tiny device until it releases its gases - currently, about 30 nanoliters - into a custom-built intake manifold. The researchers hope to be able to measure the quality of vacuums.

Nanoscale Memory for Silicon Chips

Scientists at Philips Research have developed an innovative phase-change memory that promises to match the speed, density, low-voltage, and low-power consumption requirements of future, deep sub-micron silicon chips. The new solid-state memory cell employs similar phase-change materials deposited as an ultra-thin film on the surface of a silicon chip, and uses an electric current to switch it between phases and to detect the resultant change in its electrical resistance. Philips’ new “line-cell” phase-change memory has the potential to meet both the performance and scaling requirements of future nanoelectronic silicon chips.

Self-Assembling Nanostructures Provide Insight Into Radioactivity

Discovered by researchers from Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Notre Dame, a new class of materials could enhance basic understanding of how radioactive materials behave in the environment. Called actinyl peroxide compounds, these materials self-assemble into nano-sized, hollow cages that could have useful new electronic, magnetic, and structural properties important to the emerging world of nanotechnology.