Limits to nanotechnology-based mass production?

April 21, 2011

The ability to mass produce nanostructures with a diameter of three nanometers or less using a top-down approach has been questioned by Professor Mike Kelly of the Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics, University of Cambridge.

The overall goal when entering nanotechnology into the market is low-cost, high-volume manufacturability. However, the material’s properties must be highly reproducible within a pre-specified limit. This cannot happen below the 3 nm limit when trying to make arrays, says Kelly.

Kelly used statistical evaluation of vertical nanopillars (suggested for use in sensors and displays) as an example to demonstrate his theory. When materials are mass produced on such a small scale there will be a lot of variation in the size of different components. As a result of this variation, the properties of the material will vary to an extent where the material cannot function to full capacity within an array.

The top-down approach to manufacturing, which Kelly states is limited, uses external tools to cut and shape large materials to contain many smaller features. Its alternative, the bottom-up approach, involves piecing together small units, usually molecules, to construct whole materials — much like a jigsaw puzzle; however, this process is also too unpredictable for defect-free mass production of arrays.

This statement raises a major question concerning the billions of dollars that are poured into nanotechnology each year in the hope that the latest technology developed in the lab can make the transition to a manufactured product on the market.

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