This new class was developed under a special grant from the National Science Foundation. Its goal is to provide an introduction to nanoscience and nanotechnology for early undergraduates of any major (there are no pre-requisites beyond normal college-track high school physics, chemistry & math).
At the nanoscale, Newton’s sensible laws are replaced by the weirdness of quantum mechanics (hence the class’s Wizard of Oz subtitle). The details are bewildering, but for this class you only need to know that electrons begin to act like waves. And all waves act basically the same way. So to anticipate how weird electron waves might behave, we can (literally) start by playing with water waves
The second thing that changes at the nanoscale, is that WE can’t make things directly. Micro-assembly techniques (such as those used in making integrated circuits of your computer/cell phone/PDA) are based on micro-photography. And images just won’t focus to smaller than a wavelength of light (something we’ll show with the water waves). But light’s wavelength is at least 10X too large to pattern things at the nanoscale. Instead we have to rely on a process called “self-assembly.” That is, we have to design the parts so they know how we want them to finally come together. The ultimate example of self-assembly? DNA synthesis of protein. You can spend years studying self-assembly, but in this class you’ll find that we can learn the essentials in just three our four classes.
But after you’ve programmed the parts to “self-assemble” at the nanoscale, how do you know if they got it right? One way is to use distant cousins of the old-fashion record player called the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and Scanning Tunneling Microscope (whose invention earned two researchers Nobel Prizes). We used the NSF grant to buy six of these instruments. In the labs, you will use these tools to see individual atoms. (You can preview our virtual reality recreations of these instruments by clicking on their images above).
Finally, we’ll also discuss the boundary between nanoscience and nanotechnology. There is a heck of a lot of the former but not, as yet, a whole lot of the latter. The distinction has produced immense confusion in media from Scientific American to science fiction. What is real? What stands a good chance (or virtually no chance) of ever becoming real? And for the things that do become real, how might they affect us, and the other inhabitants of this world?
Our vision for the class (excerpts from the NSF proposal)
Hands-on Nanoscience - Fall 2008
Instructor: John C. Bean
Discussions / Lectures - ENGR-250:
Tuesday, 2:00-3:15 pm, Thornton Hall room E303
Textbook (a new book we'll use for the first time):
Nanotechnology: Understanding Small Systems
Ben Rogers, Sumita Pennathur and Jesse Adams
CRC Press - Taylor & Francis Group (2008)
ISBN 978-0-8493-8207-9
Labs for those also enrolled in ENGR-251:
Location: Professor Bean's lab Thronton Hall E-111a
Section 1: Wednesday 2:00-3:15 pm
Section 2: Wednesday 3:30-4:45 pm
Section 3: Thursday 2:00-3:15 pm
Section 4: Thursday 3:30-4:45 pm
Literature Research for those enrolled (by arrangment with Prof. Bean) in ENGR - 252
The Fall 2008 class will closely resemble the Fall 2007 class, details of which can be found immediately below:
Hands-on Nanoscience - Fall 2007
Software Resources (including UVA Virtual Lab simulations of nanostructures & nanoscience instrumentation)
Equipment and Supplies used in Demonstrations / Laboratory / Homework
Lecture / Discussion Schedule:
Lab Schedule and Manuals:
|
Lab Dates |
|
1 |
September 6-7 |
Slinky Waves |
2 |
September 13-14 |
Introduction to the Scanning Tunneling Microscope |
3 |
September 20-21 |
Introduction to the Atomic Force Microscope |
4 |
September 27-28 |
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy of atoms on the surface of "HOPG" carbon
OR
Atomic Force Microscopy of CD/DVD Surfaces
|
5 |
October 4-5 |
| 6 |
October 11-12 |
A grab bag of labs on AFM or STM examination of samples including: |
7 |
October 18-19 |
An Integrated Circuit , Carbon Nanotubes, C60, Atomic Steps on Gold,
|
8 |
October 25-26 |
Atomic Steps on Etched Semiconductors, Nano Ge islands on Si,
|
9 |
November 1-2 |
Crystallographic Dislocations in Si, A Nanosample Idea of Yours
|
10 |
November 8-9 |
AND/OR ripple tank will be available to experiment more with water waves
|
11 |
November 15-16 |
Chemical Vapor Deposition of seeded nanotubes on Si |
|
November 22-23 |
No Lab - Thanksgiving Break |
12 |
November 29-30 |
Spectrophotometry of gold quantum dots & correlation with AFM measured size |
13
|
December 6-7 |
|
Homework Assignments:
|
Due Date |
|
1 |
September 5-6 (lab) |
|
2 |
September 13-14 (lab) |
You must pass a quiz on this presentation before using the STM in the lab
|
3 |
September 20-21 (lab) |
You must pass a quiz on this presentation before using the AFM in the lab
|
4 |
September 27-28 (lab) |
|
5 |
October 4-5 |
|
| 6 |
October 11-12 |
|
7 |
October 18-19 |
|
8 |
October 25-26 |
|
9 |
November 1-2 |
|
10 |
November 8-9 |
|
11 |
November 15-16 |
|
12 |
November 22-23 |
|
13 |
November 29-30 |
|
14
|
December 6-7 |
|
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