The IASTED International Conference on
Nanotechnology and Applications
~NANA 2008~

September 29 – October 1, 2008
Crete, Greece

TUTORIAL SESSION

Introduction to Nanorobotics

Prof. Ari Requicha
University of Southern California, USA
requicha@usc.edu

Abstract

Nanorobotics encompasses: (i) design and fabrication of nanorobots with overall dimensions at or below the micrometer range and made of nanoscopic components; (ii) programming and coordination of large numbers of nanorobots; and (iii) programmable assembly of nanoscale components, either by manipulation with micro or macro devices, or by directed self-assembly.

The tutorial begins by discussing nanorobot construction. The emphasis is on nanosensors and nanomachines, areas that have seen a spate of rapid progress over the last few years. Nanorobots are quintessential NEMS (nanoelectromechanical systems) and raise all the important issues that must be addressed in NEMS design: sensing, actuation, control, communications, power, and interfacing across spatial scales and between the organic/inorganic and biotic/abiotic realms. Nanorobots are expected to have revolutionary applications in such areas as environmental monitoring and healthcare.

The tutorial's focus then changes to nanoassembly by manipulation with SPMs (Scanning Probe Microscopes), which is a relatively well-established process for prototyping nanosystems. Experimental results are presented that show that interactive as well as fully automated SPM manipulation can be used to accurately and reliably position molecular-sized components. These can then be linked by chemical or physical means to form subassemblies, which in turn can be further manipulated. Applications in building wires, single-electron transistors and nanowaveguides are presented.

Finally, we discuss an emerging paradigm in self-assembly, in which active elements (nanorobots) are used to build nanostructures.

Participant's Background

No specialized pre-requisites. Accessible to the majority of engineers and scientists.

Objectives

Nanorobotics is a �hot� area with great applications potential, and there is a lot of interest in learning about it and getting involved in it. This tutorial provides an introduction geared towards engineers and scientists who are not necessarily experts in nanotechnology.

Schedule for Major Course Topics

  1. Introduction
  2. Nanorobots and NEMS
    1. Background
    2. Sensors
    3. Actuators
      1. Artificial Molecular Machines
      2. Biomotors
      3. Other Nanomachines
    4. Propulsion
    5. Control
    6. Communication
  3. Nanoassembly
    1. Background
    2. The AFM as a Robot
    3. Manipulation Phenomena and Protocols
    4. Nanoparticle Patterns
    5. Linking and Embedding
    6. Manipulation Systems
      1. Interactive
      2. Automated
    7. Active Self-Assembly
  4. Summary and Outlook

Qualifications of the Instructor

Ari Requicha is founding director of the interdisciplinary Laboratory for Molecular Robotics at USC since 1994. He is co-chair of the IEEE technical committee on micro and nano robotics; editor-in-chief, IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology; and fellow of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers), ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) and AANM (American Academy of Nanomedicine). He teaches every year a regular course on Nanorobotics at USC. For more information, please see the web site http://www-lmr.usc.edu/~requicha.