Title: Molecular Rulers Make Nano-Scale Gaps
Date:  February 8, 2001


Embargoed until 2 p.m. EST
February 8, 2001
NSF PR 01-12

Media contact:
Amber Jones
(703) 292-8070/aljones@nsf.gov

Program contact:
Guebre Tessema
(703) 292-4943/gtessema@nsf.gov

'MOLECULAR RULERS' MAKE NANO-SCALE GAPS
Precise spacings between structures allow construction of nano-wires

     Scientists at Penn State have developed a precise method for making
nano-sized metal wires spaced very close to each other. The process could speed
the miniaturization of electronic devices used for circuits, high-density data
storage and sensors.

     A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. Anat Hatzor and Paul Weiss, with
support from the National Science Foundation, fabricated wires that range from
15 to 70 nanometers wide and a few micrometers long and are spaced 10 to 40
nanometers apart. Previously, nano-scale construction methods had been limited
to structures with larger, less controlled spacings. Their results are
published in the February 9 issue of Science.

     The scientists used organic molecules as "molecular rulers," expanding the
molecules into nano-scale structures with precise amounts of spacing between
them, then using those spaces as miniature molds for gold wires.

   The ability to create precisely sized, parallel nano-wires simultaneously is
expected to be useful in the development of molecular electronics, in which
molecules connected by such wires will serve as transistors, switches and other
electronic devices.

     "This work represents a successful marriage between chemistry and
conventional methods for making microelectronic devices," said NSF program
manager Guebre Tessema. "These scientists have achieved greater precision and
miniaturization, opening a new era in lithography techniques."

     The research was funded by NSF, the Army Research Office, the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Office of Naval Research. It was
conducted at one of NSF's National Nanofabrication Users Network facilities, at
Pennsylvania State University. The users network provides the research and
industrial communities with infrastructure and equipment to make nano-scale
devices in small quantities.

                            -NSF

Editors: For illustrations, contact Amber Jones
For more information, see: http://stm1.chem.psu.edu/