Another dimension

For years people have discussed future applications for nanotechnology — everything from PCs that boot up instantly to pacemakers that are less likely to be rejected by human tissue. But engineers know that nanotechnologies will not be able to develop further without progress in nanometrology.

The precise control of dimensions of objects is the key issue of nanotechnology and the science of nano-objects. The dimensions of these objects are below 100nm, and the precision required is frequently around 0.1nm. This requires new methods of measurement to be developed.

Researchers at

will be trying to do just that next month when they begin a three-year project to develop a solid-state chip device that will measure and assess nano-scale surfaces on the production line. The aim is to integrate into a single chip the essential components of an interferometer — an optical device that can measure surfaces with the use of interfering light beams.