Nanotech Turns 20

Filed in archive Research on September 30, 2009

© chidorian

Just over 20 years ago, IBM Fellow Don Eigler became the first person in history to move and control an individual atom -- and two months later, he spelled out the letters IBM with 35 xenon atoms.

"Don Eigler’s accomplishment remains, to this day, one of the most important breakthroughs in nanoscience and technology," says T.C, Chen vice president of science and technology at IBM Research. "At the time, the implications of this achievement were so far-reaching they almost seemed like science fiction. But now, twenty years later, it’s clear that this was a defining moment that has spawned the kind of research that will eventually bring us beyond CMOS and Moore’s Law, to advance computing to handle the massive volumes of data in the world while using less energy resources."

"Moving tiny atoms had big consequences by making the idea of assembling devices atom by atom very real," writes CNET's Stephen Shankland. "And the company has built on that nanotechnology foundation, storing information on specific gold atoms, collecting carbon monoxide molecules into computer logic circuits, and pursuing a vision for vastly more compact computing technology."

More here from The Inquirer ... more here from Singularity Hub ... more here from IT PRO ... and the press release is here.