Like the California Gold Rush of 1849, the emergence of nanotechnology presents both an enormous opportunity and enormous risks. Just as new techniques, rewards, and challenges emerged during the Gold Rush era, nanotechnology exploration will inevitably lead to the development of tools to achieve new breakthroughs, the opportunity for creating enormous wealth, and unfortunately, the potential for environmental, health, and safety disasters. Although nanotechnology undoubtedly will create disruptive technologies that will spin off many new jobs, it also has the potential for displacing existing workers unprepared to take on these new technologies.
The first fruits of nano R&D already are being harvested as disciplines as diverse as materials, electronics, biotechnology, and computing rush to exploit nanotechnology’s potential. Many consumers already have become familiar with nano-derived products, such as improved types of cosmetics, fabrics, paints, plastics, or personal electronics.
Nanotechnology offers all-but-unlimited opportunities for those who can develop the next exotic material or electronic component that is cheaper, better, and faster than today’s CMOS devices. It also holds huge promise for those who will create the tools needed to produce these materials and devices.
Despite the recession, corporate and government labs around the world continue to invest billions in nanoscience research. Unfortunately, unless the public and private sectors work in cooperation to develop standardized test methods and guidelines, the transition from the laboratory to the marketplace could create many of the same problems as the California Gold Rush did, particularly for the environment.
Why Are Standards So Important?
Very simply, standards are crucial to achieving a high degree of interoperability, creating order in the marketplace, simplifying production requirements, managing the potential for adverse environmental impacts, and most important, ensuring the safety and health of those developing and using the next generation of materials and devices.
Standards for nano terminology, materials, devices, systems, and processes will help establish order in the marketplace. For R&D engineers, standards make it possible to measure and report data consistently in a way that others can understand clearly. Those responsible for developing standards will be at the forefront in understanding the need for and creation of new characterization tools, processes, components, and products to help jump-start this emerging field.
This kind of approach can represent a competitive tool in global markets. Creating a standard in advance of the release of a new technology allows both manufacturers and consumers to gain confidence in it, promoting greater acceptance and faster adoption.
The following examples illustrate the importance of early standards development.
Carbon Nanotubes
Although some of the more sophisticated electronics and medical advances scientists have envisioned are still years down the road, the development of some nanoscale raw materials, particularly carbon nanotubes (CNTs), already is well underway. Years before CNTs were commercially available, industry observers heard how they would bring significant performance advantages to electronics, enhance materials to make them stronger and lighter, and might even be part of the solution to our energy problems.
This industry buzz, plus the massive private and public sector investments in nano research, built interest at every level. In 2000, the late Dr. Richard Smalley spun off his work to form Carbon Nanotechnologies, now Unidym, with the goal of commercializing his method of producing large batches of high-quality nanotubes. Unfortunately, at that point, there were no manufacturing standards or guidelines for ensuring the reproducibility of the company’s manufacturing process.
There also were no known test and measurement guidelines for verifying the reproducibility and proving results on a large scale. Given this, how would the company have assured its customers of the quality of its products? Or just as important, how could customers choose confidently among various manufacturers’ CNTs based on their product description?
Buying CNTs isn’t like buying baseballs or bananas—it’s impossible to judge their quality just by looking at them. En masse, CNTs basically look like a pile of soot. How can incoming inspectors verify what they have received? How do they know whether they are single-walled or multiwalled tubes?
Given the different species of CNTs now available, most companies looking to purchase nanotubes would have had no basis on which to ensure that what they received is what they ordered. However, with a standard in place, customers have the tools needed to verify the materials they are purchasing.
Materials Characterization Techniques
Characterizing the specific properties of raw CNTs obviously is important, but what about nanoscale materials intended to enhance bulk materials or create new materials with enhanced properties? What kinds of testing and reporting standards are needed? Must both mechanical and electrical testing be included when designing new materials?
Probing and microscopy are used routinely to uncover new properties, but probe force also should be considered. What happens to the electrical properties of a nanoscale material under a particular probe force? Some very thin materials can exhibit localized phase transformations at the probing location, which can change their electrical characteristics. What testing standards and guidelines are necessary to support probe force?
Nanomechanical testing has become a popular way of determining quantitative, small-volume mechanical properties. Conceptually, nanoindentation is a relatively straightforward technique in which an indenter probe of a well-known geometry is pushed into and withdrawn from the material’s surface while the force and displacement are continuously recorded.
Conductive nanoindentation, a new technique, combines nanoindenter hardware with a conductive probe and voltage/current source-and-measure instrumentation to produce a time-based correlation of force, displacement, voltage, and current. When used in tandem, nanomechanical and electrical measurements have proven highly sensitive to probe/sample contact conditions as well as to material deformation behavior, which adds important information to that obtainable from nanoscale point measurements.
From a standards perspective, the most important question becomes whether a broader audience would find this testing method acceptable. Would the nanomaterials community accept this as a best practice measurement method and as a potential standard test methodology?
IEEE’s Nanotechnology Standards Development
The IEEE has assumed a leadership position in the development of nanoelectronics standards. The factors driving the development of these standards are the need for reproducibility of results, international collaboration, and a common means of communicating across traditional scientific disciplines. This activity is driven by the IEEE Nanotechnology Council (NTC), an interdisciplinary group with members representing 21 IEEE societies. NTC currently is involved in a variety of standards efforts and activities.
IEEE Standard 1650™-2005
IEEE Standard 1650-2005: IEEE Standard Test Methods for Measurement of Electrical Properties of Carbon Nanotubes was one of the first nanotechnology standards with which the IEEE became involved. This effort was driven by the need for a way to reproduce and prove lab results on a much larger scale and establish common metrics and a minimum requirement for reporting.
The standard’s main purpose is to establish methods for the electrical characterization of CNTs and the means of reporting performance and other data. These methods enable the creation of a suggested reporting standard that is used from the research phase through manufacturing as the technology is developed. Moreover, the standard recommends the necessary tools and procedures for validation.
It took more than two years to complete development of IEEE 1650, which was approved in December 2005. Since then, other groups have been busy developing their own standards.
In addition, the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) has been exploring support for the adoption of IEEE 1650 by several international bodies. For example, in collaboration with the NTC, IEEE-SA pursued a dual-logo agreement for IEEE 1650 with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Technical Committee 113, Working Group 3 Performance of Nanomaterials for Electrotechnical Components and Systems. In November 2008, the IEC TC 113 decided to adopt ANSI/IEEE Standard 1650™-2005 as a dual logo.
IEEE P1690
One potential impediment to widespread introduction of CNTs used as additives in bulk materials is the lack of defined standards for their characterization. Also, methods for reporting performance and other data have not been established. Each scientist or engineer has independently developed measurement procedures that may or may not be definitively comparable with the results of others.
To address these concerns, IEEE-SA created the IEEE P1690™ Working Group in late 2005. The team was tasked with developing Standard Methods for the Characterization of Carbon Nanotubes Used as Additives in Bulk Materials. The standard will suggest procedures for characterizing and reporting data that will be used by research through manufacturing; methods will be independent of processing routes used to fabricate the CNTs. It also will recommend the necessary tools and procedures for validation.
The NESR Initiative
The NanoElectronics Standards Roadmap (NESR) Initiative is working to create a framework through which the IEEE-SA and the nanoelectronics community can define a standards roadmap that will:
•?Identify high-value standards opportunities
•?Frame near-term standards
•?Leverage, not duplicate, existing sources
•?Stimulate industry collaboration
•?Accelerate nanoelectronics standards development
•?Establish a framework for proactive management of standards
Those involved in the NESR Initiative are responsible for developing and driving a standards roadmap that will help electronic nanotechnology innovations make a smooth transition from the laboratory to the marketplace in the communications, information technology, consumer products, and optoelectronics sectors.
The NESR roadmap has gained considerable interest from representatives of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors and the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative. Members currently are focusing on nanomaterials and devices that will have a short-term impact on the industry while assessing the long-term needs of an electronics industry based on nanoelectronic architectures. Within these areas, standards have been prioritized by testing them against four criteria:
•?Technology Maturity: Is the technology well enough understood to standardize?
•?Clear Near-Term Applications: Does the standard eliminate near-term roadblocks, ensuring a rapid payback for the effort involved?
•?High Business Value: Does the standard offer multiple device-circuit-application threads?
•?Fits IEEE Role—Nanoelectronics: Does the definition of electronics stretch a bit at the nanoscale level?
IEEE-SA approved the first NESR Project Authorization Request (PAR), denoted PAR1784, to create a standards working group on Nanomaterials Characterization and Use in Large-Scale Electronics Manufacturing. The purpose of this standard is to enable the quick, low-risk adoption of nanomaterials into large-scale electronics manufacturing. In addition, a best set of common practices will be delineated for use in semiconductor fabs.
Efforts in nanomaterial research and development for use in semiconductor VLSI technology are increasing exponentially. The common availability of nanomaterials is allowing engineers to explore new methods to exploit the mechanical, electromagnetic, and quantum properties of nanotubes, nanowires, and nanoparticles—not just theoretically but experimentally. To exploit the enhanced properties of new nanoscale materials fully, industries including the semiconductor industry that use nano-enhanced materials must embrace a new set of best practices for large-scale manufacturing.
What Benefits Do Standards Offer?
Standards offer a major benefit to a technology by supporting its evolution. In fact, standards are the defining precursor of products whose intended performance they prescribe. A variety of benefits is attributable to standards:
•?Give end users confidence that products are safe and reliable and that they will perform as they are intended. Standards establish consistent expectations and help ensure those expectations are met.
•?Create a common language that manufacturers and end users can use to communicate on issues like quality and safety.
•?Help promote product compatibility and interoperability.
•?Help overcome trade barriers for global markets.
•?Foster the diffusion and adoption of new technologies. In addition to giving participants in the development process early access to technical know-how, participants can influence how certain test or measurement guidelines can be documented, affecting the content of the standard.
Keithley’s participation in the development of IEEE 1650 offers a good example of how companies can gain a competitive advantage by participating in the development of standards. As a representative of Keithley Instruments, I helped develop the Electrical Characterization overview Section 1.3 of the standard which addresses testing apparatus and measurement techniques including the definition of the measurement equipment specifications. It incorporates guidelines for handling ohmic contacts and making both low (100 k?) resistance measurements.
The standard also created a business opportunity for Keithley. Because our Model 4200 Semiconductor Characterization System (Figure 1) meets the equipment specification requirements of IEEE 1650-2005, we included this fact in our product literature, which has led to increased sales and greater customer confidence when using this product in applications for measuring the electrical properties of CNTs.
Participation in standards development also offers advantages for the public sector by spurring improved national competitiveness, education, and job creation.
The Expanding Standards Community
Participants from the public and private sectors traditionally have written most of the standards because they tend to derive the greatest benefit from them. Although the academic community has been relatively slow to get involved in standards development, the public and private sectors often have called upon them to provide expertise because of their experience in validating applications-oriented research. Having the public, private, and academic communities unite to develop standards for international adoption is in everyone’s best interests.
Thinking Globally
Speaking as an active participant in IEEE 1650, IEEE 1690, NESR, and ISO efforts, I can attest to how rewarding participating in standards development can be as an engineer. But it also can provide a competitive advantage to companies by offering early access to information and technical know-how.
Standards development must be a global effort. Certain countries around the world are making it a primary part of their own research plans. For example, the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology has made drafting of nanotechnology research standards part of its national basic research plan.
One of the many challenges that must be overcome is how to prioritize which standards to develop next, based on measurement best practices and characterization processes. We need to understand whether the measurement tools available today are the right tools from an international perspective.
Although international barriers must be taken into account, creating an international working collective will simplify the development of standards and allow for broader acceptance. Currently, no one country is in complete control, nor is there one standard that predominates. But global agreements will be necessary if nano standards development is to stay in synch with the technologies themselves. This need creates opportunities for everyone.
Standards development is a people project, and virtually every standards development organization could put your efforts to good use, whether you’re an engineering student, an academic, or someone who works in the public or private sectors. Participating in standards development is an excellent way to establish yourself as an expert. While it doesn’t take much time, your reward can be increased visibility for you and your organization.
Acknowledgement
Portions of this article were drawn from “Is Nanotechnology the Next Gold Rush? Not Without Standards,” by Jonathan L. Tucker, which appeared in the September 2008 issue of IEEE Nanotechnology Magazine.
About the Author
Jonathan L. Tucker is the senior marketer for Nanotechnology, Research, and Education and the Sensitive Measurements product line manager at Keithley Instruments. Since joining Keithley Instruments in 1987, he has held numerous positions including test engineer, applications engineer, applications manager, and product marketer. Mr. Tucker chairs the IEEE Nanotechnology Council Standards Committee, co-chairs the IEEE Nanoelectronics Standards Roadmap Initiative, and is the IEEE-SA primary member of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to the International Organization for Standardization technical committee on nanotechnologies (ISO TC229). Mr. Tucker holds a bachelor’s of electrical engineering degree from Cleveland State University and an MBA from Kent State University. Keithley Instruments, 28775 Aurora Rd., Cleveland, OH 44139, 440-498-2718, e-mail: [email protected]
FOR MORE INFORMATION
on the IEEE Nanotechnology
Standards Initiative
www.rsleads.com/906ee-184
on IEEE 1650-2005
www.rsleads.com/906ee-185
June 2009