Small world - big = future Local high schoolers learn nanotechnology at PSU lab

Small world - big future Local high schoolers = learn=20 nanotechnology at PSU lab

By AL ZAGOFSKY azagofsk@ptd.net

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AL=20 ZAGOFSKY/TIMES NEWS Travis Benanti, left.research assistant for = the Penn=20 State Center for Nanotechnology Education and Utilization in the = PSU=20 nanotechnology cleanroom, explains how the Atomic Force Microscope = calculates the thickness of thin films using non-contacting Van = der Waals=20 probes.

While the economy is suffering big problems, a class of students have = learned=20 about a small solution that has already begun to stimulate the recovery = -=20 nanotechnology.

Recently 25 Lehighton High School students in the Electronics program = taught=20 by Joe Farkas of the Carbon County Technical Institute, traveled to the = Penn=20 State Center for Nanotechnology Education and Utilization in State = College for=20 an introduction to career opportunities in nanotechnology.

"The students will be introduced to the world of nanotechnology, how = it's=20 used in today's manufacturing, and what the future has," said instructor = Joe=20 Farkas.

At Penn State, the class was greeted by Phi-Oanh Pham, a Project = engineer at=20 the Center for Nanotechnology Education and Utilization. She discussed = how the=20 Center is part of the Nano Manufacturing Technology - NMT Partnership, a = consortium of Pennsylvania high school, community colleges and state = colleges=20 that share access to the laboratory facilities.

Pham explained that nanotechnology is about particles that measure=20 one-billionth of one meter. It would take 80,000 objects that are one = nanometer=20 wide to reach the thickness of a human hair.

At these ultra-small dimensions, particles may behave much = differently than=20 they do under normal conditions. They may have different electrical, = magnetic,=20 thermal or color properties. Gold for instance, may be red, blue, purple = or=20 green depending on its particle size-a similar process was employed by = stained=20 glass artists during the Middle Ages.

In the nanotechnology laboratory, technicians can create, measure and = manipulate nanoparticles. The tools that are available have helped them = to=20 understand their properties over the past 30 years and helped to design = these=20 particles for specific applications.

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Phi-Oanh=20 Pham - Project engineer at the Penn State Center for = Nanotechnology=20 Education and Utilization demonstrates nanotechnology materials = being=20 analyzed at the PSU teaching = cleanroom.

Nanotechnology materials are being used to miniaturize circuits in=20 electronics, produce less invasive medical devices, target aggressive = drugs, and=20 produce ultra-fine mechanical structures.

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Lehighton=20 High School/CCTI Electronics class helped to demonstrate some = consumer=20 products that are currently are already benefiting from = nanotechnology.=20 One team spoke about Toasty Feet, an insulated sock utilizing air = pockets=20 designed into a nanotech fabric.

Silver, for example, has disinfectant properties. When it is formed = as a thin=20 layer by nanotechnology, the silver lining can coat the inside of a = stocking or=20 bandage to prevent infection.

Consumer products are already benefiting from nanotechnology. It is = being=20 seen in waxes, polishes, paints, tires, clothing, currency, sports = equipment,=20 and sun glasses.

The Lehighton class helped to demonstrate some of these products. One = team=20 looked at a nano=3Dwax and explained how smaller particles produced = better=20 performance. A second team spoke about Toasty Feet, an insulated sock = based on=20 the air pockets that can be designed into the nanotech fabric. A third = team=20 discuss X-static liner socks-for the socks to prevent forming odors they = have=20 nano-sized strands of silver woven inside to inhibit the growth of = bacteria.

Pham explained that the biggest challenge for the nanotechnology = field is the=20 education and training of a new generation of skilled workers. = Nanotechnology=20 research has become a multi-billion dollar business and is taking place = in over=20 35 countries.

"It is estimated that about two million nanotechnology workers will = be needed=20 by 2015-with nearly half the jobs in the United States," Pham said.=20 "Nanotechnology has the potential to create five million additional = related jobs=20 overall by 2015."

Under the Partnership, students attending a community college = partnering with=20 the PSU nanotechnology program can attend Penn State for one term and = take 18=20 credits at the same cost as they would pay at their community = college-plus=20 scholarships are available for room and board. During the semester, they = will=20 log over 100 hours of cleanroom experience.

Following the introduction to nanotechnology, the students dressed to = enter=20 the teaching cleanroom. PSU has two cleanrooms: the research cleanroom = which has=20 an ultra-clean rating of Class 10- ten or fewer dust particles per cubic = foot in=20 the air, and the teaching cleanroom, a class 10,000-rated to allow up to = 10,000=20 dust particles per cubic foot in the air.

The students were required to cover their heads with caps, to wear = safety=20 glasses, gown with disposable lab coats, and cover their shoes with = Tyvek=20 overshoes.

Inside the clean room, they viewed equipment for deposition, = patterning,=20 etching and characterization. They observed as a small amount of = nano-fluid was=20 placed on a silicon wafer on a spin coating wheel inside a fume hood. = The=20 spinning of the wafer reduced the nano-fluid to an ultra-thin layer.

Within the cleanroom were instruments used to make and measure the=20 nano-materials: profilometers, optical microscopes, scanning electron=20 microscopes, and atomic field microspores. One example demonstrated how = thin=20 layers of electronic circuitry is used to make solar cells.

Two promising examples from nanotechnology are the carbon nanotube = and the=20 viral lithium battery. The carbon nanotube is a thin layer of graphite = wrapped=20 into a cylindrical shape-which gives it incredible tensile strength at a = very=20 low weight-300 times that of high strength steel.

The Nano-fabrication Manufacturing Technologies Partnership started = in 1998=20 as a vision of sharing the PSU facility with students throughout = Pennsylvania.=20 Penn State is one of 13 universities in the National Nanotechnology=20 Infrastructure Network.

For more information on the Penn State program, see=20 www.cneu.psu.edu.

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