Good Things May Be Coming In Very Small Packages

By Dave Davison
U.S. Army Research Laboratory Public Affairs Office

ADELPHI, Md.--Someday, thanks to nanotechnology, soldiers may have many of the warfighting aids and protections they need built into the fibers of their uniforms.

Although not likely to be fielded anytime soon, the Army Research Laboratory is laying the groundwork by building an in-house research capability as well as working with universities and other outside labs and organizations in various areas of this relatively new and currently hot technology.

A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter, so small a million of them will reach across the head of a pin, but the technology developing around it, when mature, is predicted to have a huge impact on all areas of industry and society. Working on the nanoscale level, scientists and engineers may someday be able to build things by placing every atom and molecule in a desired place. This could mean products that are better built, cleaner, safer and smarter. Another area of potential for nanotechnology is that at the nanoscale, different physical laws apply, which enables a number of new applications in optics, electronics, magnetic storage, computing and other areas.

"Nanotechnology lends itself to many applications," explained Dr. Paul Amirtharaj, acting chief of the Macro-Devices Branch at ARL's Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate. "Currently, a critical area of research is in biological and chemical agent detection," he added.

Dr. Alma Wickenden, a research materials engineer, pointed out that ARL and the Natick Soldier Center, are working to incorporate new types of conductive and semiconducting nanofibers into nano- and micro-scale sensors for electronic detection of chemical and biological agents.

"The intention is that these sensors could be woven into a uniform that serves as a sensor platform. If the sensors detect a chemical or biological agent, the conductive fibers help transmit that information to an outside station so the information can be passed on," she explained. This type of sensor could also be used with unmanned flying vehicles to explore chemical clouds for toxic substances, she added.

Other nanotechnology-enabled sensor concepts are also being developed at ARL, she said, including one in which nanoscale gold particles have been placed in precise arrays, and have resulted in over 1,000 times enhancement of the typical signals detected from chemical species. This sensor technology could be fielded in five to 10 years, Dr. Wickenden said. Further down the road, however, ARL is looking at the possibilities offered by carbon nanotubes.

Carbon nanotubes are nanoscale structures which have unusually high mechanical strength, electronic mobility and thermal transport characteristics. They may be useful for a number of things such as cooling operating circuits thereby increasing their efficiency while cutting operation costs to possibly being used in high density information processors. Dr. Richard Smalley, a Nobel Prize winner, is currently working with carbon nanotubes as a guest researcher at ARL.

Both Amirtharaj and Wickenden point out that long and careful research is necessary before progress is claimed. "Many times what works in the lab (due to the controlled conditions), doesn't work in the field," Amirtharaj said.

However, both are enthusiastic about the potential of nanotechnology.

"There's a lot going on in nanotechnology." Amirtharaj said. He added that other areas ARL is investigating include materials, power sources such as batteries, and computer modeling among others.

"We pay close attention to what is going on in industry plus we do some of our own basic research. Nanotechnology is a new approach and exciting in so many different areas," he said.

RDECOM Magazine, January 2005