Commercialize Nanotech

Saleh Salari

Mohammad Amin KeshmiriInstructor: Dr.abolghasem arabiun & Dr.reza mohammad kazemi

2010

What is nanotechnology?•Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions

of roughly 1 to 100 nanometers, where unique phenomena enable novel applications.

•Encompassing nanoscale science, engineering and technology, nanotechnology involves imaging, measuring, modeling, and manipulating

matter at this length scale.

What happens at the nanoscale?

•At the nanoscale, the physical, chemical, and biological properties of materials differ in fundamental and valuable ways from the properties of individual atoms

and molecules or bulk matter.

•Nanotechnology R&D is directed toward understanding and creating improved materials, devices, and systems that exploit these new properties .

Why is the nanometer length scale significant?

The wavelike properties of electrons inside matter are influenced by variations on the nanometer scale. It is possible to vary fundamental properties of materials (e.g., melting temperature, magnetization, and charge capacity) without changing the chemical composition by patterning matter on the nanometer

length scale .Life works at the nanometer scale. The systematic organization of matter on the nanometer length scale is a

key feature of biological systems. Nanotechnology promises to allow us to place artificial components and assemblies inside cells, and to make new materials using the self-assembly methods of nature. This is a

powerful new combination of materials science and biotechnology .By virtue of their size, nanoscale components have very high surface areas. Thus, they are ideal for use in

composite materials, reacting systems, drug delivery, solar cells, and energy storage .The finite size of material entities, as compared to the molecular scale, determine an increase of the relative

importance of surface tension and local electromagnetic effects, making nanostructured materials harder and less brittle .

The interaction wavelength scales of various external wave phenomena become comparable to the material entity size, making materials suitable for various opto-electronic applications .

Why develop nanotechnology?•Gaining better control over the structure of matter has been a primary project of our species since we

started chipping flint. The quality of all human-made goods depends on the arrangement of their atoms. The cost of our products depends on how difficult it is for us to get the atoms and molecules to connect up the way we want them. The amount of energy used - and pollution created - depends on the methods we use to place and connect the molecules into a given product. The goal of nanotechnology is to improve our control over how we build things, so that our products can be of the highest quality and while causing the lowest environmental impact. Nanotech is even expected to help us heal the damage our past cruder and dirtier technologies have caused to the biosphere.

•Nanotechnology has been identified as essential in solving many of the problems facing humanity. Specifically, it is the key to addressing the following challenges:

1 .Providing Renewable Clean Energy2. Supplying Clean Water Globally3. Improving Health and Longevity4. Healing and Preserving the Environment5. Making Information Technology Available To All6. Enabling Space Development

How is nanotech different from biotech?

Based on the definition of nanotech given above, biotech can be thought of as a subset of nanotech - "nature's nanotechnology." Biotech uses the molecular structures, devices, and systems found in plants and animals to create new molecular products. Nanotech is more general, not being limited to existing natural structures, devices, and systems, and instead designing and building new, non-biological ones. These can be quite different: harder, stronger, tougher, and able to survive a dry or hot environment, unlike biology. For example, nanotech products can be used to build an automobile or spacecraft.

What Is All the Fuss About Nanotechnology?

Any given search engine will produce 1.6 million hits

Nanotechnology is on the way to becoming the FIRST trillion dollar market

Nanotechnology influences almostevery facet of every day life such as

security and medicine.

Where is nanotechnology being developed?

•Research and development of nanotechnology is taking place worldwide. As this is written, government spending is at approximately one billion U.S. dollars in each of four global areas: (1) the United States, (2) Europe, (3) Japan, and (4) the rest of the world, including China, Israel, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, and India. Similar amounts are said to be being spent in the private sector, with these figures being quite difficult to determine accurately due to the breadth of the nanotech definition, which includes a large number of older

technologies .

Which country leads in nanotechnology?

World leadership in nanotechnology varies according to which sub-category of technology is being examined. In general, nanotechnology is unlike a number of recent major technological innovations in that the U.S. does not hold a very strong lead at the start. High quality work is taking place around the world, including countries with a higher fraction of engineering graduates, much lower R&D costs, and (unfortunately) less-stringent environmental standards.

What nanotechnology products are available today or are currently being developed?

With basic research under way for 20-plus years, nanotechnologies are gaining in commercial introductions. In the short term, nanoparticles will be introduced into many existing materials, making them stronger or changing their conductive properties. Significantly stronger polymers will make plastics more widely used to reinforce materials and replace metals, even in the semi-conductor area.

One of the most innovative new products is one that enhances biological imaging for medical diagnostics and drug discovery. Quantum dots are semi-conducting nanocrystals that, when illuminated with ultraviolet light, emit a vast spectrum of bright colors that can be used to identify and locate cells and other biological activities. These crystals offer optical detection up to a thousand times brighter than conventional dyes used in many biological tests, such as MRIs, and render significantly more information.

The latest display technology for laptops, cell phones, digital cameras and other uses are made of nanostructured polymer films. Known as OLEDs, or organic light emitting diodes, several large companies will begin producing them in late 2003 and early 2004. Among OLED screen advantages are brighter images, lighter weight, less power consumption and wider viewing angles.

What nanotechnology products are available today or are currently being developed?

Nanoparticles also are being used increasingly in catalysis, where the large surface area per unit volume of nanosized catalysts enhances reactions. Greater reactivity of these smaller agents reduces the quantity of catalytic materials necessary to produce desired results. The oil industry relies on nanoscale catalysts for refining petroleum, while the automobile industry is saving large sums of

money by using nanosized – in place of larger – platinum particles in its catalytic converters .Because of their size, filters made of nanoparticles also have been found to be excellent for liquid filtration. Several products are now available for large-scale water purification that can take out the tiniest bacteria and viruses from water systems, in addition to chemicals and particulate matter.

Another example of rapid insertion of nanotechnology into useful applications is in the field of wear-resistant coatings. In the mid-1990s nanoceramic coatings exhibiting much higher toughness than conventional coatings were first developed. Beginning in 1996, the DOD supported partnerships among the Navy, academia, and industry to develop processes suitable for use in manufacturing and to evaluate the coatings for use in the marine environment. In 2000, the first nanostructured coating was qualified for use on gears of air-conditioning units for U.S. Navy ships. In 2001, the technology was selected to receive an R&D100 Award. DOD estimates that use of the coatings on air valves will result in a $20 million reduction in maintenance costs over 10 years. The development of wear-resistant coatings by the DOD is clearly allied with its mission, yet will lead to commercial applications that can extend the lifetime of moving parts in everything from personal

cars to heavy industrial machinery .

What results can be expected in the near-term? The mid-term? The long-term?

Nanotech's development can usefully be divided into stages, for example: 1st generation: Passive nanostructures

2nd generation: Active nanostructures

3rd generation: Three-dimensional nanosystems with heterogeneous nanocomponents

4th generation: Heterogeneous molecular nanosystems, where each molecule in the nanosystem has a specific structure and plays a different role

1st generation products are commercially available, 2nd generation work is taking place in the laboratory, and later generations are at the computational experiment and modeling stage.

Goal: Commercialize Nanotech

Identify Market Needs(Pull-Through)

Academia

GovernmentIndustry

Applications Funding

Ideas

$

Is nanotechnology a means to an end?

Sustainability

Nanotechnology

Yes, if we invent and innovate in these key areas…

Sustainability

Nanotechnology

Invention Innovation

• Providing Renewable Clean Energy• Supplying Clean Water Globally• Improving Health and Longevity

• Healing and Preserving the Environment• Making Information Technology Available To All• Enabling Space Development

Example

• Why is this happening now?

• What are the goals for the next 10 years?

Alberta (Canada) is rapidly becoming a world leader in the field of nanotechnology.

About Alberta (Canada)

• Alberta - one of the 10 Provinces in Canada

• Population – 3.5 million

• Traditional Industries – Oil and gas, Agriculture, Forest products, Manufacturing

• Emerging Industries – MEMS, Advanced Materials, Geomatics, Remote Sensing, Food Processing

Today in Alberta

• Nanotech companies: ~50 • Employment: ~1000• Public investment: ~$500M (past 5 years)

• Nanotech Researchers: ~1000

NANOALBERTA.CA

3 Commercial Priorities …

1.1. Energy/EnvironmentEnergy/Environment2.2. HealthHealth3.3. Agriculture/ForestryAgriculture/Forestry

… for Alberta’s Nanotechnology

Alberta Nanotechnology Strategy

Industrial Strategy announced in 2007Industrial Strategy announced in 2007♦ Funding: $130M♦ Vision: “Alberta will be a leading

contributor in placing Canadaamongst the top 5 nationstop 5 nationsin the world …”

““$20 billion of new economic activity by 2020$20 billion of new economic activity by 2020 –

- from nano enabled products and applications specific to industries in:♦ EnergyEnergy and EnvironmentEnvironment♦ HealthHealth Technologies, and ♦ BioindustryBioindustry sectors”

Alberta Nanotechnology Strategy

1. Grow and develop a new generation of new generation of businesses and entrepreneursbusinesses and entrepreneurs to commercialize nanotechnology solutions

2.2. Build, attract and retain world-class talentBuild, attract and retain world-class talent

3. Continue to enhance Alberta’s superior superior technology infrastructuretechnology infrastructure

Strategy Overview

Collaborate with industry to create new commerce in:Energy & Environment, Health & Medical Technologies, Agriculture & Forestry

Create an Industrial Partnership Program (‘nanoWorks’) to fund nanotechnology research initiatives jointly with industry.

Establish programs to engage students from technical institutions.

Create a Nano-Entrepreneur Program

Strategy One

New generation of businesses and entrepreneurs

Build, attract and retain world-class, quality talent

Establish a graduate student scholarship program for basic and applied nanotechnology research

Expand training capacity to meet the industry requirements for growth.

Recruit and retain world-class research, product design and management talent to Alberta.

Increase nanotechnology awareness and hands-on learning opportunities in K-12 programs

Strategy Two

Infrastructure and intellectual capital

Build and operate an open-use product development centre for entrepreneurs and industry partners: ACAMP

Enhance the capability and capacity of key facilities: NanoFab (UofA), AMIF (UofC)

Increase the operating budget for MSTRI (Microsystems Technology Research Initiative) prototype development activities

Create an operating support program to ensure the ongoing operation of necessary equipment for core facilities.

Strategy Three

NanoAlberta facilitates collaborative efforts. facilitates collaborative efforts.♦ With a focus on ProductsProducts and Applications Applications ♦ Ensures strong Industry ParticipationIndustry Participation♦ Leverages Existing InvestmentsExisting Investments♦ Builds on existing and emerging strengthsBuilds on existing and emerging strengths

nanoAlberta

Delivering theAlberta Nanotechnology Strategy

Building on Strengths

1. A well planned DirectionDirection for nanotechnology (Alberta Nanotechnology Strategy - www.nanoalberta.ca)

2. Committed FundingFunding to carry out the Strategy3. A talented pool of PeoplePeople (University of Alberta)

4.4. NINTNINT (National Institute for Nanotechnology at the UofA)

5. A CultureCulture of Entrepreneurship

Alberta has:

‘The only debt-free jurisdiction in North America’

National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT)National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT)• $120M initial investment

Informatics Circle of Research Excellence (iCORE)Informatics Circle of Research Excellence (iCORE)• Attracting top 5% highly quality people (HQP) in the world.

Alberta Heritage Foundation for MedicalAlberta Heritage Foundation for MedicalResearch (AHFMR)Research (AHFMR)• $1.5B to support medical researchers

Alberta Ingenuity FundAlberta Ingenuity Fund• $1.0B to support science and engineering.

Building on Prior Investments

EntrepreneursEntrepreneurs• Alberta Ingenuity • TECEdmonton• University Technologies International (UTI)• Calgary Technologies Inc. (CTI)

Risk CapitalRisk Capital• $100M Alberta Enterprise Fund• Alberta SR&ED credit

Building on People

Alberta Landscape

NINTNINT (National Institute for Nanotechnology)

CEINCEIN (Center of Excellence for Integrated NanoTools)

MSTRIMSTRI (Microsystems Technology Research Initiative)

AMIFAMIF (Advanced Microsystems Integration Facility)

ACSESACSES (Alberta Center for Surface Engineering & Science)

CIHMCIHM (Center for Intelligent Health Monitoring)

INRFINRF (Integrated Nanosystems Research Facility)

Protein Gene Discovery CentreInstitute for Biomolecular Design

NanoFabNanoFab (Open Access Fabrication Facility)

CONNECT – Bringing Technology to Market

$178M Action Plan for 5 years:♦ $100 million venture capital♦ Technology Development Advisors♦ Innovation Vouchers for technology development services♦ Product development centres♦ Demonstration fund for testing new products♦ Pre-commercial and seed stage fund♦ Youth entrepreneurship in technologies ♦ Additional 10% provincial tax credit for R&D

ReferencesBiotechnology and Nanotechnology:

Science-based Enabling Technologies as Windowsof Opportunity for LDCs?

JORGE NIOSIDepartment of Management and Technology, UQAM, Que., Canadaand

SUSAN E. REID*

Bishop’s University, Que., Canadawww.nano.ir

www.nano.org.ukhttp://nanobusiness.irNational Nanotechnology Initiative (nano.gov)

www.NanoInvestorNews.com