conference report

20

Trends in Nanotechnology 2008Jim G. Partridge*

The Trends in NanoTechnology 2008

conference (TNT2008) was held in

Oviedo, Spain from 1–5 September.

TNT conferences consistently showcase

leading research in nanoscience and

nanotechnology and provide a venue

for researchers from industrial, aca-

demic, and governmental organizations

to mingle and share ideas. More than 30

countries were represented by about 300

attendees at TNT2008 and the provision

of around 80 student travel bursaries

ensured that a large number of post-

graduate students were able to present

their work. Developments in nano-

related policies from the European

Commission and in initiatives including

iNANO, CIC nanoGUNE, and GDR-E

were also reported.

The host city of Oviedo was both

scenic and genial, with many attractions

to keep the attendees entertained after

the sessions. It combines its history with

a technological drive pursued by its

University and research centers, which

were strongly represented at TNT2008.

The University of Oviedo celebrated its

400th birthday this year and its historic

buildings were open for exploration. A

photographic exhibition, ‘‘A Visit to the

Nanoworld’’, complemented the confer-

ence and revealed some artistic aspects

of the conference topic.

The opening ceremony on the

Monday was followed by the first of

34 keynote presentations. After a side-

ways look at scientific endeavor, Uzi

Landman (Georgia Technology Insti-

tute, US) presented work on nanoscale

gold catalysis. The presentation showed

how theoretical techniques have been

[�] J. G. Partridge

Applied Physics

RMIT University Melbourne, 3001

(Australia)

E-mail: jim.partridge@rmit.edu.au

DOI: 10.1002/smll.200801649

employed to investigate the structure of

gold clusters, the interactions between

clusters and supporting surfaces, and

how the dimensionality and reactivity of

clusters can be controlled by electric

fields. This session also included a talk

by M. Aono (National Institute for

Materials Science, Japan) describing

how single polymer chains are trans-

formed from a non-metallic to a metallic

state simply by application of a bias

voltage. These polymer chains have

been positioned in prescribed locations

and possible applications of this tech-

nology were discussed.

The nanofabrication session, chaired

by Frank Nouvertne (Raith GmbH)

featured an extraordinary presentation

from Urs Staufer (Delft University of

Technology, The Netherlands), who

described an autonomous atomic force

microscope. This instrument has suc-

cessfully performed scans and returned

images from Mars. Details of the design

and construction process were presented

to the audience.

The session also included talks from

Lars Montelius (Lund University, Swe-

den) and Emmerich Bertagnolli (Vienna

University of Technology, Austria), who

highlighted advances in nanoimprint

lithography and focused ion beam

nanofabrication, respectively.

Tuesday’s proceedings began with a

session devoted to applications in photo-

� 2009 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinhe

nic and Terahertz technology. Kazuo

Kadowaki (University of Tsukuba,

Japan) opened with a presentation

describing superconducting single-

crystal mesa structures capable of pro-

ducing emission at frequencies in the

‘‘THz gap’’. Efrat Lifshitz (Technion

Institute of Technology, Israel) followed

and presented results showing blink-free

photoluminescence from CdTe/CdSe

core/shell semiconductor nanocrystal

quantum dots with spectra containing

single- and multi- exciton bands. Later,

Luis Marzan (University of Vigo, Spain)

presented a survey of several wet-

chemistry methods that result in noble

metal nanoparticle synthesis and

described theoretical calculations used

to study the surface plasmon resonance

of conduction electrons in spherical and

non-spherical nanoparticles.

In a nanomagnetism session that

followed lunch, Ivan Schuller (Univer-

sity of California, US) discussed

phenomena observed in materials con-

sisting of superconducting and magnetic

heterojunctions, including effects such

as bistable superconductivity and long-

range fractal order. The presentation

given by Dieter Suess (Vienna Univer-

sity of Technology, Austria) included

simulations of three-dimensional multi-

layer recording media, where individual

layers are addressed independently and

writing is assisted by the application of

linearly polarized microwave fields in

the plane of the film.

Tuesday’s closing session focused

on the bio-nano field. Flemming

Besenbacher (iNano, Denmark)

described a method for programmed

self-assembly of molecular nanostruc-

tures. In ‘‘DNA origami design’’, long

single-stranded DNA sequences can be

folded into arbitrary shapes. Dolphin-

shaped structures with flexible tails were

shown as examples of this efficient self-

assembly method.

im small 2009, 5, No. 1, 20–21

Alexander Bittner (CIC nano-

GUNE, Spain), showed how electro-

spinning has been adapted for self-

assembling monomers such as phospho-

lipids and proteins. The structure of the

Tobacco mosaic virus was metalized and

strategies for functionalizing these struc-

tures are being developed with inspira-

tion provided from natural self-assembly

in plants.

On Wednesday, a session dedicated

to NanoICT and chaired by David

Guedj (EU/ICT-FET-nanoICT, Bel-

gium) introduced the EU nanoscale

devices and systems initiative and pre-

sented results from EU-funded projects

including NODE, PicoInside, and CHI-

MONO. The following presentations

described STM manipulation of single

molecules (L. Grill, University of Freie,

Germany), transport properties of semi-

conductor nanowires (M. Persson, CEA,

France), and atomic-scale computa-

tional architectures (M. Simmons, Uni-

versity of New South Wales, Australia).

Parallel sessions in the afternoon

focused on nanoscience in Asturias and

on research presentations from Ph.D.

students. Research findings in nanomag-

netism, hybrid organic/non-organic

nanotubes, chemical analysis of nano-

layers, and biosensing were presented in

the Nanoscience in Asturias session. The

Ph.D. session opened with a talk by Alan

Reguer (CINAM, France) describing a

study of the growth of Si nanowires using

in situ scanning electron microscopy.

Elisabetta Primiceri (Nat. Nanotech.

Lab of CNR-INFM, Italy) showed how

electrochemical impedance spectro-

scopy has been used to monitor cell

growth, morphology, and adhesion and

the changes occurring in these as a

function of treatment with drugs or toxic

compounds.

small 2009, 5, No. 1, 20–21 � 2

The organizers wisely timetabled a

half-day after the conference dinner,

which was enjoyed by all and ran well

into the small hours. In the first of two

sessions on Thursday afternoon, the

electrical properties of one-dimensional

composite networks (Kaushik Mallick,

MINTEK, South Africa), organic mole-

cules (Enrique Louis, University of

Alicante, Spain), and device leads (Vic-

tor Garcia-Suarez, Lancaster Univer-

sity, UK) were discussed. This session

also included a talk from Jacob

Israelachvili (University of California,

US), who reviewed the interaction

forces between nanoparticles and

discussed how knowledge of these forces

could lead to methods for directed

assembly of nanoparticles and mole-

cules. The second session of the day

included a presentation on self-

assembled quantum rings from Jorge

Garcia (IMM-CNM-CSIC, Spain),

which featured recent microphotolumi-

nescence measurements taken from

single quantum rings.

In breaks between oral presentations,

delegates were able to discuss work

presented as posters and view some of

the latest scientific apparatus in the

instrument exhibition. The poster ses-

sions exhibited the same wide variety of

research topics as the oral presentations.

The first session, containing more than 90

posters, was allocated to Ph.D. work and

provided valuable interaction between

established researchers and the present-

ing students. Nineteen poster prizes were

made available thanks to sponsors and

the recipients of these prizes were

announced at the conference dinner.

TNT2008 concluded on Friday 5th

September. The first of the final two

sessions included work on magnetic

properties and spin transport in nano-

structured materials. A session dedi-

009 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

cated to carbon nanotubes then brought

the conference to the closing ceremony.

Jose I. Martin (University of Oviedo,

Spain) presented theoretical and experi-

mental studies of domain-wall propaga-

tion in extended uniaxial magnetic films

featuring arrays of asymmetric ‘‘anti-

dots’’. Christian Bernhard (University of

Fribourg & FriMat, Switzerland) pre-

sented work on spin transport and novel

quantum states in multilayers of organic

and oxide materials. This presentation

included direct measurements of cur-

rent-induced spin transport within an

operational multilayered spin-valve

device.

Hiroyuki Shima (Hokkaido Univer-

sity, Japan) had the opening talk in the

carbon-nanotube session and discussed

pressure-induced structural transitions

in multi-walled carbon nanotubes. In

experiments, radial corrugation of

multi-walled carbon nanotubes occurred

after hydrostatic pressures (exceeding

1 GPa) were applied. The number of

corrugations depended on the number

of concentric tubes, the applied pres-

sure, and the (outer) diameter of the

nanotubes. Later, Mariusz Zdrojek

(ICN, Spain) presented work in which

single-electron counting has been used

as a tool to probe the electronic proper-

ties of CdSe quantum dots. These dots

were attached to a carbon-nanotube

electrode serving as both a reservoir,

supplying electrons to the dot, and also

as a detector, since the conductance of

the CNT exhibited high sensitivity to its

electrostatic environment.

In the closing ceremony thanks were

given to the participants and deserved

recognition was bestowed on the orga-

nizing committee for another successful

TNT conference. The tenth Trends in

Nanotechnology conference (TNT2009)

will take place in Barcelona from

September 7–11. This conference, like

its predecessors, will include the latest

developments in nanotechnology and

provide an opportunity to interact with

high-caliber international researchers in

a stimulating and enjoyable event.

Received: November 7, 2008

www.small-journal.com 21