Nanoelectromechanical systems

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Part of a series of articles on Nanoelectronics
Single-molecule electronics Molecular electronics Molecular logic gate Molecular wires
Solid-state nanoelectronics Nanocircuitry Nanowires Nanolithography NEMS Nanosensor
Other approaches Nanoionics Nanophotonics Nanomechanics
See also Nanotechnology
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"NEMS" redirects here. For Brian Epstein's management company and record store, see NEMS Enterprises.

Nanoelectromechanical systems or NEMS are similar to Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) but smaller. They hold promise to improve abilities to measure small displacements and forces at a molecular scale, and are related to nanotechnology and nanomechanics.

There are two approaches most researchers accept as standard paths to NEMS. The top-down approach can be summarized as “a set of tools designed to build a smaller set of tools”. For example, a millimeter sized factory that builds micrometer sized factories which in turn can build nanometer sized devices. The other approach is the bottom-up approach, and can be thought of as putting together single atoms or molecules until a desired level of complexity and functionality has been achieved in a device. Such an approach may utilize molecular self-assembly or mimic molecular biology systems.

In 2000, the first Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) NEMS device was demonstrated by researchers from IBM^[1]. Its premise was an array of AFM tips which can heat/sense a deformable substrate in order to function as a memory device. In 2007, the International Technical Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS)^[2] contains NEMS Memory as a new entry for the Emerging Research Devices section; an indication that the semiconductor industry is actively considering the technology for implementation in the near (15 years) future.

A combination of these approaches may also be used, in which nanoscale molecules are integrated into a top-down framework. One such example is the carbon nanotube nanomotor.