| Author (Person) | Chapman, Peter |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.10, No.26, 15.7.04 |
| Publication Date | 15/07/2004 |
| Content Type | News |
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Date: 15/07/04 NANOTECHNOLOGY. It's so tiny you cannot see it. But it's the next big thing - at least it is if you believe European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin and former information society chief Erkki Liikanen, or the much less enthusiastic musings of the heir to the British throne, Prince Charles. Busquin and Liikanen teamed up recently with a group of European electronics companies to herald a new wave of research and development (R&D) from the public and private sector into the field of nanotechnology. Their "Vision 2020" report called for l6 billion per year in investment in the sector and also launched the European Nanoelectronics Initiative Advisory Council (ENIAC), to be chaired by STMicroelectronics' Chief Executive Pasquale Pistorio. This European public-private partnership is charged with identifying and implementing "a strategic research agenda for nanoelectronics in Europe". Nanotechnology is already competing with the Union's constitution and genetically modified organisms as a talking point at EU dinner parties. Yet, despite the hype, the experts admit that few people really understand what it is and why small is beautiful. That said, you don't need a doctorate in physics, as Busquin does, to grasp the gist of it. Put simply, nanoelectronics can be defined as electronics with circuits measuring less than one-tenth of a micron. A human hair is 40-120 microns in diameter. A postage stamp is more than 25,000 microns long. Some devices even exploit single atoms or molecules. Most work is still based on tiny pieces of silicon, a relatively cheap and abundant element. But more elaborate compounds based on galium and arsenic are also used. The smaller the circuits are, the more powerful they are. Crucially, they also use less energy. Microscopic chips are no good if you need a chunky old battery to make them work. What about applications? Scientists are already looking at ways to deploy nanoelectronic devices inside the human body. For example, they could be used within a person's DNA to signal whether they have developed cancer. Tiny "chips" could also be inserted into a patient's heart to detect irregularities. Car companies are looking to use nanotechnology to improve everything from in-car entertainment to engine management and collision- avoidance systems. The European Commission reckons the main applications of nanoelectronics will be in the area known as "ambient technology" - where chips are so small and cheap they are implanted into almost anything in the home, car, office or body. Typical applications, aside from health, could be in entertainment and leisure or security. Global location units could be implanted into bodies or clothing to help pinpoint missing children or elderly and disabled people in distress - so that help can speedily be sent along. Tiny mobile devices will be able to act as phone, personal digital assistant and media player. And on the security front, nanoelectronic applications are expected to range from personal identification using biometrics to hypersensitive sensors designed with a view to sniffing out bombs. European countries have been tight-fisted compared with their US and far-eastern rivals when it comes to investment in R&D. In 2002, funding for micro-electronics in the Asia-Pacific region reached 62% of total capital spending, but amounted to only 8% in Europe. So will the Commission find the cash it needs to kick-start Vision 2020? "It's not as much money as it looks," says one expert in Liikanen's old Commission information society department. "Four billion of the l6bn they are talking about is industry investment. It is a very research-intensive sector, 20% of turnover goes on R&D - so, if you take the two biggest companies STMicroelectronics and Infineon, they have about _6-7bn sales. So their R&D is around €1.4bn each. "Multiply that by two and you already get _2.8 bn." On the government side, there is some optimism. "When you see what member states are investing and what the EU is investing each year, you can say that it is already coming roughly to l1bn. So they are only talking about doubling that," said the official. The EU's forthcoming 7th framework R&D programme will provide some of the money - though the budget is unlikely to be set until early next year. Another possible source of money is the so-called growth initiative agreed by governments in the Spring. This promises EU cash and loans from the European Investment Bank for priority growth-promoting projects. The EU has no choice but to invest in nanoelectronics, says Busquin: "Europe cannot afford to miss the next generation of electronic applications that will be for our future economy what oil is for today's economy." Prince Charles, for his part, strikes a more cautionary note. Writing in the UK's Independent on Sunday on 11 July, he calls for "a sensible debate" about "the technologies which work at the level of the basic building blocks of life itself". Prince Charles quotes Cambridge University professor John Carroll who, referring to the thalidomide disaster of the 1960s, wrote: "It would be surprising if nanotechnology did not suffer similar upsets unless appropriate care and humility is observed". Article looks at the issue of nanotechnology. |
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