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of electronically integrated devices. In a biosensor, for example,
a biological response is converted into an electrical signal that is
subsequently transmitted or recorded. Biorecognition information regarding a physiological change or the presence of specific
chemicals in a substance is thus detected, transduced (converted to
another form), and transmitted. The potential value of nanomaterials and nanotechnologies in the development of improved sensory
technologies is literally enormous. Depending on the application,
subsequent logic systems may provide further interpretive information or control functions for actuation devices. Types of detection that are possible and sensitivity levels are expected to improve.
Nano-based biosensors, for example, are rapidly being developed
by the health and medical community for a wide variety of applications (see Section 11.2). Sensor sizes are expected to become
smaller as well.
A final trend that will have enormous consequences is that of
decreasing costs for better technologies. The nonlinear relationships among increasing levels of technological performance,
reduced sizes, increased multifunctionalities, and reduced costs
are generally well recognized. With increasing industry demands
there is every expectation that many components, such as basic
sensors and processors, will decrease in cost. With these cost
decreases, we will be able to use them in a far more ubiquitous
way than is currently the case, and application domains are likely
to increase.
impacts
Undoubtedly, major driving forces behind the adoption of nanoapproaches in the electronics field are the many pushes from
various industries toward improved performance and smallness
in virtually all infrastructural or enabling components (electrical, mechanical, and so on). Drives toward multifunctionality are
closely related. To designers and engineers engaged with products
or buildings, the benefits of smallness are extraordinary and allow
responses to major driving forces that are common in virtually all
industries, including improved use experiences, cost reductions,
reduced weight, energy-use reductions, and many other drivers that
are discussed in more detail in Chapter 12. Smaller and higher-performance electronic components in aircraft, for example, are not
only beneficial in their own right but also lead to overall weight
reductions—hence bringing greater fuel efficiency and/or greater
Electrical and Magnetic Environments
of electronically integrated devices. In a biosensor, for example,
a biological response is converted into an electrical signal that is
subsequently transmitted or recorded. Biorecognition information regarding a physiological change or the presence of specific
chemicals in a substance is thus detected, transduced (converted to
another form), and transmitted. The potential value of nanomaterials and nanotechnologies in the development of improved sensory
technologies is literally enormous. Depending on the application,
subsequent logic systems may provide further interpretive information or control functions for actuation devices. Types of detection that are possible and sensitivity levels are expected to improve.
Nano-based biosensors, for example, are rapidly being developed
by the health and medical community for a wide variety of applications (see Section 11.2). Sensor sizes are expected to become
smaller as well.
A final trend that will have enormous consequences is that of
decreasing costs for better technologies. The nonlinear relationships among increasing levels of technological performance,
reduced sizes, increased multifunctionalities, and reduced costs
are generally well recognized. With increasing industry demands
there is every expectation that many components, such as basic
sensors and processors, will decrease in cost. With these cost
decreases, we will be able to use them in a far more ubiquitous
way than is currently the case, and application domains are likely
to increase.
impacts
Undoubtedly, major driving forces behind the adoption of nanoapproaches in the electronics field are the many pushes from
various industries toward improved performance and smallness
in virtually all infrastructural or enabling components (electrical, mechanical, and so on). Drives toward multifunctionality are
closely related. To designers and engineers engaged with products
or buildings, the benefits of smallness are extraordinary and allow
responses to major driving forces that are common in virtually all
industries, including improved use experiences, cost reductions,
reduced weight, energy-use reductions, and many other drivers that
are discussed in more detail in Chapter 12. Smaller and higher-performance electronic components in aircraft, for example, are not
only beneficial in their own right but also lead to overall weight
reductions—hence bringing greater fuel efficiency and/or greater
Electrical and Magnetic Environments