New technique offers breakthrough in Nano-construction

13 January 2009 - New technique offers breakthrough in Nano-construction. Researchers at the University of Sheffield have devised an innovative technique to join together nanoscale-objects. The joining technique, known as nanowelding, can be used to take the manufacturing of technology, such as brand new sensors and ultra fast computer chips, to a new level. Dr Yong Peng and Dr Beverley Inkson, from the Department of Engineering Materials, have developed a new way to weld individual nano-objects, a thousand times smaller than a human hair. Their method uses tiny blobs of metal solder, less than 250 atoms across. Nanowelding is becoming increasingly important for nanotechnology applications such as nanosensors and nanoelectronics. Most manufactured objects, from aeroplanes to electronic chips, require complex joining processes to link materials into a single working structure.