NSE Vocab

Question 1

Atomic force microscope

Answer 1

A scientific instrument that can generate images of nanoscale details on a physical surface by scanning a tiny, flexible ceramic or semiconductor probe just above the surface—where it will be attracted or repelled slightly by features on the surface, and the deflection can be detected with the laser.

Question 2

Backscattered electron-electron

Answer 2

from the primary (incident) beam that is reflected back out of the sample due to travel close to an atom’s nucleus

Question 3

Biomimetic

Answer 3

Engineered structures or devices that imitate biology in their functions or methods of manufacture.

Question 4

Bulk material

Answer 4

material that has constant physical properties regardless of its size

Question 5

Carbon nanotube (CNT)

Answer 5

Carbon molecule with a cylindrical shape. The structure and chemical bonds of CNTs result in unique strength, electrical, and thermal properties.

Question 6

Colloid

Answer 6

Nanoscale or microscale particles suspended in another medium; colloids include gels, aerosols, and emulsions.

Question 7

Crystal

Answer 7

matter that is formed of an ordered three dimensional arrangement of atoms, molecules or ions

Question 8

Dendrimer

Answer 8

synthetic polymer with a branching, treelike structure

Question 9

Diffraction

Answer 9

the spreading out of waves as they pass through an aperture or around/thru objects

Question 10

Diode

Answer 10

semiconductor device that controls the direction of current flow

Question 11

Epitaxial film

Answer 11

A thin crystal layer, perhaps of nanoscale thickness, deposited on the surface of another substance by processes such as vapor deposition.

Question 12

Exciton

Answer 12

combination of an electron and a positive hole (an empty electron state in a valence band), which is free to move through a nonmetallic crystal as a unit

Question 13

Fullerene

Answer 13

A category of roughly spherical carbon nanoscale structures named after Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic spheres.

Question 14

Functionalization

Answer 14

controlling surface chemical composition and mastering its modification at the nanometer scale

Question 15

Intellectual property

Answer 15

Creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. IP is protected in law by, for example, patents, copyright, trademarks and trade secrets, which enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create.

Question 16

Lattice

Answer 16

a regular and infinite arrangement of point/atoms where in each point/atom has the same surrounding environment

Question 17

Lattice parameters

Answer 17

the lengths of the edges of a unit cell and the angles between them

Question 18

Micelle

Answer 18

self-assembled spherical nanocarriers formed by amphiphilic polymers

Question 19

Molecular electronics

Answer 19

Electronic circuitry, including computer hardware, in which the separate components are individual molecules or small assemblages of molecules. The hoped-for advantages include cost reduction, increased speed, higher bit density, reduced power requirements, and less waste heat.

Question 20

Monolayer

Answer 20

A layer, film, or coating that is only one atom or molecule thick.

Question 21

Moore’s Law

Answer 21

Proposed by Intel founder Gordon Moore in the 1960s, this is a variously stated observation that the density of transistors on an integrated circuit chip has been doubling every 18 to 24 months, or the cost of a transistor has been dropping by half, or that the general capabilities of microelectronics have been improving at an exponential rate.

Question 22

Nanocrystals

Answer 22

also known as nanoscale semiconductor crystals. “Nanocrystals are aggregates of anywhere from a few hundred to tens of thousands of atoms that combine into a crystalline form of matter known as a “cluster.” Typically around ten nanometers in diameter, nanocrystals are larger than molecules but smaller than bulk solids and therefore frequently exhibit physical and chemical properties somewhere in between. Given that a nanocrystal is virtually all surface and no interior, its properties can vary considerably as the crystal grows in size.” (Credit: Berkeley Lab)

Question 23

Nanocomposite

Answer 23

A material composed of two or more substances, of which at least one has a nanoscale dimension, such as nanoparticles dispersed throughout another solid material.

Question 24

Nanofabrication

Answer 24

General terms for methods to create, assemble, or otherwise form nanoscale structures.

Question 25

Nanofluidics

Answer 25

Science or engineering involving the flow of liquid or gas through nanoscale spaces

Question 26

Nanomanipulator

Answer 26

A tool for moving individual molecules or nanoscale objects, such as an atomic force microscope.

Question 27

Nanometer

Answer 27

A distance unit representing one-billionth of a meter, or one-millionth of a millimeter, or roughly one-millionth the thickness of an American dime.

Question 28

Nanoporous

Answer 28

Substances that have holes or pores on the nanoscale, used, for example, to separate particles or molecules by size.

Question 29

Nanoscale

Answer 29

The size range roughly 1 to 100 nanometers, where many of the fundamental structures of biology are formed, composite materials may take on their distinctive characteristics, and many important physical phenomena are found.

Question 30

Nanoscience

Answer 30

The study of unique properties of matter at the nanoscale; an interdisciplinary field of science combining physics, materials science, the chemistry of complex molecules, and related disciplines.

Question 31

Nanosensor

Answer 31

A device for sensing radiation, forces, chemicals, or biological agents, in which some portion of a device operates at the nanoscale, for example, by having receptors into which the particular molecules to be sensed fit.

Question 32

Nanotube

Answer 32

Hollow, cylindrical structures, with a diameter usually less than 5 nanometers. They are often but not necessarily, composed of carbon, and having remarkable strength and electrical properties.

Question 33

Nucleation

Answer 33

process in which a small number of ions, atoms, or molecules become arranged in a pattern characteristic of a crystalline solid, forming a site upon which additional particles are deposited as the crystal grows.

Question 34

Quantum dot

Answer 34

A nanoscale crystal with a diameter that is typically between 2-20 nm, having unique electrical and optical properties that are dependent on its size. They are finding commercial applications in new light sources, enhanced medical imaging, and being explored as compenents in spintronic quantum computers, and has a very wide range of potential scientific and industrial applications.

Question 35

Quantum size effect

Answer 35

describes the physics of electron properties in solids with great reductions in particle size

Question 36

Particle-wave duality

Answer 36

all particles have wave properties

Question 37

Physical Properties

Answer 37

properties observed or measured without changing the composition of matter. Physical properties are used to observe and describe matter. Physical properties include: appearance, texture, color, odor, melting point, boiling point, density, solubility, polarity, and many others.

Question 38

Photolithography

Answer 38

A fabrication technique that utilizes light to etch patterns onto silicon wafers using a mask and light-sensitive resin. It is often used for making integrated circuits.

Question 39

Plasmonic effect

Answer 39

resonant interaction obtained between electromagnetic radiation (light in particular) and free electrons in metallic nanoparticles

Question 40

Scanning probe lithography

Answer 40

A technique in which an atomic force microscope or scanning tunneling microscope scratches, indents, or heats to produce nanoscale features on a surface.

Question 41

Scanning tunneling microscope

Answer 41

A scientific instrument that can make images of nanoscale details on an electrically conductive surface by moving a sharp metal probe very close to that surface, passing a low-voltage electric current across it, and measuring tiny fluctuations in the current as the probe is scanned across the surface.

Question 42

Secondary electron

Answer 42

electron that is pushed out of an atom in a sample due to interaction with the beam electrons

Question 43

Self-assembly

Answer 43

A process in which a given nanostructure spontaneously constructs itself, generally limited to very specific structures in chemical environments precisely defined in order to promote self-assembly.

Question 44

Transistor

Answer 44

A solid-state electronic device based on a semiconductor material that regulates the flow of current between two of its electrodes and therefore is capable of amplifying a signal. Since its invention in 1948, the transistor has become constantly smaller (recently entering the nanoscale) and more efficient, serving as the basis of most electronic devices, including computers.

Question 45

Tunable

Answer 45

changing the optical and physical properties of a nanomaterial by changing the particle’s size

Question 46

Unit cell

Answer 46

the simplest repeating unit in a crystal

Question 47

Vapor deposition

Answer 47

A chemical process commonly used in the semiconductor industry to apply thin films of one substance onto a surface composed of another substance.