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world, but that remains to be determined by the course of progress of this field in
the future.
In addition, the surface-to-volume ratio of objects increases as the objects
become smaller. For instance, the surface of a cube with side x is 6x 2 and its
volume is x 3 , so the surface-to-volume ratio, 6/x, increases as x decreases. Usually,
the surfaces of materials act differently from their bulk in terms of physical
properties. As one goes to smaller and smaller scales, surface phenomena become
a more important part of device behavior, and this could have very practical
implications.
2.1.4. What is a Nanodevice?
The exact definition of what a nanodevice is remains somewhat fuzzy and
subjective. There seems to be a general consensus that any device with at least
one dimension below 100 nm is a nanodevice. In many cases, depending on how a
particular device is made and its principle of operation, some may choose to call it
a nanodevice and some may not. What seems to be clear is that, regardless of how
we reach the nanoscale and whether or not we manage to make sophisticated
nanorobots at some point in future, many interesting phenomena happen at the
nanoscale that are worth studying and could be used for new device ideas.
This chapter hopes to reach out to a large audience. For the nontechnical who
are intrigued by the word ''nano,'' the chapter provides a general insight. For the
nonexpert technical person or those wishing to enter the field of nanodevice
research (such as advanced undergraduate or fresh graduate students in science
and engineering), it provides an introduction and perspective. The main focus of
the chapter is on the electronics aspects of nanodevices, but there exist many other
aspects to these devices, as well as different approaches to understanding them and
creating new ones. Obviously none of the devices or methods discussed here can be
reviewed in full detail in the context of a one-chapter overview, nor can all the
valuable references in the field be cited. However, the author hopes that the
references provided here will be a good starting point for those interested in
learning more about each subject.
2.2. MATERIALS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY
The first question that might come to mind when thinking about materials for
nanodevices is such: Can one take any material (even a piece of wood), carve a
nanoscale object out of it (assuming one has the means, such as an ultra-sharp
carving tip to make something that small!), and hope that it would exhibit some
interesting nanodevice characteristics? The answer, in principle, is yes. In practice,
however, just as is the case in the microscopic or macroscopic worlds, different
materials have different properties at the nanoscale level; depending on the
particular application the nanodevice is intended for, one has to spend some
effort to find the right material for it.
 
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