Jul 17 2009
Satoshi Yamasaki and Norio Tokuda, the Nanotechnology Research Institute of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), in cooperation with Satoshi Gonda et al. of the Dimensional Standards Section, Lengths and Dimensions Division, the National Metrology Institute of Japan of AIST have fabricated a nanometer-sized ruler to be used as a primary standard, which is integral to nanotechnology research and production, by taking advantage of the crystal structure of diamond.
Today, research development of new materials and functions is widely advanced making full use of nanotechnology, in which nanometer-sized substance and nanometer level phenomena are studied, and innovative development of science and technology is anticipated. However, the minimum scale of commercially available rulers to serve as a basis of nanotechnology is approximately 10 nm, indicating that a stable and accurate nanometer-sized ruler had not hitherto been materialized. Advancing the diamond film technology as part of research in semiconductor diamond, AIST has succeeded in fabricating a very stable and accurate ruler with a minimum scale of 0.2 nm, which is 1/50 of the one currently available commercially.
The developed ruler is expected to be a global standard of nanometer-sized length, and to contribute to nanotechnology.
The result of the research will be published in online edition of Applied Physics Express, the Japan Society of Applied Physics, on April 17, 2009.