Nanotechnology

Company information

On December 3, 2003, President Bush signed into law a bill to establish a National Nanotechnology Research Program requiring agencies, such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Energy (DoE), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to collaborate on nanotech grant awards. The bill also provided funding for a research program to identify and address the ethical, legal, environmental and other societal concerns related to nanotechnology.

As suggested by the bill, some controversy exists over the development of nanotechnology. Opponents of nanotechnology suggest that nanoscale particles or wires could cause health and/or environmental problems in the production of food, devices and drugs. However, the FDA believes the current review processes will adequately ensure the safety of nanotechnology-enabled drugs. Additionally, other federally funded entities, through the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), provide research and analyses into such issues.

NNI, a federal R&D program, was established in 2001 to coordinate 22 agencies associated with the development of nanoscale science, engineering and technology. In addition to funding research and development programs, federal support through the NNI provides crucial funds for the creation of university and government nanoscale R&D laboratories, and helps educate the workforce necessary for the future of nanotechnology. NNI provides the U.S. a competitive advantage in the global market and facilitates interaction between the research community and private sector.

The U.S. government has invested approximately $800 million in nanotech research in each of the last two years. Estimates of the total market for nanotech-enabled products and services reach as high as $1 trillion by 2012.

HP's position

HP's research in nanotechnology holds significant promise for electronics and photonics; the range of IT products that will be impacted includes anything used to gather, store, process and display information. However, such high technology applications will not be realized for another five to 10 years. Thus, continued federal funding and support will be essential to fully realize the commercial potential of nanotechnology in the U.S. and its implications for the broader fields of science.

HP recognizes that since the properties of matter depend on size and shape at the nanoscale, the health and safety issues of nanostructured materials must be an integral part of any research program that seeks to bring such materials to market. HP encourages the research efforts of such laboratories as the Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology at Rice University, and exercises prudence in working with and disposing of the small amounts of nanomaterials that are currently examined at HP in a research environment. HP is also involved in a variety of standards committees to define appropriate working procedures for nanomaterials. We conclude that in general, the research community and the existing regulatory structure appear to be responding to the challenges posed by nanotechnology in responsible and ethical fashion.

HP's history in nanotechnology

HP established a nanoscale science research effort in 1995 with the founding of what is now called the Quantum Science Research (QSR) group at HP Labs in Palo Alto, California. Since that time, HP has been a leader in both research and public policy issues related to nanotechnology. The director of QSR, Dr. R. Stanley Williams, was one of the co-authors/editors (with Prof. P. Alivisatos of UC Berkeley and Dr. M. C. Roco of the NSF) of the report Nanotechnology Research Directions: Vision for Nanotechnology in the Next Decade, which was published in 1999. This document and the recommendations it contained were the foundation of the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative.

HP also supported the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, co-written by Senators George Allen (R-VA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) which was signed into law – as previously mentioned – by the President on December 3, 2003.

The QSR team has made several breakthroughs in nanotechnology, which have garnered global recognition. This work has included the fabrication of nanoscale components for electronic circuits, the introduction of defect-tolerant architectures that allow nanocircuits to operate perfectly even if they contain broken components, and the demonstration of working memory and logic circuits with densities more than 10 times greater than presently achieved with standard technologies. In 2000, HP received a patent for a molecular crossbar memory – recognized by MIT's Technology Review journal as one of the top five patents of the year. That patent has been subsequently cited in 80 other issued U.S. patents, and the crossbar structure is now the de facto standard for nanoelectronics used worldwide.