Scientists from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) are mastering a new tool – the NanoFrazor nanoengraver. The device is capable of creating relief with a resolution of several nanometers. It’s like a CNC machine, only for processing almost two-dimensional materials. With the help of NanoFrazor, scientists intend to create unique sensors for quantum devices, biological research and much more.
Image Source: DTU Physics
To explore the possibilities of a new tool, researchers created the world’s smallest “vinyl” record with a real stereo track of the first 25 seconds of the song «Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree». The left channel was encoded in the bends of the track, and the right channel was encoded in the depth of the groove along the entire length. True, to play the recording, you will need either the same NanoFrazor or an atomic force microscope.
“The fact that we can now precisely shape surfaces with nanoscale precision at almost the speed of imagination is a game-changer for us.” Associate Professor Tim Booth said. “We have a lot of ideas regarding what to do next, and we are confident that this machine will significantly speed up the creation of prototypes of new structures. Our main goal is to develop new magnetic sensors to detect currents in the living brain. […] We also look forward to creating finely shaped potential landscapes with which we can better control the electronic waves.”
The device cuts out a nano-relief in a special plastic. This makes it possible to create the shape of the future sensor of any complexity. A monolayer of graphene can be applied to the mold, and then the graphene sheet will take the spatial shape necessary for the experiments. Such sensors can be created with incredible sensitivity, which will allow, for example, to register an electrical (nerve) impulse from every neuron in the human brain. The same sensors can help distinguish between the movement of individual electrons in quantum devices and perform other measurements that have not been possible until now.
Scientists are starting to machine materials at a level that was not even dreamed of ten or fifteen years ago. And if 200 years ago a shod flea was called a miracle, today a tool like NanoFrazor can easily write a couple of lines on a single red blood cell.
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