Nanotechnology at Portland State University

By Linda Barney, Barney and Associates

The nanotechnology leadership team at Portland State University (PSU) is being led by Dr. John Carruthers (PSU distinguished professor of physics and research co-director at ONAMI), Donald McClave (assistant to the president for corporate affairs and economic development at PSU who is on the ONAMI board), and Dan Hammerstrom (assistant dean, Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science at PSU).

Dr. John Carruthers brings extensive industry experience to the nanotech position at ONAMI and PSU; he has worked at Bell Laboratories, NASA, Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, and most recently Intel Corporation, where he was director of components research. He now serves on many industrial, government, and academic advisory boards. Dr. Carruthers is the leader of the ONAMI Nanoelectronics and Nanoscale Metrology initiative, involving approximately 30 researchers from all three campuses.

Dr. Hammerstrom received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in 1977 in electrical engineering. He was an assistant professor in the electrical engineering department at Cornell University from 1977 to 1980. In 1980 he joined Intel in Oregon. In 1988 he founded Adaptive Solutions, Inc. which specialized in high-performance silicon technology (the CNAPS chip set) for image processing and pattern recognition. He joined the Oregon Graduate Institute in 1997, where he was the Doug Strain Professor. In 2005, Prof. Hammerstrom joined Portland State University, where he is a professor in the ECE department and associate dean for research in the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science. He was a visiting scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California in 2000 and he is an adjunct professor in the IDE (information, computation, and electronics) department at Halmstad University in Halmstad, Sweden.

Nanotechnology research at PSU
Nanotechnology research at PSU is being done in both the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science (MCECS) and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS). Nanotech research and projects are being done at PSU in the physics department, chemistry and biology departments in CLAS, and in the electrical and computer engineering (ECE) and mechanical and materials engineering (MME) departments in MCECS. In 2000, the Center for Electron Microscopy and Nanofabrication at PSU was co-founded by Dr. Jun Jiao (director of the Center) and Erik Bodegom (chair of the PSU physics department). The Center contains a state-of-the-art transmission electron microscope, a dual-beam FIB, as well as many other pieces of advanced equipment.

Dr. Jiao was asked by Senator Ron Wyden to address the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation regarding the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act.[1] "Portland State University has made a tremendous commitment to nanotechnology research," she said in her testimony. "We have built a first-class nanocharacterization and nanofabrication facility, which is unique in the Pacific Northwest. This enables researchers to study the materials' properties at the atomic level and to create novel materials as well as nanodevices." On June 13, 2005, Dr. Jiao was honored by President George W. Bush in the White House with the 2004 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers – the nation's highest honor for professionals at the outset of their research careers whose work shows exceptional promise for leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge.

PSU is currently doing nanotechnology research in the areas of semiconductors, memory, magnetic storage and bio-sensors. PSU also has a joint program with Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) relating to sensors that could be used in the medical field. Much of the research at PSU is focused on the development of nanofabrication techniques for the property-controlled growth of nanotubes and nanowires, and the investigation of carbon nanotubes and semiconductor nanowires as building blocks for nanoelectronic devices and as the new generation of electron field emitters. Programs and research led by PSU’s Jiao and Hammerstrom have received funding from various foundations and corporations for the establishment of an integrated research, education, and outreach program in nanoscience and nanotechnology.

PSU is also currently involved in or plans to do research in these areas:

• nanometrology (charged particle probes, proximal probes, and photon-electromagnetic probes)
• nanoelectronics (charge-based devices, spin-based devices, and photon-based devices)
• sensors (nano monitors for clinical diagnostics and nitrogen oxide sensing)
• circuits, nanoarchitectures, design methodologies and other applications
• nanofabrication  

"Architectures for Silicon Nanoelectronics and Beyond" workshop
The National Science Foundation's “Architectures for Silicon Nanoelectronics and Beyond” workshop was held at Portland State University September 13 to 14, 2005. Cosponsoring the workshop with NSF were the Semiconductor Research Corporation, PSU and ONAMI. The workshop was an opportunity to bring together a diverse group of experts in advanced computer and information processing technologies and applications, advanced CMOS, and emerging nanotechnologies to chart a research vision for a revolutionary path in system architectures for the coming decade. The workshop produced a report on research directions that can be used to develop funding programs in this area. Over 55 people from around the US attended the workshop which was by invitation only.

PSU's vision for nanotechnology
In addition to their course work and research, faculty members at PSU have a vision for the future of nanotechnology in Oregon. Dr. Carruthers stated, “Within our university programs, we need to think about practical applications of our research and how we can support local industry and turn ideas into commercial nanotech products and ventures. We should seek to grow our nanotech programs and have research spin outs that add economic value to help Oregon become a major contender in the field of nanotechnology. In addition, companies need to be thinking about the university structure and how to work with us to tie research being done at the universities to industry.”

About the author
Linda Barney is the founder and owner of Barney and Associates, a technical and marketing writing firm. Founded in 1990, Barney and Associates specializes in technical writing, documentation, online help, web content and training. Barney and Associates also provides a wide range of marketing writing services including creating media articles, white papers, data sheets, solution briefs, case studies and reviewer’s guides. Contact Linda at linda@barneyassoc.com.