ULTIMATE COMPUTING - Quantum Consciousness Studies

198 NanoTechnology
Figure 10.6: Formation of near-field optical nano-apertures. By Conrad Schneiker
(Schneiker, 1986).
Another STM spinoff may lead to “nanovison.” Resolution of “nearfield
microscopy” depends on the diameter of the aperture through which the reflected
light passes. Binnig (1985) described how to use an STM to make 20 nm holes in
opaque metal films which, when used in scanning light microscopes, become
capable of resolving features much smaller than the wave-length of the light. In
general, a cone of light cannot be focused to a spot which is significantly smaller
than the light’s wavelength. However, light passed through an aperture that is
many times smaller in diameter than its wavelength results in a narrow beam of
light that may be scanned mechanically close to a sample being examined. STM
technology is capable of creating nanoapertures, and also the scanning mechanism
required for imaging an area (Figure 10.6). Pohl, Denk and Lanz (1984) described
their “optical stethoscope” in which “details of 25-nm size can be recognized
using 488-nm radiation.” A significant advantage of the optical stethoscope
concept is “that it allows samples to be nondestructively investigated in their
native environments” (Lewis, Isaacson, Harootunian and Muray, 1984). Betzig
and colleagues (1986) conclude that this technology will be “able to follow the
temporal evolution of macromolecular assemblies in living cells ... to provide
both kinetic information and high spatial resolution.” Scanning nanoapertures
could also use ultraviolet, X-ray, gamma ray, synchotron, or particle beams to
“snoop” in the nanoscale if suitable materials and configurations are found
(Schneiker, 1986).
Schneiker’s breakthrough was to realize that STM tips can be used as
ultraminiature, ultraprecise robot fingers that can both “see” and be used to
directly manipulate individual atoms and molecules along the lines suggested by
Feynman. The scaling down process proposed by Feynman (machines building
smaller machines, and so on) can be reduced to just one step! According to
Schneiker’s concept, STMs can directly link up to the nanoscale to implement,
construct, and evaluate Feynman machines and other nanotechnologies. He notes
that many natural biomolecules such as enzymes, t-RNAs, antibodies,
cytoskeleton, and many synthetic compounds provide a wide variety of potential