Nanoengineers have recently invented a new unconventional nanoscale manufacturing technology for mass production electronic components. It is a lithographic method in which a spherical nanorobot made of silica that focuses light like a near-field lens is used to write complex patterns on the surface of light-sensitive material to form the sensors and electronics components on nanoscale devices. The researchers have dubbed the new technique as 'nanomotor lithography'. At present, state-of-art lithography methods such as electron beam writing are used to define extremely precise surface patterns on substrates used in the manufacture of microelectronics and medical devices. These patterns form the functioning sensors and electronic components such as transistors and switches packed on today's integrated circuits. The researchers, however, point out that this nanomotor lithography method cannot completely replace the state-of-the-art resolution offered by an e-beam writer, for example. But the technology provides a framework for autonomous writing of nanopatterns at a fraction of the cost and difficulty of these more complex systems, which is useful for mass production.
