Atomic uniformity key to miniaturization.

• Position: Nanotechnology

"Control is the name of the game," says Ames (Iowa) Laboratory physicist Michael C. Tringides. He is talking about the importance of growing atomic structures and ultrathin metal films in uniform sizes and with highly ordered geometries for technological applications that include switches, lasing materials, and semiconductors that allow computer chips to run faster.

Exciting as the potential is for the development of these nanotechnologies and other microminiature equipment, Tringides knows that realizing such applications requires laying substantial groundwork. He and members of his group are doing basic research to learn more about the microscopic processes that control the growth of custom-made materials. The work may prove critical in the further miniaturization of silicon-based electronic devices, a major undertaking in light of the silicon industry's huge role in technological innovation and production.

Tringides explains that vital to the success of these miniaturization efforts is the ability to achieve exact control of layer thickness and atomic uniformity of thin films and nanostructures--what he refers to as "the Holy Grail in nanotechnology, the next major industrial revolution.

"It's essential that these structures are grown in a robust...