Page 10 - RFCUNY Annual Report 2016

Elisa Riedo

Professor, Physics
Advanced Science Research Center, City College

Much of our built world is based on standard fabrication
approaches, but Professor Riedo envisions something differ-
ent. “I would like to see a new approach, more compatible
for the nanoscale that goes beyond what is available today.”
Riedo’s contribution to this vision began in 2007 with the
invention of a nanosized (extremely small) “hot tip.” “You
can control the chemistry of any surface by controlling the
temperature,” Riedo explains. By using the nanosized heater
attached to an atomic-force microscope cantilever, it is possi-
ble to build complex chemistry on the surface by controlling
the heat output and location of the tip. Her two-year, $179K
NSF award, Controlling the Chemistry at the Nanoscale:
Parallelization, Robustness, and Registration allows Riedo
to develop methods of applications for electronics, biology,
and mechanical sciences. Currently, Riedo is developing a
method for building a microelectronic circuit to be used in
nanoelectronics. “This will not be the only nanoscale fabri-
cation method, but it can become a very important tool.”

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