Nanotechnology - Flinders Focus, Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia



Home Administration Teaching Research News Contact Search Help

Smaller Text

Larger Text

Flinders Focus on Nanotechnology

Surface Imaging - looking into the nano-realm

Nanotechnology is science at the molecular level – and to work at that level you have to be able to see at that level. That makes imaging the key “tool” driving this new approach to science.

A prerequisite is good equipment. Modern microscopes used in nanotechnology can distinguish particles as small as one nanometre (that’s 1/1,000,000th of a millimetre). To put things in perspective, standard microscopes have progressed to the extent that the very best of them cannot identify particles smaller than about 200 nanometres.

Flinders has five such microscopes – three research grade instruments in our state-of-the-art scanning probe microscopy lab (each capable of nanometer resolution) and two scanning tunneling microscopes for use by researchers and undergraduate students.

What sets us apart, however, is our imaging ability. Our researchers are able to achieve the degree of detail that allows them not only to discern shapes measured in nanometres, but also to tell one shape or form from another.

These pictures showing arrangements of single glucose oxidase molecules on a flat gold surface highlight the importance of detail. The distinction between a sphere shape (when standing) and a butterfly shape (when lying) is clearly shown using our scanning tunneling microscopy.

Our projects Flinders researchers are using advanced imaging techniques on such projects as:

Biosensor Structure - Glucose Oxidase
Individual Porphyrin Molecules

Top of page