Recommendation T2. Exploration of the scientific frontiers involving new procedures for fabrication at nanodimensions and new nanoscale materials, properties, and phenomena should be supported. The Air Force should track, assimilate, and exploit the basic ideas emerging from the research community and continue to support both intra- and extramural activities. The focus should be on understanding the fundamental processes for fabrication, and on the unique properties of materials and devices structures at nanometer dimensions. Extremely dense arrays of devices capable of manipulating bits rapidly and reliably should be a dominant aspect of these investigations. Individual devices with nanometer or molecular dimensions are demonstrating logical functions on a small scale with a limited number of examples. Molecular electronics appears promising at present. There is potential for new device innovations and for progress in computing architectures and strategies. Quantum computing and quantum cryptography are examples of the applications that may be enabled by further progress in micro- and nanotechnology. The technology may develop rapidly once the scientific principles and technological advantages are discovered and understood.

Finding T3. Biological science offers new opportunities in nanotechnology systems, especially for sensors, materials, communications, computing, intelligent systems, human performance, and self-reliance. Millions of years of evolution have produced highly specialized sensing and communication capabilities in nature. Understanding of how these sensors work is growing but is still very limited. As the fundamental mechanisms are discovered and studied, applications rapidly follow. Advances in micro- and nanotechnology have enabled discovery in biological systems, which in turn has provided new means of sensing and communicating. Clearly, advances in technology and in the biological sciences go hand in hand in developing new capabilities.

Recommendation T3. The Air Force should closely monitor the biological sciences for new discoveries and selectively invest in those that show a potential for making revolutionary advances or realizing new capabilities in Air Force-specific areas.

Finding T4. Large, distributed fixed arrays and moving swarms of multispectral, multifunctional sensors will be made possible by emerging micro-and nanotechnology, and these will lead to significant fundamental changes in sensing architectures. Concepts such as smart dust and distributed communication networks actively exploit the technological capabilities of emerging micro- and nanotechnologies. The fusion of data from large numbers of sensors as well as large numbers of sensor types will drive research in new networking concepts.