“Our goals are to realize and commercialize nanoscale components that will advance business roadmaps in Seamless Mobility,” says George. At Motorola, his Nanotechnology Group has synthesized single-walled carbon nanotubes with diameters as small as one nanometer and even smaller custom-synthesized organic molecules. They have also developed new ways to control the placement of individual single-walled carbon nanotubes in a highly parallel manner on a substrate, enabling them to fabricate a variety of structures for material characterization, as well as for device development.

With his research at Motorola, George is developing high-performance chemical sensors based on single-walled carbon nanotubes. He envisions that nanosensors will eventually be able to detect a wide range of chemical and biological species relevant to Sensing, Monitoring, and Control applications. Another area of research is utilizing nanotechnology for communications applications. Nanotubes and nanowires are being studied for use in both active and passive RF components that are relevant to telecommunications.

It means the wide use of nanoscale components in everyday products. Already, Motorola’s carbon nanotube technology is being used to build better, cost-effective flat-panel screens. In the future, George sees mobile phones that can sniff the air and improve user comfort and safety. “An output of this work will be an extension of present mobile technology into devices with awareness of the user and his or her health and environment.”