The Nano–Micro InterfaceBridging the Micro and Nano Worlds.Edited by Hans-Jçrg Fecht andMatthias Werner.

Wiley-VCH, Weinheim 2004. XXIV+327 pp. ,hardcover, E 99.00.—ISBN 3-527-30978-0

It appears that there is no limit to whatnanosciences can offer to current tech-nological developments. Undoubtedly,strategies for ma-nipulating me-chanical, electri-cal, optical andchemical proper-ties of materialsby smart assem-bling of function-al nanoscopic ob-jects are key pri-orities in researchprogrammes inthe industrialised world. In order to fullyrealise the potentialities of nanotechnol-ogy, the properties of these novel mate-rials ought to be addressed at the sub-micron level. This is one of the pointswhere the well-established field of mi-crotechnology meets the emergingnanotechnology. In one hand, the inte-gration of nanoscopic components atsurfaces and macroscopic materials canbe effectively performed by self-assem-bling methods, the so-called bottom-upapproach. On the other hand, microtech-nology features a wide range of sophisti-cated methods for patterning surfaceswith resolutions already below 100 nm.Under which conditions can both trendsmeet? What are the limits of self-assem-bly and microfabrication? Do measuringstandards evolve smoothly from nano-metres to micrometres? These are someof the questions that the editors intend-ed to tackle by gathering contributionsfrom a wide range of disciplines centredon nano- and microstructured materials.

The 23 chapters in this book are sepa-rated in three parts dealing with 1) nano-technology research funding and com-

mercialisation prospects, 2) fundamentalsand technology, and 3) selected applica-tion of nano-microtechnology. The firstsection provides an overview of invest-ments in nanotechnology in the US,Europe and Asia as well as some suc-cessful examples of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A series ofpaper-styled chapters in a wide range oftopics are collected in the second part ofthe book. The goal of this section is topresent up-to-date developments in ma-terial science featuring nano- and micro-structures. The final part of the book il-lustrates the impact of new materialsand methods in sensing technology,micro-electromechanical systems, opticsand catalysis. This book concentrates avast amount of information in just over300 pages. Yet, the bridge betweennano- and microtechnology, offered inthe title, fails to materialise.

The book opens with an overview ofthe US National Nanotechnology Initia-tive by Mihail Roco, comparing the con-tributions by various funding agencies tothis programme and highlighting thekey networks of excellence. The scenarioin the Asia-Pacific region is described inchapter 3 by Lerwen Liu. Between thesetwo chapters, the contribution by M.Batude-Thibierge provides a list of basicconcepts and strategies for exploring (orrather creating) new markets for nano-technology. The main arguments in thischapter are not presented in terms ofreal or concrete examples, which makethe reading somewhat unconvincing. Bycontrast, chapters 4 to 6 do provide ref-erences to promising technologies andmarkets based on nanoparticles, func-tionalised zeolites, carbon nanotubesand supramolecular structures.

The section on Fundamentals andTechnology is initiated with the interest-ing chapter by Erb et al. , who discussrecent developments on the design ofnano- and microsystem via electrodepo-sition methods. This chapter is followedby the presentation of MicroGlider8 as atool for topographical characterisation

from the milli- to the nanometre scale.The capabilities of this instrument aremost impressive; however, quantitativecomparisons with other commerciallyavailable technologies would have givena better description of the state-of-the-art in multirange topographic characteri-sation. Chapter 9 by Muller et al. is a par-ticularly interesting overview of distanceversus potential scanning tunnellingspectroscopy as a technique for charac-terising the electronic structure of organ-ic materials assembled on metal surfaces.Chapter 10 consists of a technical paperby Sch<fer and co-workers on novelchemical and electronic integrated sys-tems microfabricated in lab-on-a-chipdevices. This chapter, as many otherthroughout the book, contains numer-ous acronyms and concepts that are notexplained in the text. The contributionby Abd et al. delivers a clear and conciseintroduction to the impact of nano-ob-jects in heterogeneous catalysis, as wellas the “so-called” Combycat approachfor designing homonuclear catalysts.Chapter 2 by R. P. Frank describes theuse of Ti-based materials in implants fordifferent kind of tissues. Completely dif-ferent areas of expertise are required forgrasping the main points exposed in thechapters by Lojkowki et al. (synthesisand characterisation of oxide powders)and Molarius et al. (semiconductor proc-essing and telecommunications). T. I.Kamins does an excellent job in describ-ing the fundamental aspects related tothe “metal-catalysed” growth of Si nano-wires and their use in transistors andsensors. The last article of this section isdevoted to the effects of heavy-ion irra-diation on the structure of TiO2 rutilesingle crystals. The rather limited back-ground information allows only expertsin the field to assess the impact of thiswork on areas such as photonic crystalsand photovoltaic devices.

The third part of the book includes awell-structured article by Baraton andMerhari on SnO2 nanoparticle based gassensors, contrasting their developments

Two exciting worlds of science and technology

ChemPhysChem 2005, 6, 2205 – 2206 A 2005 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim 2205

with other technologies in the area.Chapter 18 by Dommann et al. describesthe use of Ta�Si�N thin films as metaldiffusion barriers in Si-based microstruc-tures. This chapter is followed by an ex-cellent article by Gluche et al. on theprocessing of diamonds for high-preci-sion cutting tools and micromechanicalparts. Sawitowski and colleagues also de-livers a good overview on the fabricationof aluminium-oxide-templated materialsfor antireflective surfaces. The last threechapters are concentrated on specifictopics concerning MgO–Ni(Fe) nanocom-posite as catalysts (chapter 21), oxidenanoparticles in polymer electrolytemembranes (chapter 22) and microfabri-cation of electromechanically activepolymers (chapter 23). None of thesechapters provides enough backgroundinformation for attracting the interest ofa wide readership.

The quality of the illustrationsthroughout the book is exceptional andthe references appear up-to-date. How-ever, two important questions must beraised in the end. What is the real objec-tive of the book? To which readership isthis work addressed to? The illusivebridge between nano- and microtechnol-ogy cannot be expected to self-assembleby collecting papers from completely dif-ferent disciplines, with no obvious con-nection, in one single book. There arenumerous high-profile examples in theliterature where nanoparticle assembliesare combined to microfabricated struc-tures for nanoelectronic applications.Self-assembling DNA arrays have beenreported to template submicron-sizestructures. These common points be-tween nanosciences and microtechnolo-gy are not presented in this book. Thenature of this field is highly interdiscipli-nary, and the editors and authors set outto produce independent articles in awider range of areas. However, the lackof basic information in a good deal ofchapters renders them accessible only tospecialised researchers.

Prof. David J. Ferm1nDepartement fHr Chemie und BiochemieUniversit<t Bern (Switzerland)DOI: 10.1002/cphc.200500200

Femtochemistry andFemtobiologyUltrafast Events in Molecular Science. ByMonique M. Martin and James T. Hynes.

Elsevier, Amsterdam 2004. 589 pp. , hard-cover E 175.00—ISBN 0-444-51656-5

This book reports the state of researchin femtochemistry and femtobiologypresented and discussed at the VI Inter-national Conference on Femtochemistryin Paris, France (July 6 to July 10, 2003).

The five previous meetings were heldin Berlin (1993), Lausanne (1995), Lund(1997), Leuven (1999) and Toledo (2001),showing an increasing number of partici-pants and an expansion of fields in phys-ics, chemistry and biology, where femto-second lasers are employed to study ul-trafast events.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry awardedto Ahmed Zewail in 1999 for his out-standing contributions to the study oftransition states of chemical reactions byusing femtosecond spectroscopy showsthe worldwide recognition of this fieldby the scientific community. From thenon—partly due to advancing femtosec-ond laser technologies—the number ofstudies of primary processes in the gasphase and in condensed media, such assolutions and liquids, polymers, solids,nanostructured materials and surfaces,have strongly increased. The variety ofmolecular systems studied, including dia-tomics, complex molecular ensemblesand biological molecules, as well as theapplication of new technologies forstudying real-time molecular dynamics,are reflected in Ahmed Zewail’s KeynoteLecture and in the six Plenary Lecturesgiven by distinguished scientists.

The book itself is comprised of tenchapters with more than hundred contri-butions from different fields. The majori-ty of papers deal with the dynamics oflarge complexes in solution, also ad-dressing the structural dynamics of bio-logical systems. In previous meetings,the emphasis was mostly on gas-phasefemtochemistry, which was not well-rep-resented in this meeting.

Taking a closer look at the articles se-lected for the different chapters, it be-

comes obvious that their scientificimpact varies. For instance, the articlescollected in the chapter on QuantumControl only partially reflect the progressmade recently in determining molecularmechanisms and controlling moleculardynamics by employing femtosecondoptical pulse shaping techniques. Someof the “key players” in that field are miss-ing. A similar situation is found whenlooking at the chapters on Time-Re-solved X-rays and Surfaces, Interfaces,Nanostructures and Solids. However, allthe other chapters are comprised of alarge number of excellent articles. All thearticles published in this Conference Pro-ceedings book were reviewed by refer-ees from the Femtochemistry Communi-ty, which guarantees the high quality ofthe research reported.

This book on “Femtochemistry andFemtobiology” gives a very good ac-count of this fast-growing field, in whichnew research directions are constantlyopening up. Other fields in science,where femtosecond lasers are beingused, benefit greatly from advancingfemtochemistry and femtobiology.

In summary, this is a very valuablebook, which reflects the knowledge ofultrafast molecular events obtained bymany research groups around the worldand presented at the VIth InternationalConference on Femtochemistry. Not onlythe experts, but also the people ready tomove into that field will find this book auseful source of information to get in-volved and to step into the fascinatingfields of femtochemistry and femtobiolo-gy.

Prof. Dr. Gustav GerberUniversit<t WHrzburg (Germany)

2206 www.chemphyschem.org A 2005 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim ChemPhysChem 2005, 6, 2205 – 2206