History of Nanotechnology Timeline

Chris Toumey, a cultural anthropologist at the University of South Carolina, found that the published versions of Feynman's talk had a negligible influence in the twenty years after publication, as measured by citations in the scientific literature, and not much more influence in the decade after the scanning tunneling microscope was invented in 1981.

Later in 1986, a cover article headlined 'Nanotechnology' was published in the mass-circulation science-oriented magazine Omni, bringing Drexler's ideas to a broad public audience alongside the release of Engines of Creation.

Image source: Omni (magazine)

Klibanov wrote in 1994, '...using an enzyme in organic solvents eliminates several obstacles...' This work was later referenced in debates about molecular manufacturing feasibility; Drexler addressed the point in Nanosystems, showing mathematically that well-designed catalysts can provide the effects of a solvent and can be even more efficient than solvent/enzyme reactions.

Bill Joy, then Chief Scientist at Sun Microsystems, wrote the article 'Why the future doesn't need us' in the April 2000 issue of Wired magazine. He argued that 'Our most powerful 21st-century technologies — robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotech — are threatening to make humans an endangered species,' warning that these technologies present greater dangers than any before them.

Image source: Why the Future Doesn't Need Us

Richard Smalley introduced scientific objections to molecular assemblers in a 2001 Scientific American article, attacking the notion of universal assemblers. This led to a rebuttal from Drexler and colleagues later that year, and eventually to an exchange of open letters in 2003. Drexler and coworkers responded to these objections in a 2001 publication.

Image source: Richard Smalley

In the AAAS Science and Technology Policy Yearbook 2001 article titled A Response to Bill Joy and the Doom-and-Gloom Technofuturists, Bill Joy was criticized for having technological tunnel vision in his predictions, failing to consider social factors shaping how technologies develop and are used.

Prey is a 2002 novel by Michael Crichton which features an artificial swarm of nanorobots that develops intelligence and threatens its human inventors, reflecting and amplifying public anxieties about the risks of nanotechnology.

Image source: Prey (novel)

After Drexler had difficulty getting Smalley to respond to his replies, Chemical & Engineering News carried a four-part debate between them in December 2003, publicly airing the disagreement over the feasibility of molecular assemblers and self-replicating nanomachines.

Image source: Drexler–Smalley debate on molecular nanotechnology

The process of atomic layer deposition for depositing uniform thin films one atomic layer at a time was developed and patented by Tuomo Suntola and co-workers in Finland in 1974, providing precise control over material growth at the atomic scale.

Image source: Atomic layer deposition

The scanning tunneling microscope, an instrument for imaging surfaces at the atomic level, was developed in 1981 by Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer at IBM Zurich Research Laboratory, for which they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986. Its invention was one of the key experimental advances behind the emergence of nanotechnology.

Image source: Scanning tunneling microscope

Fullerenes were discovered in 1985 by Harry Kroto, Richard Smalley, and Robert Curl, who together won the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This discovery, along with the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope, drove the emergence of nanotechnology in the 1980s.

Image source: Fullerene

Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986 for developing the scanning tunneling microscope at IBM Zurich Research Laboratory in 1981, recognizing the transformative impact of atomic-level imaging on science.

Image source: Gerd Binnig

Gerd Binnig, Calvin Quate, and Christoph Gerber invented the first atomic force microscope in 1986, extending scientists' ability to image and manipulate surfaces with nanoscale resolution beyond what the scanning tunneling microscope could achieve with conductive materials.

Image source: Atomic force microscopy

IBM researcher Don Eigler was the first to manipulate individual atoms using a scanning tunneling microscope in 1989, famously arranging xenon atoms to spell out 'IBM' and demonstrating direct atomic-scale control. He shared the 2010 Kavli Prize in Nanoscience for this work.

Image source: Don Eigler

The discovery of carbon nanotubes is largely attributed to Sumio Iijima of NEC in 1991, who observed multi-walled carbon nanotubes in the insoluble material of arc-burned graphite rods, although carbon nanotubes had been produced and observed under a variety of conditions prior to 1991.

Image source: Carbon nanotube

Mintmire, Dunlap, and White independently predicted in 1991 that if single-walled carbon nanotubes could be made, they would exhibit remarkable conducting properties. This prediction, together with Iijima's discovery, helped create initial interest in carbon nanotubes.

Harry Kroto, Richard Smalley, and Robert Curl won the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their 1985 discovery of fullerenes, cementing the importance of nanoscale carbon structures in modern chemistry.

IBM researcher Don Eigler shared the 2010 Kavli Prize in Nanoscience for his pioneering work manipulating atoms with a scanning tunneling microscope, which he first accomplished in 1989.

The first commercially available atomic force microscope was introduced in 1989, making powerful nanoscale imaging tools accessible to researchers and industry worldwide and accelerating progress in nanoscience.

Mihail Roco formally proposed the National Nanotechnology Initiative to the Office of Science and Technology Policy during the Clinton administration in 1999 and was a key architect in its development, spearheading coordinated federal investment in nanotechnology research.

Image source: National Nanotechnology Initiative

On December 3, 2003, President Bush signed into law the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, which authorizes expenditures for five participating agencies totaling US$3.63 billion over four years, formalizing federal support for nanotechnology development.

The Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering released their 2004 report on the implications of nanoscience and nanotechnologies. The report was inspired by Prince Charles' concerns about nanotechnology, including molecular manufacturing, and helped shape regulatory discussion of the field.

Image source: Royal Society

As of March 10, 2011, the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies estimated that over 1300 manufacturer-identified nanotech products were publicly available, with new ones hitting the market at a pace of 3–4 per week, showing rapid commercial adoption.

Image source: Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies

Invention of ionizable cationic lipids at the turn of the 21st century allowed the development of solid lipid nanoparticles, which in the 2020s became the most successful and well-known non-viral nanoparticle drug delivery system due to their use in several mRNA vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Image source: Lipid-based nanoparticle

A 2024 review stated that over 5,000 tons of nanotubes are produced annually, with industrial applications including biosensors, satellite sensors, and marine coatings, illustrating the large-scale industrial maturation of nanotechnology decades after the initial discoveries.