Don Eigler | |
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| Born | Donald M. Eigler (1953-03-23)March 23, 1953 (age 72) Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of California San Diego |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Nanotechnology |
Donald M. Eigler (March 23, 1953) is an American physicist associated with theIBM Almaden Research Center, who is noted for his achievements innanotechnology.
In 1989, Eigler was the first to use ascanning tunneling microscope tip to arrange individual atoms on a surface,spelling out the letters "IBM" with 35xenon atoms. He later went on to create the firstquantum corrals, which are well-defined quantum wave patterns of small numbers of atoms, and nanoscale logic circuits using individual molecules ofcarbon monoxide. He shared the 2010Kavli Prize in Nanoscience withNadrian Seeman for these breakthroughs.[1]
Eigler's 1989 research, along withErhard K. Schweizer, involved a new use of the scanning tunneling microscope, which had been invented in the mid 1980s byGerd Binnig andHeinrich Rohrer, also of IBM. The microscope had previously been used for atomic-resolution imaging, but this was the first time it had been used as an active technique, to precisely position individual atoms on a surface. The technique requires vacuum conditions and ultra-cold temperatures achieved byliquid helium cooling, and was featured on the cover of the journalNature. At the time, it was seen as a potential first step towards applications inmechanosynthesis, where chemical reactions could be manipulated one molecule at a time.[2][3] Eigler's 2002 research, along withAndreas J. Heinrich, used a cascade of collisions of carbon monoxide molecules to perform logic operations.[4]
Eigler graduated from theUniversity of California, San Diego with a bachelor's degree in 1975 and a doctoral degree in 1984. He was postdoctoral staff at AT&TBell Labs for two years, and then moved to IBM where he was appointedIBM Fellow in 1993.[5][6] He retired from IBM in 2011.[7]
He was elected in 1995 a Fellow of theAmerican Physical Society[8] and in 1999 a Fellow of theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science.[9]
Authority control databases: Academics |
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